Android

I've had the Fold 2 for about 3 years now and it works like a charm. No issues with battery or folding issues. I would never go back to a non-folding phone.

The flips smaller size is awesome, but I think that positive is offset by the annoyance of having to open the phone the every time.

The fold I could see myself buying in a later gen. Once the hinge and screen are through a few more iterations I think I'll buy one. The huge screen is just so nice. But folded up it shouldn't be much heavier, larger, thicker than a normal phone, I already think modern phones are way too big as it is.

Maybe battery life, and I don't want to give up my headphone jack and memory card slot. :(

Cost isn't a real concern for me; Samsung has very aggressieve discount pricing where I am, I could get a Z Fold 4 with the same RAM/memory for about 10% more than the S23 Ultra, so I effectively see it as a freebie small tablet with an expensive phone.

I don't see a point.

I hated the idea until I bought a Fold4. I'm always careful with my electronics, even so, I've dropped it several times on accident and had zero issues. I can't imagine going back to a slab phone, the flexibility of the extra screen real estate is something I use so often that it really would be a significant disruption to my everyday to go back to a slab.

Reliability is a reasonable concern, but the benefits far outweigh the potential risks for me. If you're breaking phones all the time, they probably aren't a good fit for you. I don't bring my phone to beach so maybe I'm more careful than the average user - regardless, I guess that's why I have a smartwatch.

I love my fold 4, and as long as I can afford them, will never go back to a normal phone. I believe in holding onto phones as long as possible, and won't be getting a fold5 or fold6 if my screen holds out becsuse that's just silly. This one works.

I mmade the jump based on the following argument: People agree to pay $1200 for an XL model phone every year but why. 6.X inches has been the standard since like...the pixel 2. 5 years now? People keep buying phones every year for what? There was nothing new. It's marginally, unnoticeablely faster. The screen wasnt getting bigger. The pixel 3xl was just a pixel 2xl but newer. (I bought my 3xl when 5s had been announced so I wasn't paying full retail) There was no reason to buy new phones every year and stay paying money to my telecom. The features just did not add up year over year and felt stagnant. I bought a pixel3 only because the pixel2 battery started inflating.

If you own a budget model phone, a flagship is worth that cost. If you hang onto your phone for 3+ years, a new flagship is worth the cost. But if you have a flagship, made last year, why would you sign a lease every year, what does perpetually paying $50 a month actually do for you? Phones are stagnant. You're just paying to not have an old phone, or you're paying because you want the ego of having a new phone. (No judgement just how people are, being the first person with a noticably new phone and getting complements feels good, I would know lol)

So I said fuck it and got a Fold2 right as price dropped, when fold3s dropped. I signed for 900, and had it a year. People complain about size, the crease, the weight. But ultimately these are petty whines. You stop noticing it. Hold your iPhone Max. Hold your Galaxy Ultra. Now go pick up a tiny flip phone from 2005. Go pick up an iPhone 4, or a galaxy 4. Your phone now is huge and heavy. You didn't notice it because you got used to it. Folds are the same way. I traded my fold 2 for a fold 4 because burgundy and camera bump was much better. Cases for the fold2 were hard to find and fold4 came with one. Otherwise I would still have the fold2.

Fragility. Treat your $2000 phone with respect. Based on some peoples screens you'd swear they use it as a fucking hammer in their spare time. I understand here is where people have issues. The plastic screen is a dealbreaker I get it. If you drop it, caseless, onto concrete yes you do run the risk of breaking it. People wanting a more durable screen is fair. Hard agree. Samsung is the leader in this field and noone is challenging it yet, so they're slacking. I pay $8 a month for asurion insurance through my provider. For $150 if I total the screen I get a new phone no questions asked. I really can't ask for a better deal than that. If you're on the fence, and the fragile screen scares you, get insurance. I don't blame people too much for being afraid of breaking it, but there's options now, where there wasn't with the fold 1 and 2.

And no, I'm not a samsung mouthpiece. The repairability on folds is fucking ass. If you dont have insurance, the big screen is like $700. On top of that, battery replacements are total wash because Samsung doesn't believe in pulltabs. If fragility is your issue, I get it. Anything else? Nah you will be ok you just gotta get used to it.

I mean they cost at least a grand.

I actually used to have one, but even though I was very careful with it, the screen kept breaking from normal everyday use. Eventually, my phone insurance decided they'd no longer cover this type of phone due to it being too fragile, so I went back to using a regular phone.

