Samsung could Launch a Bi-Folding smartphone in 2023

[TheMystic]

I have so far not been convinced to buy a folding phone, because it offers absolutely nothing of benefit over the bar form factor. At best, it offers a different form factor that people may like just for a change.

The current folding designs when unfolded do not offer the correct viewing experience. When watching videos, there are these black horizontal bars on top and bottom, which is a complete waste of space.

The screen isn't wide enough to be used as a tablet or laptop either.

Typing isn't comfortable either. We are far more comfortable typing on the phone in portrait mode than when it is in landscape mode.

Overall, the current folding design is a change just for the sake of it.

However, it is a step towards transition to a much better form factor - the Bi-Folding design with 3 screens and 2 folding hinges! The phones should ideally be shorter than the bar form factor (something like the Oppo Find N series), so they unfold to become a tablet of the right dimensions.

This will truly offer perfect viewing experience when unfolded with minimal black bars (or bezels), and offer large enough display area to use it as a tablet or a computer. One can keep the unfolded phone on a stand and use a bluetooth keyboard to type on it.

If this news turns out to be true, then we can expect to see much improvised products in 2026 when the 3rd or 4th generation of double folding phones would become a reality, and offer a perfect alternative to the bar form factor.

This would likely also kill the current folding phones and tablets too, which won't make much sense then.

Source

 

[blackhawk]

Samsung is beyond redemption now; lost in their own bs marketing hype while failing to listen to long time customers. Devoid of functional, useful innovation the majority of their customers want.
More folding junk that is going to cause issues, not have expandable storage or a long lifespan without repairs and be insanely expensive.

Worse they picked a global recession to try this expensive experiment. Sky high Development costs and imited production numbers will mean no profit. Their already horrible customer support will get worse.
The box of rabid wet gerbils know as Samsung isn't serving their customers or investors well. What could go wrong?

Samsung should have stuck to the basics; a bar form factor (rather than a bloody brick) with near zero bezel, lots of hardware features that boost functionality (like the spen and 2tb expandable storage), fast/efficient processors, 12gb of ram, better firmware/software innovations and balance. A price around or under $1G.

 

[TheMystic]

Devoid of functional, useful innovation the majority of their customers want.

Although there are a few useful features that are missing (such as a built-in Firewall, AppLock, Multiple Users, and above all dual cell superfast charging), OneUI has the most features on a smartphone in the market today. What innovation ideas do you have in mind?

Sky high Development costs and imited production numbers will mean no profit.

As with the 1st Fold, this too wouldn't be a device made for profit during the initial years. Their production costs would be categorised as R&D during the initial years.

As with external storage:

External storage isn't coming on flagships for four reasons:

1. It is way slower than internal storage (although I think they should allow it to be used only for storing user files like documents and media, and block installation of apps and storing of their data).

2. This allows them to make a lot of money on their higher storage variants.

3. This also allows them to force users to buy their cloud storage plans.

4. Even external storage in the form of micro SD card are super expensive today. One can argue that it makes more financial sense to use an external SSD instead that would be much more cheaper.

Overall, I would say you tend to be a bit unfair on Samsung. There is always a scope for improvement with all products and brands.

 

[blackhawk]

The Samsung innovation failures is more pecking than I care to do right now. Simply making bloatware installable be a easy, simple, welcomed one.

$125 for a Sandisk Extreme 1tb V30 card. A 256gb internal memory is sufficient (even though Samsung sells "flagships" now with a mere 128gb and no expandable storage).
An external solution is vastly inferior to an onboard data drive for several reasons including convenience, reliability, accessibility and speed.

Someone who never set up dual drive systems has no clue how useful these are when implemented and used correctly. Including another level of data redundancy if the OS crashes or if the phone is physically damaged and for new phone setup. Using a dual drive is a no brainer.

 

[TheMystic]

$125 for a Sandisk Extreme 1tb V30 card. A 256gb internal memory is sufficient (even though Samsung sells "flagships" now with a mere 128gb and no expandable storage).

That's a good amount of money. For that price, you could get a 2TB SSD. Higher storage variants of micro SD card are very expensive.

An external solution is vastly inferior to an onboard data drive for several reasons including convenience, reliability, accessibility and speed.

Assuming you are talking about micro SD card, that's true but only for convenience.

On speeds, they are no comparison to portable SSDs, which by themselves are slower than internal storage. Accessibility is limited to the device they are on. SSDs are much more reliable too.

Someone who never set up dual drive systems has no clue how useful these are when implemented and used correctly.

That would be an assumption. This is like me saying "someone who has never used a cloud service has no clue about how secure, convenient and useful they are".

We choose what works best for us. The best solution is one that fits into our requirements the best. And this is different for different individuals.

