It’s the end of 2018 and smartphones continue to evolve at furious rates. I mean, how cool does an in-screen fingerprint scanner sound? It’s definitely an exciting time for the smartphone industry.
One aspect of smartphones and tablets which some people seem to be really excited about are “folding phones”. As the name suggests, the technology allows you to literally fold your device in half and only use half the screen. There’s a lot of hype in the media about it as the final prototypes come together for consumer use.
Now, I appreciate the fact that the technology is still in its infancy, but I can’t help but think what a stupid idea it is. Here’s why I say that:
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Durability
I cannot help but think how fragile a folding device would be. There’s bound to be issues with the folding mechanism that can mess your device up permanently. Obviously it can only be bent in a certain way, but I believe there’d still be issues with parts inside the device one way or another. The folding mechanism could break or seize. Maybe a cable inside could come loose, or the screen could slowly become damaged if you somehow happen to pinch the screen edge too much when it’s folded.
You have to remember that current screens are effectively two dimensional. A three dimensional screen like a folding one has a whole other layer of physics involved when you drop it or if you apply too much pressure at the wrong angle.
Practicality
Phones would have to be sufficiently large in length, breadth and thickness in order to have the ability to fold them. This means that if you want a folding phone, you’re going to be left with a large, thick device that you have to carry around. And the main question here is: why would you need a folding device? If you want something with both a large screen and a small screen, that solution already exist: a phone and a tablet. I can’t picture someone holding a 3/4 inch thick phone, before putting it in their pocket ready to get crushed in their tight jeans.
I mean, look at the device below made by FlexPai:
It’s too big to be a phone in that folded state. You can’t fit it in your pocket, folded or unfolded. You effectively have a tablet that you can fold in half. I don’t know of anyone that wants a tablet that can half its screen size, do you? It’s not like the total size of the device changes, it’s basically still the same size. Even if you could totally fold it back onto itself, you still wouldn’t be able to put that in your pocket, at least without some effort and in a safe manner.
Screen and part quality
I don’t think a lot of people realize that a screen with the ability to bend is not going to be the best quality. In terms of resolution, brightness, colors and power efficiency, current technology will continue to outpace the folding screens. Yes, they may be better five years from now, but imagines how better a flat screen would be five years from now as well? This could apply to other parts as well.
Safety
This isn’t a big issue, but I thought I’d add it on anyway. What if a kid tried to bend the device the wrong way (i.e horizontally instead of vertically) or there was a manufacturing defect or design issue, and the device battery got a little bit bent? OK, it’s fine if it’s gets bent a little once or twice BUT once you start doing it several times the battery would really weaken and become unsafe. I’m aware that designers wouldn’t put a battery where the device gets bent, but I can’t help but think that there will be a few cases where something goes wrong and a battery explodes or leaks. Bendy device + stupid human + lithium battery = not the best idea. Again, unlikely to happen, but the possibility exists.
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Forgive me if, in five years, foldable devices are mainstream and the latest technology. But right now I cannot see how they could become a commercial success. Who would fork out excessive cash for an impractical solution when there are better options available?