>> android also doesn't have the same polish as iOS

As someone who switched from using Android for many years to iOS for the iPhone Mini, this seems to be all about what you're used to. The lack of polish on iOS for many features, notifications and quick settings first among them, makes me crazy but not enough to deal with a huge phone. Android's had the notification shade with integrated settings since just about day one and it's a killer feature.

> is really the next technological breakthrough we were waiting for

I'm 99% convinced that the iPhone Air is the crippled child of Apple's intention to make a foldable.

They couldn't nail the foldable part (for the time being at least) so they just launched the Air with the things they nailed about the design.

> android also doesn't have the same polish as iOS

Could you provide examples here? Don't get if this is a "feels" thing.

The things that imho iOS really nails better are: - integration with devices (in the same Apple ecosystem) - battery life when browsing

What else?

I just switched from a Motorola Razr+ to a OnePlus 13 because the Razr's internal display cable apparently started flaking out, probably because I dropped it on the hinge on concrete a while back. I almost got another Razr, but even though I got a "normal" phone this time around, I'm tentatively planning to move back to a foldable once my OnePlus is old and gray.

Foldables are just so nice; the flip style for me is especially convenient since it is more compact in a pocket. I also feel like we're almost to the tipping point where we can consider folding displays solved to the point that new generations start having marginal iterations (as opposed to "wow, the crease is so much smaller!" and "Oh look, they finally got foldables IP68 rated!").

> the battery kinda suck

Probably because of all the AI integration stuff. You don't get something for nothing. Turn on battery saver, data saver, and decrease brightness (and refresh rate if possible). Still, You have three screens worth of volume taking away space for a larger battery. That's the deal with folders.

How has the reliability been?

Here's part of the list of warnings I saw when I setup a Samsung Fold for someone else:

> Don't press the screen or under display camera with a sharp object such as a pen or fingernail. Doing so can result in scratches, dents, or damage to the screen.

> This phone isn't dust-proof. Exposure to small particles such as sand may cause damage.

I live close to the beach, so very often have a bit of sand in my pocket. Seems like these phones wouldn't last a weekend.

I've thought larger bi-folds have an odd aspect ratio for anything but two-app multi-tasking. E.g. there's ~ no benefit for videos compared to non-foldables with half the screen area. Is aspect ratio not an issue in practice somehow?

I discovered something insideous after being in the iOS ecosystem. Apple still slows down iPhones, but not in the way you think - every year around their iPhone launch schedule, like clockwork, my iPhone 14 Pro Max slowed down just enough to make me think it was ageing, but not enough to suspect - after a lot of tests, it turns out, the reponsitivity of the touch was being reduced in software. So, the "smooth" iOS polished animations feel a bit laggy, but not enough to raise eyebrows. But, this is not even the worst part. I casually - out of pure coincidence discovered that Apple actually reduces the camera's clarity around their new iPhone launches. Particularly low-light performance. I thought I was being paranoid, but I'm a photographer and the hotel I walked across everyday in the evening had these beautiful hanging creepers which combined with golden lighting, always provided a pleasant sight. So, I loved taking pictures of it randomly until one day I noticed that regardless of the camera mode, the noise was insanely high and the pictures suddenly looked like they were taken from an old Android phone from 2015. I cleaned the lenses, had no cover, etc. I copied the images to my computer and the difference was clearly visible.

After a little bit digging, it turns out, I wasn't the only one. A lot of people had complained about the lagginess around iPhone launch dates. This is an old graph from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd....

This is actual data from Google trends: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=iphone%2...

You can clearly see a spike in as recent as September 2025. But, the camera data was the last straw for me. As a photographer who paid $1000+ for the iPhone Pro Max - supposedly their latest and greatest phone of the time, only to get screwed over by greed 2 years later, I had enough.

I sold the iPhone at a loss, got myself a Samsung Note and I actually took pictures of the same hotel again and the difference was stark. That really told me everything I needed to know about Apple's ethics. In contrast, I also have a Samsung S10+ from ages ago and it still functions flawlessly. The trade off clearly is privacy with the Android eco-system, but until we have a decent Apple alternative that's also privacy focused, I'm forced to accept this trade off.

