I’m sceptical. With all the added complexity of a foldable, the specs are probably gonna be below average to absymal. I’d love to be proven wrong tho.
Dunno man samsung’s mid range phones are exceptionally good.
Is that before or after you remove all the extra crap that Samsung shovel on it?
2015 called, they want their talking points back.
Seriously though, Samsung has a sleeker Android than even Google in 2023. You have to get an AOSP or similar os on a device to beat it. It’s been a long road, but the One UI is just better.
How many duplicated apps are installed on modern Samsung’s?
How many browsers? How many app stores? How many games?
To be completely honest I have went and installed couple of Samsung replacement apps even though they were not on my device by default. Samsung’s email application is simply miles better than GMail, and more to the point doesn’t suffer from known issue like not downloading attachments. Same with notes and similar. Especially on Fold where screen is significantly bigger, default Google stuff simply can’t handle it. It looks stretched while Samsung offers better experience.
That said very few duplicates and those that you don’t need you can uninstall. It’s not that big of a deal.
Here’s all the Samsung stuff on my Galaxy Fold 4, two of which aren’t ones that it came with:
It’s really not a problem nor that bad. I chucked them into a folder and have only touched them to use the files app or manage Good Lock.
So if we’re including what Google gives us, that’s two app stores, Two browsers, Two note takers. Two messaging apps. Stuff for Samsung TV, Smart things, both useless to me. HP printing app for some reason. Samsung “news” (lol). AR zone (whatever the fuck that is).
I wonder how bloated the launcher is…
Literally none of that ads any value to a “stock Google Android” installation. It’s all bloat and crap. Arguably even the stock experience is not bloat free; this just makes it much worse.
And that’s only the stuff you see. God knows what other services and background shit is also running, sucking up resources and your battery life.
Yeah, it’s no better than it used to be. The talking point is still relevant and any assertion to the contrary is invalid.
I don’t consider it bloat. Bloat is preinstalled games or adware, not useful services. Everything preinstalled besides Samsung’s stuff was removable, and all of that at least does have a use, and works for what it’s supposed to do.
- Browser is a browser. It functions as such for people who don’t care about which browser they’re using.
- Note taking app does what it says on the tin.
- messaging app is the SMS app. It didn’t come with another one, I installed the one from Google myself for RCS.
- Samsung TV Plus is actually for watching TV networks, and it’s free. Works decently even.
- smart things is useful for anyone who has Samsung iot devices. The oven in the house I rent actually is one, which was funny to me.
- HP printing might have actually been one I added… For my HP network printer.
All of that aside, my Z Fold 4 is plenty powerful such that I never experience lagging or slowdowns. My battery rarely goes below 50% with 4-5 hours of screen on time daily. So if there’s background stuff, it’s not affecting either of the things you would expect it to.
The launcher is fine. No “news section” off to the side like the old Pixel launcher used to have, no frills or extras or adware in your face… it’s fine. The only complaint I have about the launcher is that I can’t make my app drawer continuously scroll. However, it provides the service for the ‘taskbar’ at the bottom of my screen:
and I use it a lot for multitasking so I can’t get rid of it.Honestly, from my perspective none of it is problematic. It sounds to me like you’re just hating on something to hate on it, none of those extra things being installed cause me any inconvenience. In the slightest.
Calling someone’s opinion on such a subjective matter invalid really speaks to your thoughts on other people. Are you ok? Need to talk about it?
Aside from the launcher, they don’t change bits and pieces in the lover levels anymore (Knox & co.)? Don’t have to every google map a Samsung-equivalent, running from boot in background, anymore?
No they are not
Samsung A series is almost unbeatable value no matter how you look at it.
Disagree, work gave me an A21s. At least once a day I’ll be staring at a blank screen for 30 seconds before it shows me the buttons to answer a call but by then the caller has hung up. Also randomly it will turn the screen brightness down so low that you can’t see to turn it up.
Heaven knows how awful the A0 and A1 series are!
Yeah sorry bud, work put tracking shit on your phone.
No there’s no tracking, stick out of box experience.
A21 that’s low not mid. mid is a54
I look at it from the perspective of bloat and speed.
I’d say you get better value and a cleaner experience with the lenovomotos.
My over two year old a52 is buttery smooth still I don’t see the need for a switch until 2 more years. There’s a bit of junk on it but doesn’t really affect anything since I never use it, it’s all just sitting quietly in a folder.
It has honestly made me question the purpose of expensive and fragile flagship phones that I’ve been using the last decade.
