Will Foldable Smartphone take off?
The smartphone screen is getting bigger and better. If we are to believe the future trend, smartphone makers are heavily investing in creating smartphones with larger screens such that they can be folded in half.
Although the makers have been designing foldable phones for a few years, it hasn’t yet become a mainstream sensation. But the makers believe that it will catch on soon.
Let’s take a look at the foldable smartphone industry and if there are any chances of it taking off anytime soon.
What is a Foldable Smartphone?
A foldable smartphone is a design for a smartphone that allows the user to fold the display or entire smartphone in half.
It allows access to a larger tablet-like display or a phablet when needed by unfolding the device, whilst maintaining a similar or smaller footprint and functionality to a standard smartphone when folded (typically along a vertical axis).
The concept of foldable device caught up when Nokia in 2008 presented the animated concepts of a flexible device it dubbed "Morph", which had a tri-fold design that could bend into various forms, such as a large unfolded device, a feature phone-sized unit, and a smart wristband.
Many smartphone makers started working on the design in 2018. Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy Fold during its media event at Mobile World Congress in February 2019. When the foldable device was launched later in April it was met with huge criticism for varying forms of display failure.
Many makers have set a deadline of 2020 and 2021 for releasing their version of a foldable smartphone.
According to Bloomberg,
Samsung plans to launch a clamshell phone with a more durable flexible OLED. This phone should cost less than the nearly $2,000 Fold, and it will offer a compact square form factor when closed
BusinessInsider.com reported that,
Apple's first foldable iOS device could launch in 2021, according to analysts at UBS. The analysts note that Apple may launch a foldable iPad before releasing a foldable iPhone.
Are there apps optimized for foldable display phones?
Android is encouraging its developers to optimize the existing apps for a foldable display. It has ‘Screen Continuity’, and so developers won’t have to go through an awful lot of trouble to optimize their apps for foldable displays. Simply put, it is the feature by which an app could smoothly and seamlessly transform to and fro the different screen sizes.
When more makers step into the market with new foldable phones, we may see a rise in apps optimized for the foldable display.
Some of the most sought after Foldable Phones
a. Samsung Galaxy Fold
Samsung Galaxy Fold was released in April 2019. It sports a 7.3-inch QXGA+ (1,536 x 2,152) Dynamic AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 4.2:3. This display called Infinity Flex Display folds in half and you’ve got a 4.58-inch screen on the surface. The phone ships with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB storage.
The phone includes 6 cameras- On the rear, a 16MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera, a 12MP wide-angle camera, and a 12MP telephoto sensor; on the inside is a 10MP (f/2.2) camera and an 8MP (f/1.9) RGB depth camera; upfront, you’ll get a 10MP (f/2.2)
On the software side, you can run three apps alongside each other on the Fold, should you want to. What's more, any app that you're running on the front of the device will seamlessly switch to the middle once you open it out.
b. Huawei Mate X
The Huawei Mate X was unveiled in April 2019, 6.6-inch full-screen smartphone into a 5.4mm thin, eight-inch tablet that features almost double the viewing area of the device in smartphone mode. Huawei calls it as Falcon Wing Mechanical hinge.
It features two battery combining a total capacity of 4500mAh with the 55W HUAWEI SuperCharge support. Under the hood, it also features the Kirin 980 SoC with Balong 5000 5G modem. On the memory department, we have 512GB internally and 8GB of RAM. The phone will ship with a custom-made EMUI 9.1.1 based on Android 9 Pie software.
A triple camera setup powered by Leica optics acts as front cum rear shooters. The trio comprises of a primary 40MP sensor (wide-angle lens), 16MP (ultra-wide-angle lens), and an 8MP sensor (telephoto).
c. Microsoft Surface Duo
Microsoft Surface Duo is another device that comes with twin screens. Interestingly, Microsoft is contesting phone tag as it believes it is creating a new niche device with the Surface Duo.
The Surface Duo is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and features two 5.6-inches screen. Unlike other foldable phones, this Microsoft has a hinge that lets you rotate its 360 degrees. This upcoming foldable device runs on a custom Android built and will become available in the later-half of 2020.
d. MOTOROLA RAZR 2019
The Motorola Razr is coming and, as confirmed in mid-April, it is indeed going to be called the "Motorola Razr", with the new folding screen device retaining the iconic name.
It has a 6.2-inch vertical Flip-View display with a 21:9 aspect ratio. At the top of this screen lies a notch wherein the phone’s 5MP selfie snapper. At the back, there’s a primary 16-megapixel rear shooter, which also substitutes the selfie action while the phone’s in its folded form. This one comes with Night-mode and AI enhancements.
e. LG BENDI
LG never likes to get left too far behind Samsung, and sure enough, it's been one of the busiest companies in developing foldable screen tech – not just for phones but for televisions and other devices (see the image above). In recent months LG has confirmed it's working on foldable phones, without revealing too many other details.
In fact, we think folding LG displays could be used by other phone makers, including Huawei. We were therefore very unsurprised back in January to hear that LG had filed a patent showing off a "mobile phone with a flexible display which can be folded in half", including the diagrams shown below.
What it holds for the future?
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is priced at a whopping $2000 which already makes $551 more than Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max 512GB. Of course, it is pricey and it mostly caters the high-end users or those who can splurge, but the electronic product only sees a great sale when a mass can afford it.
Heavy battery usage is another major concern with foldable phones. The display is larger and comes with additional screens that can empty the battery life in a short span of time. To accommodate a long battery life, makers are installing larger batteries that shoot up the price of the entire product. So, that is one of the reasons why Samsung Galaxy Fold is priced a whopping $2000.
It looks promising for the gamers and users who wish to run multiple apps on the screen at a time. Foldable phones will be fitted with such features that give higher usability.
Many experts suggest that the foldable phones, better known as “Phablet” will replace the traditional tablets.
Everything boils down to the user response to the first generation of Phablets that will hit the market in 2020. If everything goes well, we might more smartphone makers joining the game!