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Huawei Aims to Upstage Sep 9 Apple Event With Tri-Fold Phone Debut

PsykX said:
I've been looking at the flagship foldables and I would be seriously annoyed if I had one.
They're too thick, heavy, fragile, and on top of that they're much more expensive.

I'm more glad than anything about the fact that Apple is not too distracted with this technology right now.
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You haven't looked in a while then. The OnePlus open weighs the same as the iPhone 14PM. The Honor Magic V3 is only 5 grams heavier than the iPhone 15PM and it is two devices in one. Also, the Honor Magic V3 is only 1mm thicker than an iPhone 15PM when folded. Being that they are two devices in one, the cost is actually less than if you were to buy both the comparable versions of an iPhone and an iPad Mini, so cost shouldn't be a factor if you use both an iPhone and an iPad Mini often.
 
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I never get these things. Moving parts wear and complexity multiplies failure scenarios. We are constantly as a society moving away from complexity and moving parts. Less parts, less moving ones, less complexity equals greater reliability.

A good analogy

SPACEX-RAPTOR-1-RAPTOR-2-RAPTOR-3-1456x915.jpeg


Apart from when it comes to this fad. Lets add more moving parts because innovation in the area is dead so the only way to look impressive is to add complexity again. Leads the naive astray and for what? More trash going to landfill.

Worth noting if you look at the skyline of the average city where these things are designed to see what dystopian hell holes full of design faux pas and gaudy lurid abominations the cultural design aesthetic promotes. (Vegas is one but that's a containment area for such crimes). Some reflection required on critical thinking and aesthetics if these things are even considerable.
 
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creediddy said:
Companies like Huawei have to take the product market risk to create a different product within the Android ecosystem. Apple does not. Stating that Apple has no leadership is very general statement as they are market leaders in just about every category within the smartphone and tablet market. Vision Pro is too expensive to become mass produced and adopted worldwide.
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Don't forget that Huawei is already officially leaving the 'Android world' with HarmonyOS NEXT, before the end of the year.

HarmonyOS itself has already overtaken iOS in China and continues to grow.

More and more smartcars are coming to market with Huawei technology. You can buy some of them at Huawei's stores.

Huawei is outselling Apple in the tablet space and is very strong in wearables.

Although this event is being picked up by the media as the tri-fold (Mate XT) event, there will be other products announced and some of those will include Huawei's recently announced 'Trusense' based wearables. Expect more NearLink devices before the end of the year too and, last but not least (and something that has been completely overlooked by the press) is Huawei's chip design arm will begin its HiSilicon Connect Conference on the very same day. It could be pure coincidence but a few weeks ago there were fresh rumours of a new Kirin chipset.

Huawei is simply pushing its own platforms as best it can. So far it has worked and largely in detriment to Apple.
 
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TracerAnalog said:
Since you owned each generation and multiple brands, am I wrong in assuming you don’t use them fully for more than a year?
In other words: no wonder you have no reliability issues.
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I've owned a few of these for a year, and some just for a few months because I like to test a few different phones out to make sure I get the one I like the best. So, in my use case, which is buying a new phone every year (same thing I did when I bought iPhones), I've had no issues. But, I know a lot of people keep their foldables longer than I do, and from everything I've read, and from the few people I know personally, most don't run into any structural integrity or display issues unless they keep theirs for more than three years.
 
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Whenever I see "folding phone" I instantly think "point of failure."

They keep trying to make folding phone happen. Stop trying to make folding phone happen.
 
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brofkand said:
Apple is really missing the boat with foldables just like they missed the boat with AI. The current leadership has no vision. Vision Pro is a dead-end.
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Exactly! I have been a hardcore Apple fan since ip4, changed phone almost every year. But now I felt like an idiot for using iPhone. It’s outdated. Tim Cook only cares about money and tries to perfect what people have done. The visionary Steve Job release products that revolutionised the world, but not with Tim Cook. Apple is cooked.
 
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tubular said:
Whenever I see "folding phone" I instantly think "point of failure."

They keep trying to make folding phone happen. Stop trying to make folding phone happen.
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cjsuk said:
The one proudly displayed in Westfield London in a phone shop the other day was on a "fold machine" exercising it. The screen was broken. That says everything.

It's a stupid idea.
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No one is forcing anyone to buy a foldable. But it would be nice to have the option for those who would like to buy one.
 
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MrENGLISH said:
No one is forcing anyone to buy a foldable. But it would be nice to have the option for those who would like to buy one.
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There's a whole market segment of people incapable of reasoning about basic things that we need to tap into!
 
cjsuk said:
I never get these things. Moving parts wear and complexity multiplies failure scenarios. We are constantly as a society moving away from complexity and moving parts. Less parts, less moving ones, less complexity equals greater reliability.
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It’s a larger pocketable display.

