Foldable Phones or Flexible displays have been a highly anticipated feature going back quite a while. The development of foldable displays has been carefully monitored by tech companies and enthusiasts alike. Over the years, we've actually seen the industry slowly adopt prerequisite technology by first implementing curved displays later in 2016 from Samsung Galaxy S6 and now to the Samsung S20 ultra. And other tech companies such as in Huawei's own Mate 30 Pro. But it’s interesting to note that not all manufacturers have jumped on the curved display, despite the technology being available for over six years.

This raises the question, do curved displays offer an improved user experience? Because if they did, companies like Apple and Google would've surely included it in their devices. Similar to what happened with multi-touch technology, fingerprint sensors, and OLED displays. All of which have been adopted by every major smartphone manufacturer at some point in time.

Foldable Phones-Curved Displays Vs Foldable Displays.

New technology doesn't necessarily make a product better. Curved displays offer no functional benefits. They don’t eliminate the left and right bezels, and if you’re trying to achieve the thinnest bezel possible. You can do it without curved edges. In fact, one of the first smartphones to feature a curved display was the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge which was launched back in 2014. And they actually utilized the curved section of the display to feature app shortcuts and notifications. But later on, this capability was removed in later Galaxy devices. Despite their displays still having curved edges. This officially made its curved display pointless, except maybe for differentiating the device from others on the market. So here’s the big question: Will foldable display technology go the same way as curved displays? Let's take a look!

Issues with a Galaxy Fold Foldable Display.

Now from two consecutive years both Samsung and Huawei have launched their foldable smartphones. And each manufacturer has implemented the technology in slightly different ways. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold features two separate displays. One on the front and a second, larger display that’s used when the device is opened. It’s definitely an interesting setup, being able to watch videos or browse the internet on the go on a large 7.3 display that fits in your pocket is a very appealing concept. But there’s a catch.

For some reason, Samsung decided to make the front display just 4.7 inches. Leaving an uncomfortable amount of bezel at the top and bottom. Which makes the display one of the smallest on the market. Now we are not sure why Samsung didn’t fill the front of the Galaxy Fold with a more proportional display. But it’s one of the biggest issues with this device. The industry has just spent a decade trying to remove bezels from smartphones. And now they are back and more invasive than ever with the 2000$ Galaxy Fold. And if you’re thinking, well just unfold it and use the larger display instead. Lets say If you are sending a text, checking a notification, or making a call. You don’t want to have to unfold it and essentially use a tablet for those tasks.


                                                                        

The Galaxy Fold would make for a great portable tablet, but a very clumsy smartphone. Now there’s one more issue with the Galaxy Fold. That’s the battery life. The Galaxy Fold has two displays at 4.7 and 7.3 but is only equipped with a 4,380 mAh battery. That’s a 7% increase in capacity for a 33% increase in total pixels that need to be powered. Now Samsung hasn’t released any details till now about the battery life. But I think an all-day battery is a very important feature for smartphone users, especially if it means being discouraged from using the Fold in tablet mode since it’ll likely consume more battery than using the front display.

Huawei's Mate X.

Now let’s take a closer look at Huawei’s approach, the Mate X’s Foldable phones design is very creative and streamlined. They decided to fold the display in the opposite direction as Samsung, eliminating the need for a second display on the front. Instead, they utilize the OLED’s unique ability to turn off individual pixels and create a true black bezel that blends right in with the hardware. Also, you might notice that the Mate X doesn’t fold right down the middle.

Instead, it features an off-center crease that allows room for various hardware components in a vertical sidebar when folded. And that means there’s no notch or bezel cutting into the display while opened or closed. This double-sided display also eliminates the need for a front-facing camera and allows for a beautiful 6.6-inch edge to edge folded cover display. A very competitive size compared to standard flagship smartphones on the market.



Huawei Mate X
Source: Gizmodo

Mate X-Display.

There’s a display area on the back, the Mate X features some pretty neat software features. If you want to flip the camera around for a selfie, just turn the phone around. The device detects which side of the phone you’re looking at and switches displays automatically. Huawei did a great job making their hardware feel as seamless as possible by rounding both sides of the device and folding the display up against the vertical sidebar. So it’s clear I prefer the approach Huawei took as opposed to Samsung, but there are still some serious compromises with both of these devices that need to be addressed.

First being battery life. Now neither company has shared how many hours of use we can expect to get from their devices. The second compromise is size. The average smart phone's thickness is about 7-8 millimeters, and while we don’t know the Galaxy Fold’s dimensions, we do have that information for the Mate X. It comes in at 11 mm thick when closed, which is about a 50% increase over what many of us are used to today. We haven't seen a flagship smartphone with that level of thickness since the original iPhone twelve years ago. But it isn’t just the thickness of these foldable devices, its also the weight and volume. The Mate X is 10.4 ounces.

Issues with Foldable Phones.

Now the reason for comparing the two foldable phones is because those are the devices these new foldable phones are supposed to replace. After all, they’re called foldable phones or foldable smartphones, not foldable tablets. Now the third compromise actually has to do with the folding display itself. See, we’re used to interacting with solid glass displays that don’t have any surface imperfections. But when you want a display to be foldable, there are sacrifices that need to be made. And I think the most noticeable change for longtime smartphone users will be the plastic display with a visible seam and lack of rigidity. Yeah, sure Samsung has its Foldable phone with UTG display the "Galaxy Z flip" but the technology is not mature enough to handle such conditions.

And the last compromise I want to mention is the cost of these devices. At a time when smartphone prices are at their highest point in history, these foldable smartphones are asking at least twice as much. Which I think puts them into a niche category and prevent them from experiencing even modest sales success. So that means foldable smartphones aren’t a viable product and will never become widely adopted.

Room for Foldable Displays?

Well, I’m not so sure. Since this is a first-generation technology, and it’ll only improve over time. The curved display scenario that I described earlier in the video doesn’t apply to folding display technology. Mainly because curving a display is simply an aesthetic decision that has virtually no impact on utility. But folding a display allows for some incredible new features that were previously not possible. And just because the foldable technology we’ reseeing today is expensive and has room for improvement, doesn’t mean the concept has no future. In fact, I think this situation is more comparable to what happened with smartwatches. 

The original Galaxy Gear released in 2013 had some interesting features, but also an awkward implementation. Some of its components were in the band which made it very rigid and uncomfortable, and it was generally received negatively among tech critics.

Now Samsung went on to say the market simply wasn’t ready for smartwatch technology. And that’s why they sold so poorly, but I believe it was the technology that wasn’t ready for the market. Once it was further developed, smartwatches did become a big hit among consumers. And I think we’re seeing a similar situation playing out with foldable smartphones. Surely there are more different types of foldable displays and phones available. But each has its pros and cons. And Sure, they’re large, heavy, expensive, and missing some great qualities of traditional smartphones. But all of that can change with time. And consider what we’ll be getting in return: a device with a display that can be small and compact. But also large. So in this way consumers can have the best of both worlds with virtually zero sacrifices. That is, once the technology has fully matured.