Folding phones are a niche because they are very expensive to be honest.

Sure, but I wouldn't buy one even if it was in the same price range as phones I usually buy. For me, it will be useful rarely and cumbersome to use the rest of the time.

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dbg31415 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I picked up a folding phone a while back just to test it out, and honestly they're still pretty underwhelming.

The screen isn't really big enough or the right shape to feel like a real upgrade for movies, and a lot of apps just aren't built with foldables in mind. Most of the time it just feels like a weirdly shaped, less powerful, less durable tablet.

On top of that you're dealing with a visible crease across the screen, higher prices for something that's actually more fragile, and bulkier hardware with smaller or split batteries. The tech is cool in theory, but in practice it's a lot of compromises without a clear killer use case.

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baby 6 days ago | parent [-]

which phone was that? I bought the pixel folding 9 last year and it has basically replaced my ipad pro. I watch movies, shows, youtube videos, read PDFs on it, it's really good

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dbg31415 6 days ago | parent [-]

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold.

	▲	ulfw 5 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Things have evolved a ton. I've got an Oppo Find N5. Thinner than iPhone Air when unfolded. Same size as iPhone 16 Pro Max when folded. 16GB Ram, fastest Snapdragon, okay cameras, the screen is magnificent, crease basically invisible in day to day use. Battery larger than any iPhone battery (thanks to Silicon Carbon)
	▲	baby 6 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The tech has got really good really quickly!

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arcticbull 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I have a folding android and it’s very meh. Wouldn’t get one again. It was also free with a prepaid phone plan so I doubt cost is really the factor.

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swores 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

Free with a plan just means you paid for it in installments without them breaking down how much of your monthly payment is going towards the device vs towards the network use. Had you opted for a cheaper device you could have got the same plan for less money. The phone is never actually free, just cleverly marketed to seem free.

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epolanski 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Good foldables are way above the $ 1000 mark.

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TeMPOraL 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

I recently got one of these (Galaxy Z7 Fold) and I can't imagine ever going back to a regular phone. The big screen is what makes the phone finally begin to resemble actual productivity tool.

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arcticbull 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

What makes a good foldable better than say a $700 RAZR?

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Miraste 6 days ago | parent [-]

They're tablet sized screens folding to phone size, instead of phone size folding to half phone size.

	▲	Nevermark 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		Apple should create 1.5x1.5 and 2x2 inch variations of a wrist "Panel Watch Ultra". Be great for diving - and everything else. That would be the half sized phone I would buy.

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nicoburns 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> It was also free with a prepaid phone plan

It's not really free. It's just built in to the cost of your plan. Your plan would be half the price if you weren't paying for the phone.

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johnisgood 5 days ago | parent [-]

Yeah, why do people call it free? You do pay for the phone, just not the full amount upfront.

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arcticbull 5 days ago | parent [-]

It was a prepaid plan that was the same price whether I got the phone or not. I guess you could say everyone who didn’t get the phone was subsidizing those who did, but there’s no way to opt for lower pricing if you BYOD. So no, in this case that’s not really true. If it were Verizon where you can pay less if you BYOD then sure but that’s not what I did.

	▲	johnisgood 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		> It was a prepaid plan that was the same price whether I got the phone or not. Fair enough, then it makes sense to get the phone.