How Samsung Fixed the Galaxy Fold (theverge.com) 72
Samsung's $2,000 foldable smartphone was scheduled to launch earlier this year, but was delayed after several major U.S. tech journalists experienced device-breaking display failures with their review units. This caused Samsung to push back the launch date and go back to the drawing board to try and fix these issues.
At IFA in Berlin this week, Samsung brought an updated version of the Galaxy Fold that supposedly fixes many of the issues that plagued the original model. The Verge reports: You need to look closely at the updated Galaxy Fold to spot what's new, but there are some key changes in a variety of areas. The biggest update is that Samsung has now extended the protective film to under the bezels of the device so you can no longer peel it off. I tried to peel it off multiple times and failed, as it's beyond the bezel and impossible to get your fingernails close to. We'll need to test this fully, but I'm confident that Samsung has addressed this particular problem.
Most of the other changes are related to the hinge. It feels a little sturdier than before, and the gaps where the hinge meets the display have been trimmed down. Even the gap when the device is closed has been shrunk slightly, which should add up to less debris getting close to the hinge or displays. Visually, the other big change is that the display now has plastic protection caps at the bottom and top that further block debris from getting underneath it. These are noticeable when you unfold the device, but they should hopefully help stop dirt from getting in the hinge and causing issues. I didn't have enough time to throw a bunch of dirt and dust at the device, so it's hard to say whether Samsung has fixed this particular issue, but it's clear that a lot of work has been done here. Furthermore, Samsung has also "added layers of metal underneath the display to make it feel sturdier, particularly when you touch and interact with the display," reports The Verge. "This is less noticeable by itself, but when you combine it with the hinge changes, it certainly comes off like a more polished device overall."
At IFA in Berlin this week, Samsung brought an updated version of the Galaxy Fold that supposedly fixes many of the issues that plagued the original model. The Verge reports: You need to look closely at the updated Galaxy Fold to spot what's new, but there are some key changes in a variety of areas. The biggest update is that Samsung has now extended the protective film to under the bezels of the device so you can no longer peel it off. I tried to peel it off multiple times and failed, as it's beyond the bezel and impossible to get your fingernails close to. We'll need to test this fully, but I'm confident that Samsung has addressed this particular problem.
Most of the other changes are related to the hinge. It feels a little sturdier than before, and the gaps where the hinge meets the display have been trimmed down. Even the gap when the device is closed has been shrunk slightly, which should add up to less debris getting close to the hinge or displays. Visually, the other big change is that the display now has plastic protection caps at the bottom and top that further block debris from getting underneath it. These are noticeable when you unfold the device, but they should hopefully help stop dirt from getting in the hinge and causing issues. I didn't have enough time to throw a bunch of dirt and dust at the device, so it's hard to say whether Samsung has fixed this particular issue, but it's clear that a lot of work has been done here. Furthermore, Samsung has also "added layers of metal underneath the display to make it feel sturdier, particularly when you touch and interact with the display," reports The Verge. "This is less noticeable by itself, but when you combine it with the hinge changes, it certainly comes off like a more polished device overall."
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Not often we get a first gen product with so many issues that early adopters can't be expected to deal with them.
Early adopters who sat and picked at the screen with fingernails until they managed to peel it off?
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Hold on a moment... (Score:5, Insightful)
They appear to have ironed out some of the especially egregious points of failure; but it's hard to trust that all is well until it's had a chance to endure public release and at least a few weeks of real world use. Perhaps if they hadn't egregiously screwed it up the first time, then released anyway, we could just assume that basic reliability and fitness for purpose are standard features(as we commonly do for iterative successor models to reliable devices); but we have no such luxury here.
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They've clearly at least improved the situation, as last time around lots of review units failed very quickly.
But i don't trust that hinge BS. making it smaller must means that smaller stuff can clog it.
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The biggest danger I can see it people putting it in the pockets and then squeezing it. That hinge better be really, really strong, and the body extremely ridged.
