Smartphones Are About to Get Weird
As sales slow, phone-makers may get gimmicky
The future is foldable, if smartphone makers are to be believed. At Mobile World Congress in February, Samsung announced that it would release a futuristic folding phone at the end of April for an eye-popping $1,980.
The Galaxy Fold unfurls from a phone into a tablet-sized device. It’s mesmerizing to watch people use this device, like something out of a science-fiction movie. Huawei, Xiaomi, and others have already announced their own rival foldable gadgets. Apple is rumored to be looking into the technology. Foldable screens may soon be everywhere.
This just leaves one simple question: Why?
Foldable devices are one possible solution to a problem many of the world’s biggest tech manufacturers are worried about: shrinking smartphone sales. Our phones are lasting longer than ever, which is great for consumers who don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars every year but not so great for manufacturers who want those consumers to buy new phones every year. The current state of technology isn’t going to do it; companies need something flashy, marketable, and entirely original to make consumers willing to trade in their current phones for a pricier new model. A phone that folds is just one possibility; weirder is going to be better for the next wave of smartphones.
Smartphone manufacturers looking to boost their sales may benefit, but the advantages to consumers are more questionable. Foldable phones offer few benefits over a conventional iPhone or Android device. There’s more screen to break and delicate hinge mechanisms, potentially raising the cost of repairs should something go wrong — and something usually goes wrong with first-generation technology. Official Android support for these devices isn’t even available yet. And if you look closely at Samsung’s Galaxy Fold announcement, you’ll see awkwardly sized screens that don’t totally fill the allotted space.
The current reality is that the companies marketing foldable phones have failed to come up with a compelling pitch for how they’ll improve your…