Since getting a wearable display, screens are no longer a priority.

I have a foldable and I hate my foldable. I am literally counting down the days until I can get rid of it.

In the beginning, it was fine but I didn't use the tablet mode as much as I thought I would. It was mostly just videos and manga. Then the hinge started to get dust or debris under it and wouldn't open all the way. This has slowly gotten worse and worse and I don't even want to open it even if I have a good use case now.

The device is also bulky obviously which is fine but with a case, it's about an inch thick which is a bit unwieldy.

The battery life is awful, even without using the main screen. I usually have to charge once a day and overnight.

I just miss my Note. Nice big wide screen, comfortable to hold. Nice stylus. :(

Paying more for a less durable device is not what I prefer to do.

Any next phone I will buy will have to last me more than 5 years minimum. So far the only phone that I can safely assume to do so is whatever the latest Fairphone will be when my pixel 6 dies.

This phone as aged like milk.

My previous one, the OnePlus 5T did last me 5 years. And I want to repeat that.

A foldable won't even last me half a year if I'm not careful about debris on the screen every single time I fold it.

I love my Fold 3. Only real complaints are how many apps are not built to support the front screen's thinness. It was the most expensive phone I've ever purchased even at 50% off used (around $900), but for the amount of hours I use it, it seems justified. For maps, photos, and reading, the inner screens are awesome. I mostly use the outer because most things do not need the full size. Can't imagine it without the outer screen. Durability not an issue so far, whether that's waterproofness, sand in the fold, or the crease.

Nobody's mentioned it, but the main thing for me is that the screen aspect ratio isn't any good.

I've always preferred bigger screens and bigger phones and willing to pay a bit extra for a foldable screen now they've been on the market for a while. I doubt they'll last as long as a normal phone screen, but they generally review well and I get they impression they are more durable than most people expect.

But.. the main benefit of a big screen (for me) is for watching videos. If it's not 16:9 (or close to it) then what's the point? I don't need to multitask on my phone, I'll switch to a laptop for that - I've had phones that do split screen for years and it was a cool gimmick for a while, but I've never really made good use of it.

If anyone can tell me of a phone with a big screen and 16:9 aspect ratio then I'd be willing to reconsider...

Marginal utility. If I was paying 2x or 3x for the 2x or 3x more useful functionality I might actually consider it. As I have before with better processors or cameras etc.

But more screen real estate and/or novel UIs for folded vs unfolded aren't doing anything for me. Maybe if I was a billionaire, but honestly even then it might not be worth it depending on how many people actually develop for it. It could just end up being a constant frustrating experience of apps that do weird things because this use case was never considered.

Price, that's it.

Love flip phones, love small phones, 'ate expensive phones

I can see getting a Pixel Fold 3 Pro or something like that when it comes out in a few years. That is if Google doesn't lose interest in the product line in the meantime...

I have been using my Pixel 7 Pro for almost a year and it's still perfect so I am not in need of a new device. But I certainly like the pocketable tablet form factor of Fold devices and may very well get one of those next.

My current phone is going strong still and I dont spend more than 200$ on a phone period. Im pretty sure most foldable phones are still 500$+. Besides I like that my phone has a protective case in case of dropping and half of it is both scratch and impact resistant. With these folding phones they seem very fragile and scratch prone. I heard the glass over time gets creases but that was a while ago and they may have improved on that front.I had my fun with flip phones in the 2000s with tracphone, not really a new gimmick for me.

Mix of cost and it doesn't actually benefit me at all. I buy a cheap phone and it does everything it needs to, i don't need to add a 0 to the cost to get no actual benefit for me.

Probably makes more sense for people that actually use their phones for work or something.

Well I have one already, I don't need another one

I typically buy last generation refurbished. I was able to get the Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra for sub $800. The last generation Fold is still over $1000. I need the cool-factor to calm down so the old ones are cheaper.

I do like the idea of them, same size phone takes up half the space in a pocket etc. But my current phone (that I've had since 2017) still works mostly fine.

I do think they've missed a trick by going all in on the foldable plastic display rather than two bezelless screens that folded out to look like one screen. I'm not phone designer but I think it might be more durable to not have the actual screen bending.

I tried a Flip 4 but it had way too many compromises for my taste relative to a regular samsung phone in the same price range, I was also concerned about it's durability as I tend to keep my phones for about 3 years.

too thick

Of course durability is the main issue here but now that you have mentioned it the water resistance too.