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Given how many conventional smartphones are still being used 3 or more years after purchase, I won't be convinced until I see people carrying working Galaxy Folds 3+ years after buying them.
Still not up for a $2K phone. (Score:1, Troll)
Sorry, I don't even like the folding form-factor. The phones are thick enough as-is. Doubling the thickness is nuts. I wouldn't even take one if Samsung were still giving them away for free in their Insights program.
And $2000 for a PHONE?
GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE.
Now someone will start talking about Lamborghinis or Rolls Royce or...or...or.
It's not a fucking supercar or a hand-built luxury car.
It's a fucking phone!
Ah well. Rant over.
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It's really a handheld computer that can switch form factors from a phone to a tablet. With a bluetooth keyboard and a terminal application you can use it for real work too. You're basically paying for the screen real estate and the specs. Terminal laptops in the 80s used to cost more.
Real work? (Score:2)
Yeah let me know when they release AutoCAD or MATLAB any professional application. It's a fucking toy and gimmick.
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Yeah let me know when they release AutoCAD or MATLAB any professional application. It's a fucking toy and gimmick.
I tried doing some spreadsheet work on a 10 inch tablet a few times. What a PITA.
My guess is that some of the early adopters of smartphones are wandering into the first stages of presbyopia, and demanding bigger screens.
While 80 percent of my computer time is serious work, and I'm on a 42 inch screen now. The concept of a folding screen that opens to smaller than netbook size is ludicrous and a loser in the fist place. Miss me with that stuff until the folding screen is the size of my living room wall.
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It's really a handheld computer that can switch form factors from a phone to a tablet. With a bluetooth keyboard and a terminal application you can use it for real work too. You're basically paying for the screen real estate and the specs. Terminal laptops in the 80s used to cost more.
Strange - but most I know who do real work are trending toward big screens. Is the "real work" you're describing being an Instagram model?
I would advise them to flush the toilet before publishing their selfies.
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I do real work on my phone, even light coding in a pinch, primarily when I'm traveling, but it's generally more sysadmin type work than development work. With a Bluetooth keyboard, my phone is pretty decent.
That aside, I have 3 screens in front of me for day-to-day coding. Backed by 2 machines stuck together with synergy. It's not overkill in the slightest.
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I do real work on my phone, even light coding in a pinch, primarily when I'm traveling, but it's generally more sysadmin type work than development work. With a Bluetooth keyboard, my phone is pretty decent.
That aside, I have 3 screens in front of me for day-to-day coding. Backed by 2 machines stuck together with synergy. It's not overkill in the slightest.
Sure, I can do things that require just giving things permission or answering email to take care of problems. That's hardly actual work on my part.
But if I have to work with a database or spreadsheet, or do 3-D work, that phone isn't going to be doing much for me. You deserve a medal or at least a big raise doing coding on a phone!!
These toys are actually very impressive little computers. But if I have to do something that I need to interact with a computing device away from my desk, I'll tether my lap
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I like the idea of a folding phone quite a bit - right now I've got both an iPhone and an iPad Mini, and rolling the two of them into one (albeit slightly smaller) device appeals to me.
But $2000? That dog won't hunt, monsignor. The price will have to come down at least 50% before I'll even consider it... and even then I'd probably pass.
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But $2000? That dog won't hunt, monsignor. The price will have to come down at least 50% before I'll even consider it... and even then I'd probably pass.
Then you’re probably not the target demographic.
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Sorry, I don't even like the folding form-factor.
It's almost as if you don't know that purchase is optional.
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Sorry, I don't even like the folding form-factor.
It's almost as if you don't know that purchase is optional.
Is this thread only for people that think the folding phone is the best thing ever?
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Or maybe you simply don't seem to understand that I'm not trying to justify my decision.
I'm simply presenting one of the reasons why I'm not purchasing.
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Haters are going to hate.
People also complain that phones are already too thin, and there hasn't been any good changes in the glass rectangle phone in over a decade now.
