don’t see the point of spending $800 more on 1.5 inch extra screen width

The screen is the point.

It might seem like the iPhone 18 pro max is similar in size by the diagonal measurement. When measuring by area its not even close. The iPhone Duo has a screen area of 27.1"sq which is almost double 50% more than the iPhone 18 pro max screen area of 18.1"sq. That is a very substantial difference. Whether that is worth the price difference is up to the buyer of course, but you do get almost twice as much 50% more screen on the Duo.

Essentially, the Duo is better understood as a foldable iPad mini that feels and works like a phone when folded.

That is definitely not normal, I had my z fold 5 for 2 years and I would say I'm a power user, unfolding it at least 10 or 20 times at minimum per day, and nothing on the phone wore out

...expensive for a lower spec device, and they’re very unreliable...

We're all waiting to see what Apple brings out. Perhaps they have come up with a reliable design. Perhaps it will be junk. In any case I agree that the price is not justified for most people today even if it robust and reliable. Personally, I almost never by expensive phones as my use is not very demanding.

I think Apple is buying their screens from Samsung, so wear should be the same. And, Neo aside, Apple is not known for bringing costs down.

The main issue I had with folding phones beside the screens being permanently damaged by fingernails is that they aren't that much better with the big black sections of the screens, so the 1.4:1 ratio screens like the duo are the first step in the right direction the original folding phones imo.

Pretty sweeping generalization of what people use smartphones for, lol. Gotta love the “nobody but old people” take.

It's a full color tablet that fits in your pocket. That comes with huge quality of life improvements displaying PDFs, e-books, comics, spreadsheets, charts, diagrams, videos, etc. Have you ever tried reading a PDF on a phone screen? It sucks.

I've had a fold for a couple years now, and I use the inner screen constantly. If you don't read as much as I do it's probably just a gimmick, but it's great for me.

Nerd crumudgeons can’t imagine an extrovert who use voice regularly.

Maybe they meant only children want a device where the largest stress point is the middle of the screen.

The foldable screen was a game changer for me. Id never had a ebook reader before and now all of the sudden I can read a book at work on my breaks. But also the coolest part is getting into graphic novels and comics for the first time in my life. Life changing.

It’s funny, in my whole friend group (early 40’s) we all exclusively text in some form. When one of us calls, it’s an emergency. Except for one of us. He insists on calling. And we make fun of him, to his face. But he can’t get over it. Maybe you’re that person in your group. And that’s ok, just like this device - different strokes for different folks.

The folding phone comes in the flip phone version to make it smaller. Or the mini tablet version. The mini tablet version is super useful for showing off pictures to the elderly or for using a remote GUI or for consuming video on the phone when stuck on a flight. Those are my main uses for the larger inner screen. It is a niche product a very nice niche but one not necessary for most. I have found it to be very reliable thus far.

edit some people use side by side apps often I figured I might going in so far I have not

Ah, so you assume that your friend group = everyone under 50, and you’re an ass to the one person who doesn’t conform to your made up rules.

Wow. Go touch grass. I can’t see wasting my time discussing all the people in the world I interact with that are different than your myopic view.

The functionality of a tablet with the portability of a phone. Seems straightforward and practical to me idk

the coolest part is getting into graphic novels and comics for the first time in my life. Life changing.

Yup, comics suck on a phone screen. I had been looking for a good color e-reader, and all things considered the portability of the fold made the decision pretty easy

Meh, people go on about productivity and whatnot but I don't think that's a good thing, if you need to work you use a computer, need to do both? Then use a laptop, people already have no boundaries between work and personal life, foldables are making it worse.

I am far more interested in folding phones that have a horizontal fold rather than a vertical one and even then I am not totally sold. I would like to see a 2027 Razr with Graphene and a Clicks keyboard then I might actually want a foldable phone.

Except that the bigger screen doesn’t offer more usability. It’s not the same productivity boost you get from say adding a second monitor or higher resolution screen to a desktop. For the most part the difference between my iPad and iPhone is the layout not the functionality.

I agree with you otherwise, but have to point out that 27 is 50% more than 18, not "nearly double".

That's the reason I got a folding phone. I picked up a used OG Puxel Fold for around $300, installed GrapheneOS, and installed Termux. Unfolds into a large enough screen to make desktop PC application use work well. I regularly code on it and have Qt Creator and VSCode always available. I wish I could put postmarketOS or some other real Linux OS on it, but the screen makes it more viable than my actual Linux OnePlus 6 for desktop application use. It fits in my pocket too, which tablets do not.

I didn't say anything about work or productivity. Like it is useful for that, but it's largely for leisure reading.

They break faster than non-folding phones, giving manufacturers an endless source of new revenue.

Bigger screen, smaller pocket size.

They also break easier so you have to buy more phones.

Man, you should take a step back and calm down. Not everyone on the internet is as confrontational as you seem to be, speaking of myopic differences.

Have a fantastic life!

where is my 16:9 king? it's long gone 😔

Same here! That's exactly why I buy foldable phones!

It's like oreos. These are the "double stuff" smartphones, haha.

I like the idea that they're called "double stuff" because they doubled the "stuff" in the middle, but couldn't think of a better word to call it other than "stuff"

I own a Motorola razer 2020, absolutely love this phone! It's five years old. Love that it folds and fits in my hand, pockets, cup holders and the like. When I'm ready I will most definitely get the new Razor.

Screen is always protected though and those screens were very easy to scratch.

I must say I think your comment is the one that makes most sense to me, especially since the rest of the comment section seems divided between ardently gimmick, and super useful for whatever personal reason.