The A series is an absurd value.
Every person I’ve known who has owned a foldable has had it eventually break because of the fold. We try to keep moving mechanical parts out of tech for a reason. I’ve never had a smartphone ‘suddenly break’ like a printer or car.
This might be a bias. I’ve had a foldable for two and a bit years now, no issues aside from I hate the camera, but that’s always been a constant
The glass “runs out” of flexs.
I’ve had 2 for a year each and no major issues. Now that this one is just out of warranty and working towards year 2 guess I’ll see. I love the sheer size of the screen so much.
My Fold4 still looks new, and it’s been a year now since I bought it. I use mine both as phone and a laptop replacement… Sure inner screen is more fragile but also more protected when closed. You do have to set your expectations right. Definitely not a phone for people who don’t take care of their own devices. But at the same time, device doesn’t break by opening and closing it.
How do you use it as a laptop replacement? What tasks are you doing on it that would otherwise be done on a laptop? I feel like its too small, it would only replace phone tasks for me.
The best thing to do when people are victimized by vendors selling junk is to shame them, clearly.
Other than the novelty of it, I don’t see the attraction of folding devices. Other than folding it doesn’t do anything that my non-folding smartphone doesn’t.
Bigger screen with a constrained form factor. If you don’t need a bigger screen, you’re just not the target, but that doesn’t mean it’s totally useless.
Main camera selfies look amazing, multitasking with apps are usable, works as a kickstand, can easily fit in a clutch, big screen for videos, etc
I used mine to help put on my license plates in the dark. I get a surprising amount of use out of the ability to fold the screen to point the flashlight wherever
They should put a little WearOS watch screen on the back of a regular-ass smartphone for that.
And help one of the 5 benefits they listed?
Ever try to stuff a modern phone into a small purse?
Form factor has been a complaint since the HTC EVO.
Yes, it’s why I got an iphone 12 mini. Super small! I don’t know how people deal with the huge ones that are practically a small tablet.
Right, but the fold has the benefit of a small form factor that can become a small tablet when desired!
Oh I know! I knew a guy that had one, it was pretty cool! I especially liked that you could fold it so that people you’re taking a picture of can see the camera view same as you.
They fit in a pocket.
They look super thick though. I can’t imagine that being very comfortable in a pocket.
No thicker than a wallet.
Not really noticeable unless you wear super tight clothing and you get used to the weight.
I would kill for a smaller sized phone at an affordable price and good/decent spec.
Not sure about the flip phone shown in image but my Fold4 was bought in attempt to replace my laptop which I have to lug around with me constantly due to work. So far it’s able to do around 85% of my work, which is good enough. Definitely not a phone for everyone, but for what I use it, it does the job pretty well. There are downsides of course, but benefits as well. Bigger screen does come handy but not as often, unless used as laptop with bluetooth keyboard and similar. I have used it on few occasions as sketchpad, because I have a pen and a huge screen.
Yes, it doesn’t. Noone needs one of these, and that’s ok. The 4:3 ratio is irritating, but getting two rows of videos on youtube is soooo nice when just looking for a video.
Whilst i might be biased, my samsung fold 3 has been fine for 2 years. My mum and step dad have had the flip 2 and 4, a colleague at work has a gold 4 and two colleagues at qork have a fold 5 each.
No issues at all.
I would argue that you have also formed a bias based on people you know who perhaps dont take care of their insanely expensive phones.
Although saying that, I’ve dropped mine multiple times, onto wood flooring, ceramic tiles, and tarmac (i practically threw it onto the tarmac when something scared me). Amd all it auffered was a few scratches and dents on the edges. Both screens are absolutely fine.
The plural of “anecdote” is not “data”.
Who said anything about data?
I gifted my mom my Flip 3 when I migrated off (I couldn’t tolerate the cameras on it). She only broke it once early on by dropping it with the screen open, but that’s what the accidental protection is for. Other than that, she uses it daily and it still is going strong.
I am typing this on my pristine Fold 3.
Purchased it on day one and had it for a more than two years by now. The phone is as spotless as the day I got it. I open and close it constantly.
Stop spreading FUD.
I’ve had my fold 3 for over two years and it’s still perfectly fine and I’ve dropped it quite a bit. I even dropped it hard once on asphalt while biking full speed. Tbh I got lucky with that last one, but still, these phones are plenty durable.
It’s so prone to cracking along the fold, though. You should either get the extended warranty or treat the phone as disposable, because it will likely not last more than a couple of years.