So this new phone is thicker, but not overly so, also it is the first design I have seen in a while that isn't a glass rectangle.
The interesting thing about phone prices compared to luxury cars. While fancy "Premium" phones are expensive, they are not "Quality of Life Changing" Expensive, even for the lower income people.
If you are making 40
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Still doesn't look 100% or worth $2k (Score:2)
When I watched the video (WTFV?) the phone just doesn't look 100% of what I would expect in terms of everything being right.
The two things that made me feel like it wasn't completely there were:
1. There is a noticeable fold line in the middle of the screen. It made me wonder if there would be cracking/mechanical fatigue of the display or the film that's applied to it (and what was people were peeling off before) resulting in dirt getting between the layers and ruining the display.
2. When folded, the phone
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The need for giving an overall feel of innovation is something that Steve Jobs understood
Hi Tim Cook, is that you? :-)
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The need for giving an overall feel of innovation is something that Steve Jobs understood
Hi Tim Cook, is that you? :-)
Remember, there is a fine line between being brave and being foolish.
A folding smartphone display kinda crosses that line. It's right up there with bezel-less phones. It's a phone, it's a toy. Trying to make these little computers something they aren't is like polishing a turd. Even if the Mythbusters manage to polish one, it's still just a little turd..
For 2 grand, you get something smaller than a netbook.
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The need for giving an overall feel of innovation is something that Steve Jobs understood
Hi Tim Cook, is that you? :-)
No, it's anyone who isn't a rampant Apple-Hater like you.
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Ick, I'm being slimed by Apple scientologists.
Still gonna break (Score:3, Informative)
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Flexibility and moving parts do not equal automatic failure. Maybe this will fail, maybe it'll succeed. But the fact that it has moving parts doesn't guarantee failure. Aside from solid state electronics, pretty much every technology ever invented uses moving parts which eventually wear out. The key is getting it to last long enough (or making it easy to r
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Flexibility and moving parts do not equal automatic failure. Maybe this will fail, maybe it'll succeed. But the fact that it has moving parts doesn't guarantee failure.
That's a different paradigm. I was always taught that any moving part will eventually fail.
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So, I assume you prefer on-screen keyboards because any moving part will eventually fail.
Yes, you're right--any moving part will eventually fail. The big question is how long will it take? I'd want to look at the warrantee on these things. Is this a case where things will start falling apart one week after the manufacturer's warrantee expires? If they'll give me a four year warrantee, I might trust it enough to plunk down $2000...
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You could say the same about cars. Eventually the bodywork will fail due to metal fatigue, but fortunately most last long enough that something else kills them first.
All it needs to do is last long enough that the user will be satisfied with the value from their $2000 purchase.
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You could say the same about cars. Eventually the bodywork will fail due to metal fatigue
Yeah, especially those folding cars where the body is bent 180 degrees every time you park it.
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You could say the same about cars. Eventually the bodywork will fail due to metal fatigue
Yeah, especially those folding cars where the body is bent 180 degrees every time you park it.
You think folding is absurd? Every (non-electric) car has an engine which relies on thousands of EXPLOSIONS every minute! What a stupid design. That will never work. It's only a matter of time before the whole car just explodes. No idiot is gonna want to drive in one of those.
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You could say the same about cars. Eventually the bodywork will fail due to metal fatigue, but fortunately most last long enough that something else kills them first.
All it needs to do is last long enough that the user will be satisfied with the value from their $2000 purchase.
So, about 10 years, then?
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Material fatigue happens to all moving parts, eventually. This is a dead concept and Samsung needs to accept losses on their sunk costs for this mistake.
Better not make any aircraft, ships, cars, or bridges then... ...and don't even get me started on things that have steel cables like elevators.
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Material fatigue happens to all moving parts, eventually. This is a dead concept and Samsung needs to accept losses on their sunk costs for this mistake.
Better not make any aircraft, ships, cars, or bridges then... ...and don't even get me started on things that have steel cables like elevators.