It is a niche product a very nice niche but one not necessary for most. I have found it to be very reliable thus far.

That, I think, explains the crux of why it’s such a debate: if the folding feature (or the few other features that the folding phones have, like dual apps, bigger size etc.) aren’t useful to some, then they aren’t useful to them, and those people who don't find those features useful will simply not see the benefits/reasons to buy. The same is true for the opposite: people who do find value in the few unique features do see the benefit. Now that might seem like a statement of the obvious, but I think it highlights a key point: it’s a polarising issue with no middle ground, really — you weather see reasons to buy/use one, or you don’t. But there aren’t really a kind of gray area where people might say ‘well it’s not that useful, but I’ll buy one anyway…’

That said, I still don’t quite understand why these foldable phones are mass marketed towards everyone, rather than specifically targeting the niche audience…

Cool, but I gotta ask… cup holders? May I ask in what context is one storing their phone in a cup holder?

Good catch, thanks

Except they don't. I've had my Samsung flip for years.

Depends how they fold. Flip folds just give you a nice small phone for pockets, second screen.

Driving?

Because I can’t fit a tablet in my pocket

You could say the same thing about laptops, of having a desktop PC in your house.

How about be an adult and set some boundaries for yourself instead of pretending that since we have improved technology that you’re “enslaved” or something. “Woe is me, Apple hath made it too difficult to avoid my boss with this big luxurious screen!”

Nah, capitalism did that, sweetie. Your toxic boss did that. But you’re a grown up and you can assert yourself without being rude. Practice in front of the mirror if you have to, okay?

I agree that I don't see a point. I do want to say, phone is a legacy term though. They aren't used to make phone calls often.

The advantage I could see would be to use desktop-ratio content on a mobile device. Smart phone resolution has become so common this isn't an issue though. In fact the wider content is far less supported for phones specifically. There's probably a handful of jobs where that format is better, but I don't see the advantage for consumers.

My brother had a foldable Samsung years ago, and it's the only foldable phone he's had, which should tell you something. There's really no advantage and several disadvantages. It's a gimmick and that's it.

this sounds like one of those "i don't like this book even though i haven't read it" kind of things.

Surely you can't so lack in imagination to understand expended screen real estate on a pocketable. computer is something people might think is a benefit?

I'd be lucky to make a call a month on my Moto Flip (50 ultra),

When i fold it down it's tiny and easily pocketable and when i flip it open on the 2 hr high speed train ride I just took, it's a great size. for catching up with a couple videos. It's unfolded now, the bigger screen at the top of the on screen kb is nice I got this one for an excellent price, 50% of rrp and had $200 in nearly expired vouchers but the screen isn't that much higher then a slab phone but is 1/2 the size in my pocket and I can do a fair bit on the outside screen re messages etc

I'd like a Samsung Fold 8 but can't justify the price, also when i travel i think I wouldn't need a laptop at all, a small foldable kb and mouse because it's really a pocket computer.

For most people in the pocket computer market, their needs would be more economically served by a high end phone and a mid tablet, or a high end tablet and mid phone

Which makes it frustrating that the tablet market is so tiny compared to the phone one. And many of them have worse specs than even entry-level smartphones (Samsung is still selling the S6 Lite, which has a paltry 4GB of RAM and can barely handle running a single heavy app without crashing).

If cost was no different I would get one if they would do it right. Motorola had one that had a normal phone sized screen and then folded in half like a dumbphone but then they put onther screen on the outside. I would like it designed to protect the screen when closed and I don't want another screen on the outside to be available to break. conversely I use a tablet and having a phone that gave that larger form factor as an option would be great. now really my ultimate though is just a dumb/featur/flip:phone that can act as a mobile hotspot and that you can connect to and go through all the settings and features and such from a web browser to the local address of the phone. especially to upload/download contacts and calendar.

Well, if you're my friend's kid, the point is to make it super easy to accidentally shatter the screen when you close it.

Your poor friend lol

Yeah, I felt super bad cuz she had her own flip and it was a year or two old at that point, but her kid closed it on a small bit of something and that was enough, apparently.

Definitely doesn't make me want a foldable phone, I'm too damned forgetful and would absolutely fuck up my phone like that.

And Samsung is really quite awful in terms of locking down the OS, second only to Apple, which really has some really good tablets; though it is so damn annoying that the mini has such extreme hardware. It's like they KNOW that's the form factor people want, so they make it as expensive as possible.

My daily drivers are a Pixel 7, a 10+ y-o gaming PC running linux, and a mid Galaxy Tab A, mostly for browsing. The Pixel downloads my torrents, and the gaming PC runs my media server and does some AI stuff.

I think I'm happier having several mid-range devices that are adequate for the task they are put to than having fewer devices that are more capable.

I'm gonna throw a big asterisk here though. I bought my current pixel 9 pro fold in 2024 and it didn't break until today, when I was opening it. I saw nothing to indicate why it happened.

I have dropped it enough to be amazed it's late this long.

I’d rather have a phone that flips down to the size of a pocket watch. I can’t ever imagine wanting my phone to be even bigger but still less useful than a tablet but there must be a market for it I guess.

It’s so assholes on public transport or other public places with absolutely no sense of decency and narcissism that would rival the orange idiot can play videos, or music without headphones. Also, if you’re one of those people, fuck you

Fidget toy

I saw nothing to indicate why it happened.

That alone is a giant red flag to me. I just don't like the idea of adding complexity where it isn't necessary but I understand that is a choice some people make.