Every single person who I’ve known or seen with a foldable Samsung has a prominent fold (enough to lift the top layer of the screen) or crack.
The tech just isn’t there yet.
That’s not a screen layer, that’s the screen protector. You can remove it. It’s just some plastic
Samsung advise not to remove the screen protector, ironically because doing so can damage the screen.
Instead they suggest you have them do it, first one is free
Oh sure, but it’s just a screen protector. I remove them from every phone. And a foldable naturally protects the screen anyway.
extended warranty
All they have to do is say the magic word: “Cosmetic”
Still have my Fold 3 which I got 2 years ago, it’s definitely more fragile so if you’re prone to dropping your phone maybe don’t get it but it’s not as fragile as people make it seem. It’s not for everyone for sure but damn is it convenient and useful.
My roommate drops his Fold almost daily onto hardwood and tile since he got it a year or two ago. It hasn’t broken once. I’m honestly astonished
Have been using the flip 3 for a couple years.
I love the small design. Is it a Gimmick? Yeah probably. Do I like that Gimmick? Absolutely. It would he difficult to go back to a big ass phone. Routinely carry it at work by the ring on the case. Removes my need for a watch since I can easily reply or answer when it’s closed, control media, etc.
Love to see more unique smart phone options. The phones were too samey for too long. This budget option could help that innovation even more.
I had to jump back to a standard phone after both my flip4 hinges died on me, it was hard but I’m pretty much used to it, haven’t tried to fold it in half in a week, so that’s good.
How is the screen holding up?
Currently no issue with hinge screen. I open and close it very often.
Have seen others have issue with an air gap/mark appearing so may have gotten a lucky one. Your experience may vary.
I was looking at the bigger foldables and came to the reality I don’t need it. Ended up getting a RAZR+. I’ll never be able to go back to a full size phone now because of the size. I’ve just gotten used to using the outer screen and hope this size keeps getting better.
Same here. I don’t understand why everyone in this thread is talking about cracks and creases after it was fixed in the generations following the first.
Samsung Gameboy PS
I’ll adopt it once it’s reliable enough that it won’t crack along the screen.
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I have a fold and I love it. Videos are just ok, but web, notes, images and multitasking are freaking excellent.
the interior screen is almost 4:3, right? you could try watching like. anything made before 1990 whenever, I guess. old ass anime, or something. it’s probably not as big in totality as a regular screen, but it’s got higher pixel density, and it’s portable, so that’s neat. I guess another appeal might be that you could use it more easily as a book or a laptop substitute. I also think probably more support will come after it becomes more market accessible, like if samsung actually releases a 400 to 500 dollar model.
I have the fold 3 and love it for this reason. It’s fantastic for reading articles + manga. The nearly 4:3 display is fantastic for retro games. Additionally, a surprisingly large number of memes are in a 3:4 aspect ratio. Also, the outer display is great for one handed use.
This has been my hesitation with a larger foldable. I love my Moto Razr+, because when folded it’s super pocketable, I can also check notifications at a glance and even respond without opening it. It keeps “doom scrolling” behaviors down because I’d likely need to open it to do anything beyond that.
I’d love the idea, but graphene os support is my requirement.
Perhaps google will make one at some point too. They already have the big version.
The irony that we have to go to google for a privacy focused phone with graphene os is not lost on me. It still is strange.
Thank goodness. I’m sick of having a huge phone.
Would rather have a new Samsung phone that’s tiny
I’m on s22 and it’s well sized!
S10e has been better than it should be. I don’t want to find a replacement.
Love to see more foldable options!
I think this would be awesome if they used the same aspect ratio paper does, 1 to 1.414, so you could open the phone and have a phone in the same aspect ratio but larger. You know, if we’re going to keep having nonsense screen aspect ratios where you can’t watch any videos without black bars or zoom, you might as well do something fun with it.
Edit: it’s also really stupid that we’ve seen phones go from being folding, to smartphones, to slowly getting larger and taller over the years, to the point where now people are jonesing for this simply so they can have a more compact phone again. I doubt for most usage you’re going to use the inner screen at all, there’s pretty limited potential there in what you’re watching and doing. Watching a video is probably gonna hit you with omega black bars. Only way I see this making any sense is if you have a classic square to real phone clamshell design, GBA style rather than DS style, but that still doesn’t make that much sense to me.
Good god! That was a long-winded way to say nothing.
Shitty troll is shitty.
I’d rather buy a steam deck
Money needs to be invested in AR glasses tech as then you can have any size screen you want. Foldable is a dead end.