Funnily enough, my iPad and Macbooks never get slowed down, even if it's 5+ years. It's only for the iPhones. I guess they view the iPhone as fast fashion or something, but the ethical component is not acceptable to me.

? I use it a lot to read PDFs and watch videos...

only if I cannot reasonably access a computer will i use a thumb-typing touchscreen device to do serious work. as computing devices, they are sub-par when compared to desktops. as telephones, they are subpar compared to dumbphones

Same. I haven't used my tablet since I got mine.

What are you doing on the large screen?

Doesn't have the same polish? Are you kidding me.

How do you go back on iOS? Oh yeah it depends on which app and sometimes even where you are within one app. On android? Use the navigation bar or the same back gesture, every time all the time.

I dont mind iphones but with how they lock down their devices and do things like prevent you from removing keyword suggestions so when your keyboard starts harassing you, you are out of luck.and the edges are so sharp and uncomfortable to hold.

Its like wearing a thong or being locked in chastity.As a male I dont understand why people people wear those things.

I heard a stat the other day in the Dithering podcast, I’m not sure from where, that said that foldable phones are something like 1.7% of the market in the US.

If that’s close it’s not why Samsung‘s market share increased so much. That was for ALL foldable phones of all brands. That wouldn’t make statistical sense.

There are people who like foldable phones. Apple does not have them. And Samsung‘s market share went up.

Thats all we know. The rest is a catchy headline.

Foldable phones are selling like hot cakes outside the U.S. but I don't know about the U.S. market. Could be catching up.

   Here are some things to know about folding phones

   1. They're like expensive cars. Do not own one without a warranty
   2. As soon as the new model comes out, swap it in
   3. If you're into smaller phones, they're a good option
   4. They are not for the financially conscious. Those things are kind of a status symbol

I see this in media all the time. Make factual statements and imply they are connected, but with zero data if they actually are. Or claim "People are doing X" without any data if a statistically relevant number are actually doing X or just the 2 people they found as an example

Just anecdotally I spent some time with older members of my family a couple months back in a hospice situation, and folding phones were very popular with everyone at the facility. If your vision isn't the best and maybe your hands aren't so steady, having double the real estate makes a big difference.

We don't, but can extrapolate:

[1] Reviewer comparison: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45209164

[2] Specs: iPhone Air: 5.64mm, 165g vs. Samsung Edge: 5.8mm, 163g, 200MP camera, stereo, larger battery

https://www.facebook.com/theapplehubofficial/posts/galaxy-s2...

[3] Demand by young man: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678489

You can see in the report that this article is based on that is a cyclical swing that happens every year based on their respective release cycles. Silly article.

https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/us-smartphone-market-q2-202...

I felt this way at one point and vocally proclaimed as such on here. My Fold 5 developed a bubble under the screen protector after about 18 months. I sent it into Samsung through the website to get it repaired. Whoever "repaired" it, just seemed to slice the screen protector down the middle with an knife so it had a big ugly line down the center. Predictably, it was full of bubbles again within a week. I'm not even bothering opening it anymore for fear that it will break the inner screen. Between this and the fact that I had another two Samsung phones that developed hardware faults making them unusable after 2 years of use, I'm absolutely done with Samsung. Before that, I had an iPhone that was still going strong after 7 years. I'm preordering an iPhone tomorrow and selling the Samsung. Doubt I will be venturing into the Android ecosystem again. Might get an Apple foldable depending on what the initial reports are like on durability after it's been around for a couple of years. The time sink of having to transfer a phone across is high and I really cba with doing it because of avoidable screen repair.

If you prefer to carry a dedicated camera in addition to a phone, aren't you a far outlier? To the point that one of the most common sayings in photography is "the best camera is the one you carry" (even when it's the sub-par one).

Given the price and fragility of foldables, I’m happier to stick to a cheap phone with a small screen to minimise the urge to use it (second-hand iPhone 13 Mini), and carry around a Kobo for reading needs.

I had two friends that said the same thing and now both have iPhones. They got sick of constantly sending in their phones to be replaced for screen failures. One had a pixel other had a Samsung.

The one with a pixel final break was when he landed in Belize to start a vacation and the screen died. Entire vacation he had to borrow wife’s iPad mini to read.

