With the arrival of new screen formats, the future was anticipated to be revolutionary, but in the end it is being somewhat repetitive. This is what seems to happen in the Samsung folding family: the generational change does not present hardly any changes, at least in terms of design, mechanics of use and exclusive functions adapted to folding phones. More of the same?
I confess that I am one of those who imagined folding phones as the kind of tablet used by Westworld engineers when they interact with the characters in the park, that device capable of expanding to a generous size starting from minimum dimensions and without the folding factor introducing inconveniences during the use of the device in its different positions. I know it’s an overly optimistic view, but everything pointed in that direction when I was able to see the first folding phones from Samsung and Huawei at the Mobile World Congress in 2019. The reality is being somewhat different.
Foldable phones suffer from the same saturation as “normal” phones
The unwritten laws surrounding smartphone design dictate that smartphones must offer something different from their predecessors in order to distinguish yourself and make it worth the renovation, something that does not happen in reality: we are witnessing new generations that hardly change compared to last year. Identical designs to each other, names that end up confusing (a lot) the catalogs and timid evolutions with which it is difficult to justify a new purchase.
If the great sagas of smartphones with non-flexible screens have become so repetitive that it is difficult to remember the differences between generations, the same is happening to the mobile sector with a flexible panel. It’s true that current technology doesn’t allow for such sci-fi form factors as the aforementioned Westworld tablet, but it does. should open the door to phones capable of offering much more than the curiosity of bending. Samsung is not making it.
I have surprised many times when folding a phone like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, it is undeniable that the first time it breaks the schemes. And it happens with the second time, maybe with the third. In the end, such flexibility ends up being as common as unlocking the phone with your eyes is now., for instance. With another important aspect to take into account: if a flexible screen completely breaks the mechanics of use, said break should bring something more than curiosity to the user. After four generations Samsung should have found a way.
Over the last few years attending events and conferences I have seen flexible experiments of all kinds. Roll-up screens that extend like a scroll, TVs that also roll up and even tablets that fold in three planes until they fold like an accordion. The two Samsung formats seem to me the most practical of all, I don’t think the brand should take a risk with a screen that gets an outstanding in origami. Even so…
The generational leap in the folding range should be more justified
Samsung Galaxy Fold3
We are used to generations being renewed every year, sometimes even every six months. The market commands, since the novelty attracts a higher volume of sales than a product that has been on the market for some time. At the rate at which electronic components advance, this renewal can also be justified in part, not in vain there will always be customers looking for the best of the best in the premium range where the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 move.
The switch to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is a huge step forward for the two foldables, especially in terms of energy efficiency and excess temperature. The larger battery of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 is excellent news, as is the apparent improvement in photography of its older brother, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4. Beyond here, both are practically the same as their predecessors, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3; which in turn do not differ too much in design and user experience with respect to the original folding ones.
Foldable mobiles are not yet phones accessible to any pocket, even if the Flip did take a timid step towards the lower steps of the catalog. Given the possibilities of flexible screens, and the price they impose on the final product, I don’t think the stagnation that the range is suffering is acceptable. Especially after replacing my beloved Galaxy Note (mobiles that also stalled, everything must be said).
I would not pay the 1,800 euros that a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 costs, I consider that what it offers it does not make a clear differentiation with respect to what I can get from a good mobile with a non-flexible screen. And if I were a client of this type of mobile, I would not consider taking the leap either, not even having a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. The evolution has been minimal.
