Samsung’s first Foldable phone was a technological feat. It was essentially a large and thick smartphone that could be folded into a tablet. It was a bit of a disaster. The folding mechanism smashed on dust. And the pre-applied “screen protector” would permanently damage the display if it were removed.
Samsung’s perseverance paid off last year with the Galaxy Z fold 4. It seems to be better able to handle daily use. The folding device is now being pursued by almost all manufacturers, including Honor and Google.
The iterative updates of smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhones have become boring. A new form factor would keep people interested by offering a screen that can be folded away when not needed.
Besides the hard-to-completely-ignore center crease and durability questions, foldable are still really expensive, with prices kissing a $2,000 ceiling that zaps away your whole college tech budget.
Perhaps a price battle is on the horizon, with the rise of foldables. Keep an eye on this page for the latest news about the foldables that will be launching in 2018, such as the Pixel Fold and Motorola Razr. Don’t fold your phone the other way unless it is a Surface Duo.