I also bought a 2nd hand Fold 4 for $700... it lasted a year before the wifi/bluetooth broke, it stopped folding all the way, and eventually stopped booting up.

Seem to always have reliability issues with Samsung phones. Hopefully the 6th iteration is more stable.

I'd still prefere regular phone (wouldn't mind something smaller, like 5,5" with bigger battery) and dedicated e-ink ebook reader... it's just more convenient and with it I'm guaratneed to be distraction free...

Which app do you use to read?

I genuinely think book reading is the killer app for foldable devices. A bigger screen for a movie or TV is nice to have, but not a game changer. When you have that much screen real estate you can get a really enjoyable experience reading a novel or just easily read a textbook or research paper in a way that's simply not possible on even the largest of what you might consider a typical size phone.

Plus, you no longer need to deal with buying and maintaining a separate device like an iPad! This is why I suspect Apple is dragging its feet on the foldable category, besides letting the screen technology mature. It will probably cannibalize some sales from that market segment.

The big future that I see for foldables is as tablets for note takers.

Microsoft and Apple have already proven that students are willing to shell out the money to buy $1000+ products just to take hand written digital notes on. If Samsung or someone else could create a foldable that's in the ~$1500 range that can fold out into the size of an ipad mini AND has a good pen usage and storage situation, I believe it will sell incredibly well.

It'd be so cool to be able to walk to a lecture with only your phone.

That's curious. Folding phones are in the same bucket as 3D television in my mind.. but I'm probably not the target market.

Multi app works pretty well too, when I need to cross reference between apps throwing them each up on the split halves is way better than swapping back and forth.

Sounds horrible to me. Why would I want to do the extra step of flipping things open and typing in two form factors. But then I’m not really watching long form videos on my phone so maybe I’m just not the target market.

I had never seen one in the wild until I made a new friend recently, who has one of the foldable Samsung devices. My initial impression was that it is clunky, way too thick/large for comfortable pocket storage+running and it looks cheap for how much it cost... and last week my friend said he got his first ever dead pixel of any of his devices on the foldable phone. Take that opinion and info as you will.

I had the Flip 2, 3, and 5. I just switched to the Moto Razr Ultra and I feel like it is even better. The external screen works almost like the internal screen, making it extremely easy to use. Samsung locks down their external screen pretty hard and you need a lot of work arounds that still don't give me the same functionality as the Razr.

I also got the Clicks physical keyboard case for it, which turns it into a modern Blackberry type phone. I love it. The physical keyboard means no on-screen keyboard taking up your external screen space. I only actually open my phone a few times a day, which really helps keep doomscrolling at bay. Full discloser, the keyboard isn't perfect and definitely has some quirks and tradeoffs but on the whole I'm glad I got it.

When it goes on sale, I'm going to give it a go with the Moto Razr 2025 with the Clicks keyboard case. Closed, it looks almost exactly like an old Blackberry, but it can flip open to a normal-ish (coming from an iPhone Mini very tall) screen when needed.

I switched to a Motorola after my Samsung repeatedly nagged me about offers in my area with the ever popular "not now" instead of "f*ck off" button.

I'd like a foldable but not so much to pay $1300 for the Razr.

I care little about privacy, but OneUI just looks ugly to me.

It starts with Samsung's app icons. They all feel like a cheap knockoff of either Apple or Google to me.

I don't want to get a device where the UI looks like this.

Other than that, the Z-Fold 7 looks like a great device. I hope Google catches up.

Every company doesn't do well with privacy. So the next step matters -- security.

Out of all the companies, Google and Samsung are by far the most secure companies in terms of breaches and the magnitude of those breaches.

Of course, not going to that next step would be ideal, but at least you have some control over your choice on security.

There is a positive side to that though. For example, their alternative to Apple's Find My seems to work quite well.

Yes but it's not ugly in the look/fashion sense, it's just ugly because it doesn't match a reality where it has a purpose.

