But the more I think about these new foldable flagships, the more I start to believe that they might actually be pretty decent phones. And, dare I say it, perhaps even very good foldables.
They’ll be better for entertainment
My initial negative kneejerk reaction to the foldable iPhone was mainly due to the fact that the external display is so stubby. If you want to use the phone like a traditional model when it’s folded, you will have a lot less screen real estate and everything will be condensed.
Most foldables on the market today, like the excellent Galaxy Z Fold 7, feel like a normal phone when folded. This means that you can take it out and use it for a short task just like you would with a standard phone without having to mess around with unfolding it and navigating a much larger display.
The foldable iPhone and the Galaxy Z Wide Fold won’t work like that. Both phones will have much smaller screens that will be very off-putting in today’s era of smartphones with massive displays that get even bigger each year.
But you know what? The main displays will be wider and have a much better aspect ratio than most traditional foldable smartphones. Like the Huawei Pura X, these two phones will basically resemble a small tablet when unfolded, and that will be awesome for watching movies or playing games, especially as the aspect ratio will be in line with how movies are filmed.
They’ll target a specific type of user
A smaller and stockier outer display but a much wider tablet-like inner display makes me think that these phones won’t necessarily replace current foldables, but they’ll appeal to certain users. A subset of the consumer base that buys phones more for entertainment and novelty rather than utility.
When I think of modern foldables, they appeal to me because I can use them as a standard phone but I can also access a larger display for when I want to consume some media. I don’t always want to use the phone unfolded but I also don’t want to give up the current display sizes that I have grown accustomed to.However, this is just me. I could easily believe that there is a very large segment of smartphone users who would love this take on the foldable formula because they don’t care how large the display is for when they’re just checking the time or replying to a text. Users who would be okay with using these phones folded whenever they’re surfing the internet or watching a YouTube video.
For customers like that, these new foldables will be a no-brainer. I can understand where Samsung and Apple are coming from. There’s even a chance that, when I use these phones myself, I might find them more enticing than their traditional counterparts.
Of course, this is all very experimental for now. Both companies are betting on this form factor taking off with the public. And honestly? I’m beginning to think that they might have bet right.