Of course there are levels of build. The foldable Samsung is not built to MilSpec. I'm doubting the foldable screen could be.
It is what it is, a consumer level toy. I do trust you are not even attempting to sat that an elevator or aircraft carrier is the same as a smartphone in build quality. Build it to any of the design specs you used as an example, and the 2K might be a down payment.
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Material fatigue happens to all moving parts, eventually. This is a dead concept and Samsung needs to accept losses on their sunk costs for this mistake.
Better not make any aircraft, ships, cars, or bridges then... ...and don't even get me started on things that have steel cables like elevators.
Guess that's why Elevators don't have Safety Brakes on them, right?
Oh, wait...
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It just needs to last long enough that someone wants to upgrade to a newer model.
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Material fatigue happens to all moving parts, eventually. This is a dead concept and Samsung needs to accept losses on their sunk costs for this mistake.
Samsung doesn't care; so long as it makes it to the end of the warranty-period.
But it doesn't matter anyway; since Samsung rarely supports anything past 2 years. So enjoy your $1,000 per year Android and Samsung Bloatware crapfest!
https://phandroid.com/2018/03/... [phandroid.com]
https://www.androidcentral.com... [androidcentral.com]
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It makes me wonder if two separate pieces with magnetic locking might not be a better option. Pop them apart and snap them together back-to-back or front-to-front, or pop them apart and snap them edge-to-edge. Each half could have a battery, and you'd have to make sure that contact points were cleaned regularly, but you theoretically could transfer enough data across a touch contact rather than a wire. We've got USB connectors that can survive thousands of plug/unplug cycle, so it seems like it's a solvable
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Material fatigue happens to all moving parts, eventually.
And we have successfully engineered parts that move continuously and last for 20 years doing so. By comparison here we have a part that moves periodically and is expected to last only until its warranty expires because then we're going to want to upgrade to 5G and then 3D, and after that holographic unlock, and mind control.
There's nothing "sunk" about a concept that literally every tech company is exploring.
I'm just pissed (Score:3, Insightful)
Whenever I said I want a smartphone with a physical keyboard like a Nokia Communicator, I get to hear that nobody would buy something that bulky... but the hype is real over a bloody foldable display in a stupid aspect ratio.
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Re: I'm just pissed (Score:2)
Looking forward to this phone, eventually... (Score:2)
The first version of any new product line is understandably more expensive than legacy products. Hopefully this expensive first version will come down in price after the early adopters put it through it's paces.
I rarely use my cell phone as a cell pone anymore. It's a backup navigation and mapping device for aviation, camera and video recorder, teleconferencing device, video training and entertainment device, music source, and countless weird little apps that are amusing and sometimes incredibly useful.
"Fixed" (Score:2)
Aside from the potential technical issues, you could walk into a store and buy an S10+ and Tab S6 and still have change over what this t
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Should've been right the first time (Score:2)
$2000. For a phone? (Score:2)
when is Samsung going to fix the software??? (Score:2)
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The only way to be sure is rooting your phone. Even from that point you still don't have a clue what the locked rom image is up to.
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So the question is when will phone manufacturers get off their collective asses and produce a true open-source, rootable phone? It's really a matter of having the communication software locked up for solely standards-compliant radio functions, battery charging software locked up to avoid having the phone halt and catch fire and leave the rest open for power users to hack on. I'm not holding my breath for this to happen.
Good for Samsung (Score:1)
Samsung Was Willing to Sell People Crap (Score:2)
I'll consider a folding phone (Score:2)
.. When they look like the tablets from Westworld.
Just use a hinge (Score:2)
There, saved you millions of dollars in research
I don't get why anyone cares? (Score:2)
Truly, I don't.
I have a galaxy 7, the screen's maybe 5" diagonal? 6?
Watching Netflix with the screen maybe 14" from my face, it's already the equivalent of what, a 65" tv 8 feet away. Do you really need more screen-face coverage?
we design your dreams..!! (Score:1)