The Pros and Cons of Using a Foldable Phone

Apple, Google, Samsung: all the major manufacturers offer foldable phones, and consumers are increasingly curious about them. While the category isn’t huge, accounting for about 2% of the entire smartphone market, it’s growing as buyers decide the features they offer justify their significantly higher price.

But it may be true to say that when you’re spending more than $2,000 on a device, you want it to be able to deliver the high-end features it promises. So, what are the pros and cons of using a foldable phone?

To name a few, people love foldables for:

• Wow factor
• Display size
• Flexible use
• Multitasking and multi-app support
• The foldable device meets multiple needs

We’ll start with the “Wow” factor. The physical transformation of the device when you unfold it and the satisfying “snap” when you fold it attracts attention and provides unique physical feedback that you don’t get in standard smartphones. These devices are new enough that 59% of smartphone owners are interested in this category, although cost and durability concerns remain.

With screens up to 8 inches, the category offers users much larger screens in a product they can pocket. It’s space for relaxed experiences like browsing, video streaming or reading; it is also a space for productive work, writing, editing and creative applications.

Manufacturers are optimizing the operating systems used by smartphones. This means better multitasking, multiple apps opening next to each other, easy content swiping between different apps, and much more. App developers are also enhancing their apps to use these unique folding platforms.

Due to their construction, the devices are flexible to use: use them folded like a phone, open them to become a small tablet, fold them in half to unfold like a mini laptop, or turn the device into a tripod camera for video conferencing, selfies, or photography. This flexibility means that these phones can be used in ways that others cannot.

For all their versatility, there are several drawbacks to consider:

• Foldable Resilience
• Mechanical durability and dust/liquid resilience
• Screen prone to scratches
• Camera quality
• Size and weight
• Applications may not yet be optimized
• Cost of repair and replacement

Foldable devices are tested for their folding resilience – the number of folds they can withstand – but no current model lasts forever. Some older models have visible creases that look unpleasant and interfere with using apps. The flexible plastic or ultra-thin glass screens used may be prone to scratches.

These complex hinge mechanisms can become blocked by dust. Penetration Protection (IP) numbers help us assess the potential of this; the higher the first number of an IP rating, the more resilient the device should be.

Earlier devices were relatively heavy and thick; some still balk at the weight. For example, the four most popular foldable devices in the United States weigh more than 200g, in part because of the larger battery requirements for screens. To make the devices thinner, designers have dispensed with bulky camera mechanisms, meaning the cameras on most devices in this category are less advanced than those on high-end smartphones.

When it comes to app optimization, some apps still struggle to scale or transition smoothly between external and internal displays. Manufacturers and app developers are working to improve user experience, but for now, if you depend on mission-critical apps, you should ask developers to confirm their support for foldables.

Finally, there is repair and replacement. With more moving parts, repair costs will be high. iFixit warns that these devices are currently “not repairable.” With the “Wow” factor fueling a constant street trade in lost/stolen devices, smartphone insurance is essential.

Should you buy a foldable smartphone?

Considering all of the above, should you buy a foldable device? It depends on what you want from your phone. If you need a larger screen for reading, working, or multitasking and don’t mind paying extra, the category has certainly become mature enough to be your daily driver. If you’re hard on your devices, rely on apps that don’t support foldable screens, need better cameras, or are price conscious, a traditional smartphone is still your best bet until foldables fill the gap.