Including another level of data redundancy if the OS crashes or if the phone is physically damaged and for new phone setup. Using a dual drive is a no brainer.

No one is disagreeing with this. The company takes decisions that would give them maximum revenue, not just today but going forward too. Removing features like this to push people into using the cloud is essentially an investment for future.

 

[blackhawk]

That's a good amount of money. For that price, you could get a 2TB SSD. Higher storage variants of micro SD card are very expensive.

Samsung is charging far more than that for a 1tb phone and dozens of gbs of that memory is tied up.

Assuming you are talking about micro SD card, that's true but only for convenience.

On speeds, they are no comparison to portable SSDs, which by themselves are slower than internal storage. Accessibility is limited to the device they are on. SSDs are much more reliable too.

Data drives don't need to be fast, duh.
SSD's are just flash memory... enterprise class hdds are more reliable (platters still readable most times even if hardware fails). If a flash drive fails electrically, it's DOA.

We choose what works best for us. The best solution is one that fits into our requirements the best. And this is different for different individuals.

The point is having the choice. Secure cloud servers? You mean like Samsung's recently hacked ones?

No one is disagreeing with this. The company takes decisions that would give them maximum revenue, not just today but going forward too. Removing features like this to push people into using the cloud is essentially an investment for future.

Alienating your customer base is a surefire way to lose profits needlessly. Samsung's current management is deceptive, makes up bs stories and simply can't be trusted. Until they grow up they will face increasing consumer discontentment on a grassroots level.

 

[TheMystic]

Samsung is charging far more than that for a 1tb phone and dozens of gbs of that memory is tied up.

Internal storage is much faster and this premium is for that. Besides, the higher end models of any product are very profitable for all companies.

Dozens of GBs you're talking about is just a mathematical calculation of storage space. There is a discussion on this here.

Data drives don't need to be fast, duh.
SSD's are just flash memory... enterprise class hdds are more reliable (platters still readable most times even if hardware fails). If a flash drive fails electrically, it's DOA.

I agree and I mentioned that in post #3 as well. SSDs have the advantage of being very compact and pocketable, HDDs are not.

The point is having the choice. Secure cloud servers? You mean like Samsung's recently hacked ones?

I mean it would be more secure than any I can setup myself. This is true for most people too. Companies do tend to have qualified professionals to manage security and redundancies, so it is the lesser evil.

Alienating your customer base is a surefire way to lose profits needlessly. Samsung's current management is deceptive, makes up bs stories and simply can't be trusted. Until they grow up they will face increasing consumer discontentment on a grassroots level.

Most customers use the cloud storage. There are some services thay offer TBs of storage for free too, although I would personally never use those.

Cloud storage indeed have a very big advantage: ease of access anytime, anywhere and on any device! A reputed company like Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc. would have a very strong system in place to prevent catastrophe.

Since majority customers use cloud storage, and companies also find this more profitable, I don't see why they wouldn't want to take this route.

A lot of noise was made when they removed headphone jack, when charger was removed, etc. But the consumer accepted the reality and moved on. How many do you think will do what you do: an old phone running on an old software? Very few.

 

[blackhawk]

Internal storage is much faster and this premium is for that. Besides, the higher end models of any product are very profitable for all companies.

Dozens of GBs you're talking about is just a mathematical calculation of storage space. There is a discussion on this here.

Critical data doesn't need fast storage. Typically at least 30gb are tied up with the OS and apps if not far more especially with scoped storage.

I agree and I mentioned that in post #3 as well. SSDs have the advantage of being very compact and pocketable, HDDs are not.

Hdds are used for bulletproof backups. One backup is not enough. I have a minimum of 4.

I mean it would be more secure than any I can setup myself. This is true for most people too. Companies do tend to have qualified professionals to manage security and redundancies, so it is the lesser evil.

A data drive is a layer of physical security a single drive machine lacks. It's the first backup for the DCIM folder. It's where copies of all apps are stored; no Playstore needed for reloads or app repairs. The right vetted copy every time.

Most customers use the cloud storage. There are some services thay offer TBs of storage for free too, although I would personally never use those.

That's an assumption Google and Samsung like to push. A market other companies will eagerly capture for very little investment. Inept Samsung. The user defines the market not the vendor.

Cloud storage indeed have a very big advantage: ease of access anytime, anywhere and on any device! A reputed company like Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc. would have a very strong system in place to prevent catastrophe.

No internet, no nothing. I can watch hundreds of movies, play thousands of songs and do a full reload without the internet. The battery savings is worth it alone.

Since majority customers use cloud storage, and companies also find this more profitable, I don't see why they wouldn't want to take this route.

