Folding smartphones have gained traction in recent years, withSamsung selling more foldables in Europethis year than the old Note series ever managed. But most of those sales are likely from flip phones. Aside from being more reasonably priced, phones like the Z Flip solve real problems, like fitting in handbags and tight pockets, something my wife values. Where does that leave book-style foldables as the tablet market continues to shrink?
The tablet market is shrinking
As noted by IDC,the tablet market is shrinking. Tablets grew in popularity during the pandemic, but the market is now returning to pre-pandemic figures. This makes sense, considering how the tablet market reacted to large-screen phones. In 2013, tablets like the Nexus 7 were popular devices because they could easily fit in a bag and provided a better video-watching experience than the smartphones of that era. But once smartphones started to grow, small tablets became pointless, leaving the large screen tablets for the few that use them regularly. When people go out and live their busy lives, they need devices that are easy to carry, and devices like the iPad, Pixel Tablet, and Galaxy Tab S9 don’t fit that requirement.
Foldables — the good
This is where foldables make a strong argument. My Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Fold 5 that replaces it easily fit in a pocket and bag despite opening up into a 7.6-inch canvas. I’ve been fortunate enough to use the Fold 3 and 4, and the former was an excellent device for an event like Comic Con. At the time, you needed a QR code to prove you’d had your vaccination in addition to the QR code for your ticket, and having them both on the screen at once side-by-side was far more accessible than switching apps, especially as the Comic-Con app had a habit of crashing in the background.
The larger screen comes in handy for navigation as well. My car doesn’t have built-in Android Auto, so using the Fold with a Magsafe mount and adapted case has become my go-to for long road trips. Aside from these niche use cases, a foldable is good at everything you’d use a tablet for. Media consumption, reading, video calls, and document management are great on a display that is large.
Foldables — the bad
Let’s start with durability. The original Galaxy Fold had to be delayed after a disastrous review period, withthe CEO admitting the phone was pushed through before it was ready. Samsung has come a long way since then, with the Fold 3 adding water resistance for the first time. I still have my Fold 3 and 4, and both of their inner screens are flawless, even now.
The same can’t be said for their screen protectors, though. Both of these phones needed to have the inner screen protector replaced after about eight months of use, and while Samsung does this for free the first time, you have to go to a Samsung Store or send the device off to have it done. In the UK, we only have Samsung stores in London. Most of us will have to send the device off; in my experience, that takes about two weeks. Losing access to your phone for two weeks is never good, especially if it’s a regular occurrence.
While my displays have survived, failures are still prevalent. Reddit is full of reports of cracks appearing spontaneously within the crease, and reviewers like Micheal Fisher and Linus Sebastian have experienced this with their devices. Regardless of how good the support and warranty are, you shouldn’t have to expect your $1,700 phone to be out of action regularly.
Cameras and battery life are also issues. My Fold 4 can usually make it through a day of use, but only if I’m careful. My Galaxy S23 Ultra always has at least 30% left when I go to bed, and I don’t even think about being careful with it. It’s the only phone I’ve owned where I can go out for an evening with friends at 50% without taking a power pack — I can be confident it’ll last. You can’t have that confidence with foldables; heavy days with 5G and max brightness will kill them faster.
The Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open have improved the camera situation, but they still fall behind their slab phone counterparts, and that’s especially true of Samsung.
Speaking of price, here we find the biggest hurdle. I’m fortunate enough to have long-term review samples of the Fold 3 and Fold 4, and I love using them for all the reasons mentioned at the start, but I would never pay $1,700 for them. I’m not opposed to expensive phones; the S23 Ultra is my personal phone, but at $1,200, I’m not sacrificing battery life, cameras, durability, or reliability. Most people will never want to spend $1,700 for any mobile device, folding or not.
Now, Samsung makes this more accessible than others during the pre-order period. Even now, you can get $1,000 off for trading in a Fold 3, which makes upgrading easier. If you don’t already have a folding phone, something like an S21 Ultra or Note 20 Ultra will net you $800, and a Pixel 7 Pro is worth $600 toward the Fold 5. That brings a Fold 5 down to the same price as an S23 Ultra.
That’s all well and good, but buying a regular phone would still be cheaper. Sticking with Samsung, you can get an S23 Ultra for $600 if you trade in an S21 Ultra, which is still significantly less than the Fold 5 with discounts.
Pricing is even more important when considering the average tablet people buy. It’s not the expensive Pro or Ultra models; it’s the cheaper tablets people buy most often. Unless you plan to use a tablet for productivity or content creation, a reasonably affordable tablet provides what most people want: A big screen to watch videos on and read from.
Foldables will never cost the same as regular phones due to the added screen and complexity of the hinge, but they need to get closer before people are willing to consider them, and even then, durability concerns will have to be addressed, too.
Why are companies pushing them?
For a long time, Samsung was the only company pushing large foldables, especially in the US. That isn’t the case now that Google and OnePlus have entered the US market with the Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open, and more companies will likely follow. Why do they expect this device category to grow despite the shrinking tablet market and the limitations of these phones? The best-case scenario is that they’re playing the long game. Offer the devices as they are now and let people willing to spend this much on them subsidize the research and development needed to address durability and pricing until the cost can come down.
The most likely and cynical reason is marketing. It’s hard to be as excited about smartphones as we used to be. In 2013, more RAM and a faster processor made a significant difference compared to the last model, but smartphones aren’t luxury items anymore; they’re tools.
Foldables allow companies to give the impression that they’re innovating. They probably think that, even if you buy a regular phone, you may be more likely to do so if you believe the company is working on products of the future.
I hope the former is true. If the likes of Samsung and Google can bring prices down and make these phones last, I think a foldable future would be exciting. I may have switched back to a regular phone myself, but there are still times every day that I wish I were carrying a foldable. But for now, the sacrifices aren’t worth it for most people, and most people aren’t very interested in a tablet to begin with. The future is uncertain, but perhaps with more devices brought to market as the tech grows, manufacturers will eventually convince consumers why they should move to a foldable.