Either they have good form factor closed but they suck open or they have good form factor open but they suck closed. They could go with no external screen but it would be much more annoying to use. And I think it says something fundamental about smartphones, that Steve Jobs intuitively understood: it's a good tool when you can pull it out of your pocket and use it in seconds (preferably one-handed when possible). Having a bigger screen but that needs to be unfolded doesn't add any benefits to this primary need and ends up requiring a lot of compromises (weight/volume, compromising pocket ability) for uses cases that are infrequent and would be better served by a typical table anyway. Funnily enough, in those situations you are quite likely to have the bag to carry this solution so the foldable phone becomes moot.

To make things worse, they are ridiculously expensive, often more than what it would cost to buy both an equivalent phone and tablet, which is at the same time stupid and genius. And yes, this is precisely why they are a social status thing. You have to be quite affluent to buy something so practically stupid, you are basically burning cash.

I find folding phones interesting for what they so aptly demonstrate about life in general: no matter how hard you try, you can't have it both ways.

The functional advantage should be obvious as soon as you open a book or website.

Particularly so if the content has a table, grid, or similar.

Typing isn't perfect, but it's somewhat better.

Photos and images are so much better on the foldable.

For videos the advantage isn't so great, but at least you don't need to rotate the phone. You can watch both horizontal and vertical content.

Considering how most customers prefer a large phone, I'd rather bet on foldables becoming the default.

That's the thing, all phones are ugly, but folding phones bring such life improvements that nobody seems to care.

I bought mine because it's useful, it's weird to read that someone would think that it's a status symbol. Are noise canceling headphones a status symbol too for you?

I mean who cares that much what their metal slab looks like? I jest because I know lots of people do, but it really should be a thing primarily for function. I'd like a foldable if it had as nice cameras as my current phone.

If you attached 2 iPhone Airs, you'd have a chonky foldable at 11.2mm getting into territory where people complained with the previous Samsung.

Samsung's current, Fold 7, is 8.9mm closed. Turns out you can actually go thinner than a thin slab like Samsung Edge (5.8mm) or iPhone Air (5.6mm) because you can move components out of one side and put them in the other, including battery. This lets Samsung build a foldable that's 4.2mm when open, meaningfully slimmer than either the Edge or Air.

My guess is Apple's book-style foldable will be ~4mm open and ~8.5mm closed and just edges out Samsung's Fold 8 when they ship next year.

And it's still worse than an Honor Magic

Flip phones happened because tech have plateaued, so downstream product development iterated on weird phone casings and keyboard placements.

Why does it excite you?

Can you type with only one hand on a flip phone ?

I gave that a try, but it wasn't particularly economic.

I considered buying a keyboard for this case. I then decided against it. Probably carrying a MacBook Air makes more sense if I want to get work done on the go.

That said, I'm happy with my new Pixel 9 PF. It's better than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

I also own various Apple devices, but I can't say there's any ecosystem integration I particularly miss.

Instead of iCloud I just use Google Drive now. I can still do facetime calls on my Mac. Also I continue to use the Home app on the iPhone.

I responded in another thread about the iPhone Air that I wanted something from Apple that's smaller than my current iPhone 13 mini. There are at least two of us!

lol, what is going on inside this comment, you're like whiplashing between having preferences and explaining why you should want fancy things but then actually you don't.

like... it's completely okay to not want something expensive not because you're poor but because you just don't want to spend money on it; your preferences for what's worth money to you don't have to be justified to anyone else. Except for maybe your family.

Personally I don't have any desire to buy any of those expensive things at all, because I don't even notice their existence, but that's just me. Seems better to be minimalistic. Similarly, to not have any debt, because why would you want to be more stressed and tied to a job than the minimum possible? But maybe it's different if your friends / social circle cares about shiny things or something.

Almost identical? The Fold 4 was 14.2mm thick and weighed 263g while the Fold 7 is 8.9mm and weighs 215g.

The Z Fold 4 feels like two flagships stacked in your pocket. The Fold 7 is lighter than an iPhone Pro max and only a vinyl sticker thicker. It feels identical to a flagship in your pocket but it's got an 8" screen. Not innovative? Where's Apple's innovation toward an 8" smartphone?

I have had the fold 7 for 5 weeks (since release day). It's fantastic. My daughter won't touch any other phone now - she loves the big screen. My only gripe is that the fold is a bit tricky to open, otherwise, it's the big breakthrough in phones we have been waiting 10 years for.