The moving parts are needed because you can’t fit an iPad Pro in your pocket.
 
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cjsuk said:
I never get these things. Moving parts wear and complexity multiplies failure scenarios. We are constantly as a society moving away from complexity and moving parts. Less parts, less moving ones, less complexity equals greater reliability.

A good analogy

SPACEX-RAPTOR-1-RAPTOR-2-RAPTOR-3-1456x915.jpeg


Apart from when it comes to this fad. Lets add more moving parts because innovation in the area is dead so the only way to look impressive is to add complexity again. Leads the naive astray and for what? More trash going to landfill.

Worth noting if you look at the skyline of the average city where these things are designed to see what dystopian hell holes full of design faux pas and gaudy lurid abominations the cultural design aesthetic promotes. (Vegas is one but that's a containment area for such crimes). Some reflection required on critical thinking and aesthetics if these things are even considerable.
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Not really comparable.

Devices fold because they need to fold. That is why laptops fold and hinges haven't gone away.

Currently there are two options for phones/tablets. Folding with a crease or two panels with a physical divide. Scrollable screens aren't there yet.

That means more moving parts on a folding phone than on a slab phone but comes with the advantage of doubling the screen size when needed and being able to use the main sensor setup for selfies etc. That said, hinge mechanisms now use less parts in their designs. But a hinge is a hinge.

All devices come with trade-offs. On an iPhone you have a notch/cutout for selfie/biometric tasks. Underscreen options still aren't good enough for the mainstream.

As for durability, glass backs are a terrible option on slab phones but here we are with glass backs all over the place. Completely unnecessary and tremendously fragile and not even a true trade off.

We have glue and sealants too. Unnecessary IMO and never covered under warranty.

I would imagine that both creases and cutouts will go at some point. Until then we have ever-improving interim solutions that still cater to their basic design goals.

The 'less is more' idea isn't absolute and in a relatively short period we may even see removable batteries coming back.
 
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For me, the only sensible concept for a foldable smartphone was the Surface Duo with 2 screens. Unfortunately, it didn't catch on.
The devices with foldable displays will never last long enough, they will always have problems at the crease.
 
gaximus said:
Because bi-folding phones are doing so well.
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wanha said:
2. sure, the form factor of foldable phones is intriguing, but they just aren't selling in significant numbers so far...
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While foldable phones aren't selling in huge numbers at the moment, they are steadily increasing

Huawei Captures Top Spot in Q1 2024 Global Foldable Smartphone Shipments on 5G Support

The global foldable smartphone market grew 49% YoY in Q1 2024, marking its highest rate of increase in six quarters.
www.counterpointresearch.com www.counterpointresearch.com

The global foldable smartphone market grew 49% YoY in Q1 2024, marking its highest rate of increase in six quarters, according to the latest Counterpoint Research Foldable Smartphone Shipment Tracker. This surge was primarily driven by significant shipment increases at several Chinese OEMs. Notably, Huawei ascended to the top spot in quarterly global shipments for the first time, overtaking Samsung, which had consistently led the market.


and they're expected to continue to grow as more consumers beome interested in and are willing to buy them

Global Foldable Smartphone Shipments to Cross 100 Million by 2027

Counterpoint is a global technology market research firm in the TMT industry. Our detailed analysis of report helps you to make better business decisions.
www.counterpointresearch.com www.counterpointresearch.com

Global foldable smartphone shipments are expected to pass the 100-million mark by 2027, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest Global Foldable Smartphone Tracker and Forecast

[ . . . ]

Senior Analyst Jene Park said, “In the long term, we are waiting to see what Apple does. We are looking at 2025 as the possible year of iPhone’s foldable debut, which could provide another growth spurt for the segment.”

Park added, “When we look at the current consumer response, our latest Global Foldable Smartphone Preference Survey shows a willingness to purchase for the majority of respondents, most notably among current users. This is a good sign and tells us the hype around foldables is legitimate.”
 
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iMac The Knife said:
I've owned a few of these for a year, and some just for a few months because I like to test a few different phones out to make sure I get the one I like the best. So, in my use case, which is buying a new phone every year (same thing I did when I bought iPhones), I've had no issues. But, I know a lot of people keep their foldables longer than I do, and from everything I've read, and from the few people I know personally, most don't run into any structural integrity or display issues unless they keep theirs for more than three years.
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I know many users (2+ 😅) that had to have their foldable repaired (under warranty). Who knows the real statistics?
 
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