An assumption again. Users who have limited storage are forced to use the only option they got. Sucks to be weak.

A lot of noise was made when they removed headphone jack, when charger was removed, etc. But the consumer accepted the reality and moved on. How many do you think will do what you do: an old phone running on an old software? Very few.

Expandable storage is a completely different animal. A dual drive PC, smartphone, etc will always trump a single drive.
No 3.5mm jack means more wear and tear on the poorly placed and inconvenient (for headphones) C port. There's plenty of room in the huge, bulky cow, the S23U has room for both these features. What a horrible form factor it has. Please don't repeat the falsehoods Samsung's VIPs make.
Samsung is more hype than action now.

 

[TheMystic]

Hdds are used for bulletproof backups. One backup is not enough. I have a minimum of 4.

All those are inaccessible until you physically connect them to your phone, or access them over the internet. They are pure backups.

I want you to also take into consideration 'accessibility' of data. This is only possible via an online server. If you have the expertise to setup a SECURE cloud on your own, then fine. Otherwise, the only option is to use a 3rd party cloud service.

A data drive is a layer of physical security a single drive machine lacks. It's the first backup for the DCIM folder. It's where copies of all apps are stored; no Playstore needed for reloads or app repairs. The right vetted copy every time.

The hardware today is far better than those that existed during the floppy disk days. How often do you hear someone losing their data on a smartphone because of a disk failure? Most such cases (which by themselves are too few) are always a result of the user doing something he doesn't understand.

I too keep a copy of my favourite apps on my phone. Once in a while, I back them up to my PC (and my offline NAS). Same is true for other files. Photos and Videos are INSTANTLY backed up to multiple cloud storages, just as my documents. I do have a Google One subscription as well as Microsoft 365 subscription (which is best because it offers a total of 6 TB of cloud storage for a very reasonable price). And then I also sync them to my PC once in a while (not on a fixed schedule).

The most important advantage is the ease of access of these files from any device. Irrespective of which device I use, I have access to pretty much ALL files I need at any given point in time.

This is NOT possible if your setup doesn't use internet. And the moment internet comes into the picture, security is a major concern. Buying hardware to setup my own server is not a big deal. But keeping it secure is!

If you talk of recurring subscriptions, let me remind you that having local backups too require investment in hardware every few years, as it is not a question of 'if' but 'when' the disks would fail.

That's an assumption Google and Samsung like to push. A market other companies will eagerly capture for very little investment. Inept Samsung. The user defines the market not the vendor.

Data Centers are EXPENSIVE investment. I don't know where you got your data from. Any cloud service provider has to setup a system which is secure, with built-in redundancies, and employ high quality professionals to manage it.

Big Players set these up in very cold countries to save on electricity, and keep multiple backups in different locations around the world to prevent catastrophe.

No internet, no nothing. I can watch hundreds of movies, play thousands of songs and do a full reload without the internet. The battery savings is worth it alone.

As before, apps and services are continuously optimised and there isn't too much battery drain when streaming. On the contrary, video streaming is extremely power efficient even over the internet if you have a fast internet connection.

Check out the stats here. I don't think your N10+ would beat it.

An assumption again. Users who have limited storage are forced to use the only option they got. Sucks to be weak.

This isn't an assumption. Most people indeed use cloud services. Check out Google Play Store to see how many people have downloaded apps providing cloud storage.

Expandable storage is a completely different animal. A dual drive PC, smartphone, etc will always trump a single drive.
No 3.5mm jack means more wear and tear on the poorly placed and inconvenient (for headphones) C port. There's plenty of room in the huge, bulky cow, the S23U has room for both these features. What a horrible form factor it has. Please don't repeat the falsehoods Samsung's VIPs make.
Samsung is more hype than action now.

I'm all for having an expandable storage inside the phone just for saving user files and media. As mentioned before, I'm fine if apps aren't allowed to write 'AppData' to it. Companies are indeed trying to push customers to either upgrade to a higher storage variant or use the cloud, both of which means more money to them.

Removing the Headphone jack too was nothing more than pushing people to buy Bluetooth earphones. Space (or the lack of it) was just stupid excuse.

The Ultra series of phones from Samsung have a superb form factor. Not sure why you call them horrible.

 

[blackhawk]

The Ultra series of phones from Samsung have a superb form factor. Not sure why you call them horrible.

Thicker, and 30gm heavier than the N10+ with a worse display/bezel ratio. Spen on the wrong side. blah. Small wonder the N10+ is still so popular.
With V60 and V90 rated flash cards out their speed is only increasing. There's no substitute for a dual drive device.
Just admit what Samsung won't; Samsung screwed up big time in multiple ways. Their tour of the hurt locker is going to cost them a lot. tff.