Apple sometimes manages to wait out bad ideas: they never gave into the bad idea of touchscreen "convertible" laptops, just conceding the touch bar which is now extinct.

Don't make it sound like Apple is some sort of victim of regulation who's being picked on the whole time.

They will not get fines and lawsuits if they make a foldable phone with a display that degrades over time.

I do think a move like this will hurt their reputation for making durable devices. They are a victim of their own success a little here.

Well not really. Apple ignored bendgate for ages, they ignored butterfly issues for ages, antennagate as well - to whicjbt they told customers "you're holding it wrong".

As for other manufacturers not being held liable, Galaxy Note 7 had plenty of related lawsuits and customer action holding them accountable amongst many other cases of the same.

Apple is just a company like any other.

They are now also foldable! Z Flip 7 - check it.

Seems like people in this thread cant take a joke.

Lie.

I think there are two factors that drive the purchase. Primarily - it's a status symbol. I am reminded of the scene with Paul Allen's business card...

But also that it's useful when you want a larger display surface in a more portable form. Like watching films on an airplane or reading documents without having to constantly swipe & zoom.

I agree with the other poster(s) that Apple is likely working on a folding model, even though it would sabotage sales of some iPad models.

The trend, if there is one, will be effected in no measurable way when a few nerds bail because they can't remove Samsung's browser.

By the way, outside of core phone features like Phone (dialer,) Settings, Camera, etc. you can disable or uninstall everything else without sideloading anything.

Very, very, very few consumers even know what sideloading is

Unfortunately, very few people care about sideloading.

And for those who do, Apple has been blocking sideloading for years.

The actual solution is to buy a phone that supports GrapheneOS. No bloatware, install what you want, and get top class security and privacy too.

Believe it or not people use phones for different purposes. Some people carry phones in bags or purses where space not a not a big concern. Some people use their phones for work and a bigger screen is helpful in the process and for multitasking. Some people aren't rough with their phones either.

A fad doesn't last this long. We are on year 7 of foldables available in the mainstream and sales and production are only increasing. Every major OEM has at least foldable or is releasing one soon. 3D TV's were fully dead in 7 years for context.

If your eyes are young and you only use the phone alone. If you are older you need reading glasses for small screens. If you are showing a video to someone else you need a larger screen to see detail.

of course not knowing you or your uses I can't say if any of this should matter to you. Still it seems like a nice idia not a fad. Only time will tell if people really want it once the fad is over.

> it be un-foldable compromises the battery life, overall thickness (when folded) and weight to at least some extent

Not as much as you would think.

The Galaxy Fold 7 has a 6.5" outer screen (as compared to 6.3" screen in the iPhone 16 pro), is 8.9mm thick when folded (8.25mm in the iPhone 16 pro), has a 4400mAh battery (3,582 mAh in the iPhone 16 pro), and weighs 215g (199 grams for the iPhone 16 pro).

> plus it costs way more

The big downsides are price of $1999 launch price as compared to $999 launch price for the iphone 16 pro and durability. For durability, the foldable screens seem to be very soft making it easy to damage, say with a thumbnail.

I could see it for older people.

My mom and uncles all use extremely large font sizes, they’re barely able to see a whole text at once and they check pictures by traversing them while highly zoomed.

It doesn’t appeal to me either, but I’ve often heard “functionality, taken to an extreme, becomes fashion”. I think that might be what’s happening here. There are _some_ cases in which you might want a foldable phone. But even if you don’t need it, a (good) foldable phone becomes a status symbol.

See also: expensive mechanical watches, sports cars, bottles that hold temperature for 24 hours

I’d much rather have a screen that unfurls like a scroll.

Checkout Huawei Mate XT: 2 folds

It could be an SNL skit

Wdym? Why act like the iPhone air is the start of the thin phone trend when the Samsung edge came out before it, and I'm sure plenty of other specifically targeting thinness phones came out even before that. Sounds like Apple is giving into "herd mentality" (which isn't actually a bad thing as long as the herd follows consumer needs).

Oh, but then it wouldn't be a special little club.

My parents are both on their third flip phones. Some people really like the form factor

The iPhone Air will quite likely be successful, but it's also plainly a gimmick.

Folding phone user here, you will have one in the next 5 years for sure