For several years we’ve seen phones with folding displays from Samsung, Google, and several Chinese phone manufacturers. There’s even been rumors of Apple working on one. And for the most part, the reviews on gadget blogs and sites have given the category positive reviews. On the surface it seems like a great idea to be able carry a large screen device in your pocket. It’s like having a tablet and phone in one device. Or is it?
I have to admit I had an urge for one at first glance. I finally got to use one over the past ten days when I purchased a refurbished Samsung Z Fold4, as recounted in my previous column. What I found was something a bit less appealing than I originally expected. The larger screen didn’t always provide an added benefit over the normal screen for such things as email, searching, and browsing, although it was useful for watching videos and displaying spreadsheets on the larger display. I found I was often switching back and forth between the two screens, trying to figure out which was the best to use in a given situation, and I would sometimes need to sign in again on the second screen, even though I had just signed in on the first one.
One of the reasons the larger screen wasn’t as beneficial as I expected was that apps such as email do just fine on smaller screens. We tend to scroll through a list of emails, open up one email at a time, and scroll again through the email as we read them. Doing this in a larger window doesn’t add much value, particularly as the font size remains the same. And in the unfolded position, holding the phone is more awkward, needing to either prop it up on my lap like a tablet, struggling to hold it with one hand, or holding it with two hands.
Dual screen folding phones have two other drawbacks. They’re very expensive, most costing $1800 or $1900. Second, the flexible display and hinge mechanism are fragile and less dust and water-resistant than conventional phones. While Samsung has said the screens have been tested for anywhere from 200,000 to 400,000 cycles (they don’t necessarily say that they last that long!), based on my limited experience and reviews I scoured, I strongly question their claims.
When I received the Z Fold, the folding display was pristine. While you could see a slight ridge down the center where the screen folds, it didn’t detract from the large expansive image. But after about a week of use, perhaps 100-200 fold cycles, bubbles began to show up at the top and bottom of the crease due to a separation of the permanent screen protector from the display. After a few days the two bubbles turned into a very noticeable 1/4 inch wide de-lamination down the middle of the display. I contacted the seller and sent a picture; they said it was defective and asked me to return it.
Before deciding whether to replace it with the same model, I did more checking on forums and chatrooms for Samsung phones. What I discovered were many others experiencing similar issues, some after months of use, and even with the newest models. More surprising were many complaining that Samsung would not always cover the repair under warranty, often charging $500 for a screen replacement. And for some it happened multiple times. There is also a class action lawsuit filed against Samsung alleging the screen technology is unreliable.
Not surprisingly I decided to opt for a non-folding phone for now and concluded that maybe buying a phone with cutting edge technology, especially as a refurbished product, was not a very smart idea. But it also shows how many of the product review blogs, sites, and testers, fail to reveal problems like this and continue to praise their virtues.
