From the early days of smartphones; designers, manufacturers,
and marketers cleverly threw in features that did not just revolve around
making and receiving phone calls.
اضافة اعلان
The “telephone” part of a phone, which was originally
supposed to be the primary function of the devices, was quickly relegated to
the background.
In the last few years, the camera would has stolen the show for
every new release by
Samsung, Apple, Sony, Huawei, and the other makers. We all
know how important it has become and to what extent people brag about the
quality of their smartphone camera, and how they use it all the time, everywhere.
Now, phones cameras have not only proven their usefulness
but have also seen the quality of their images often rival larger, more dedicated
cameras. This is true for technical quality at least, however, artistic quality
is another story altogether.
With good cameras being taken for granted and pushed almost
to their limits in a rather small device, designers had to move forward and
find new functionalities to attract consumers and increase sales.
Enter the foldable (or folding) smartphone.
The trend makes perfect sense. After all, enjoying a larger
display area, without increasing the handset’s physical width and length has
been every user’s dream. This would also bridge the gap between smartphones and
tablets.
Typically, the design has an outer screen for quick tasks
like answering calls, which does not necessarily need a large display. The
design also includes an inner screen with a larger display that’s twice the size
of the outer display when you fully unfold the phone.
At present, it looks like Samsung, Huawei, and Motorola are
the only companies offering a foldable smartphone.
Two years ago, the Samsung Galaxy Fold was the very first
model to feature a foldable design. However, issues and questions about its durability
popped up. Newer models like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and
Huawei Mate Xs promise
to solve the problem with units that can withstand repetitive, daily,
unfold-fold operation.
At a recent product launch event, Samsung America's vice
president of mobile product management, Drew Blackard, said: "Foldable
technology reignites the excitement around smartphones."
As exciting as the idea of having a really large display in
a pocketable handset may be, the concept comes with some limitations, at least
for the time being.
A foldable smartphone is about 40 percent heavier than a
regular smartphone. This is not a negligible point. Units are also thicker than
non-foldable phones, by about the same ratio as the weight. At this point, it
also looks like there are not many applications (from Android or any other OS) that
are programmed or available to make full use of the larger screens.
However, perhaps what could hurt foldable phones the most is
the price tag: typically between $1,000 and $2,000. This is probably the main
deterrent for consumers for the time being. It is significantly more than the
most expensive flagship model of smartphone by any manufacturer. It is as
expensive as a good, business-oriented laptop computer.
The last, more elusive point is durability. Consumers may
want to wait and see how dependable the new units will prove to be in real life,
and to what extent they can withstand being opened and closed several times a
day over the course of years.
Despite the above constraints and limitations, the main idea
of having a smartphone with a very large display is valid and tempting. Prices
will go down, as they often do, and manufacturers will find a way to make the
devices as sturdy as they should be. However, this may take until sometime
around 2025.
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Opinion and Analysis
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