Foldable phones: The Future of mobile phone technologies?

 

A foldable phone is a smartphone with a unique display that can fold in half, much like a sheet of paper.

Foldable and 2-in-1 devices provide users with new ways to adapt their device to their mobile context, allowing users to switch device configuration, screen size and shape, and input mechanism in seconds.

Traditionally interfaces like desktops, tablets, and smartphones have suggested predictable requirements such as screen size and input modes.

However, foldable and 2-in-1 devices challenge these norms by allowing users to dynamically change screen size, shape,, and input method in moments.

Foldables include a touchscreen with a center hinge, allowing users to physically fold the device in several configurations.

Users can fold it completely in half, or alternatively they can completely unfold the screen—with some foldables transforming into a screen the size of a tablet.

Some foldables can be turned into an upside-down V like a “tent” to multitask across each half of the screen.

Similarly, 2-in-1s, which include features of both touchscreen tablets and laptop computers, allow users to choose from a variety of device configurations and input mechanisms (e.g. Touch, keyboard) to meet their contextual needs.

Due to how these devices blur the lines between traditional device types, these devices and their users carry implications for practitioners developing interactive media applications.

Foldable smartphones are relatively new to the consumer market, with major manufacturers beginning to release devices in late 2019.

Now, whether the foldable design will completely take the consumer market will depend on three things.

Firstly, the global economy: can people afford to buy such expensive phones?

Secondly, whether, and to what degree, they will increase consumers’ quality of life: are these phones’ foldable screens just a gimmick or will they make life easier for its users?

And thirdly, further innovation: how long will it take before another company releases a smartphone with a more innovative design?

Firstly, we must look at basic economics. Will people be able to afford such expensive devices, or will the vast majority of consumers simply be priced out?

A phone this expensive will require potential buyers to have a great deal of disposable income.

For many people, a device this expensive, especially one they already have (minus the foldable screen) will cost them a large portion of, if not their entire, paycheck for a whole month’s work, even with an improving global economy. So right from the start, it appears that many people will be priced out completely.

Secondly, will these foldable smartphones increase the consumer’s quality of life?

These phones are basically 2-in-1 devices, combining the capabilities of a smartphone with the bigger screen and accessibility of a tablet.

Tablets sure, make things easier for the user, with their larger screen and all, but these smartphones, which have much less functionality, will be priced higher than a high-end computer or laptop.

Portability then, is what the consumer will be primarily paying for, but just how much is portability worth?

Lastly, it is important to consider further innovation.

How long will this ‘innovative’ design last in an industry moving at a very, rapid pace?

This idea of a foldable smartphone sounds, more like a pit stop along the road to further development and innovation.

It seems more like an add-on than an entirely new product. The question is, will making this pit stop be worth it in the long run?

Along with the development of smartphones, more and more different forms of cell phones are appearing, the sales of foldable screen cell phones are increasing, and the practicality of such phones has become a focus.

Due to the development of technology and the application of more new technologies, foldable mobile phones will eventually become a popular form of smartphone.

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