Question What do you think about the Google OEM and/or Pixel Fold so far?

[TheMystic]

screen breaking from the regular action of unfolding not even a year of ownership for each generation

That just proves that real life usage is very different from factory testing in controlled environments.

While I wish good for all the buyers of this device, I would also suggest that they think well before buying it.

 

[sawdoctor]

From what the Z Fold 2 through 4 owners post on Reddit it's a bit alarming seeing pictures of the same crack down the center of the fold on the regular. Sure, they represent a small set of Fold owners but the fact that the screen breaking from the regular action of unfolding not even a year of ownership for each generation is worrying. Also some Galaxy Folds stop folding all the way after some time.

Hopefully Google actually produces a durable foldable and Samsung finally solves the spontaneous cracking of their inner screens with the Fold 5.

I've had the zfold 3 for nearly 2 years now and durability wise it's been fine. I've dropped it so many times and only thing on it is a small scratch on the hinge.

The one issue there is and pixel fold will be the same is the inner screen protector. It will fail overtime at the hinge and either lift away or crack. I've changed mine twice in 2 years because of that but I've changed the outer screen protector a lot more due to scratches , bubbles etc

 

[rodken]

I've had the zfold 3 for nearly 2 years now and durability wise it's been fine. I've dropped it so many times and only thing on it is a small scratch on the hinge.

The one issue there is and pixel fold will be the same is the inner screen protector. It will fail overtime at the hinge and either lift away or crack. I've changed mine twice in 2 years because of that but I've changed the outer screen protector a lot more due to scratches , bubbles etc

Your findings also hold true for the Z Flip 3 5G.

 

[ncr100]

I'm excited about the form factor being pleasantly thin, when collapsed.

[ Based upon handling my currently empty Pixel Fold phone case: ]

I received the Spigen case, clear TPU, and conclude the fold will feel like a "small, chunky phone" relative to what I'm used to with my pixel 7 Pro. I have a medium to large hand for a guy, thin fingers. Holding the collapsed case, I notice mainly the height being "stubby." Impressions that come to mind for thickness are "justified" and "really not that bad."

 

[krabman]

Yep, my zf2 is still fine, had it from the day it released. Same with XFold. Can't say that about the first fold; the hinge was getting creaky and the screen cover was giving up. But, I think we all know how it went with that one.

In any event, I'm not too worried about it; I've broken plenty of rectangles and I'm sure I'll break a folding device sooner or later: It happens.

Frankly I hear a lot more complaints about the durability of folding phones from people who've never owned one then I ever read on the forums with owners.

 

[jairusz]

The foldable phone, at least from Samsung as both the Folds and Flips are the only ones I've owned and followed, have a durability problem and it's too fragile to own such an expensive device. In my experience in owning the Galaxy Z Fold 2, 3, 4 and Z Flip 3, you have to really take care of this phone to prevent it from breaking under normal use whether it's keeping the phone covered when taking it to the beach to constantly keeping the hinge clean so the phone will continue to completely unfold. Maybe I'm just neurotic when it comes to keeping expensive phones functioning. Regardless, it's still too much maintenance to get accustomed to for an expensive, fragile device when people can just keep buying their regular slab phone and not have to deal it.

As of not even 24 hours of this post being written there is a recent post of the same damaged inner screen on Reddit and just within this single post below there are comments from other owners who experienced the same damaged screen. Cracked without external damage and just from unfolding. I'm surprised no one has made the seemingly obligatory "congrats, your Fold is now a Duo!" joke yet. If iPhones had a chance suddenly not working from turning the screen on at the same rate of Galaxy Folds breaking from its intended purpose of unfolding way before reaching 200k folds, it would actually make headlines and there would be a recall.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyFold/comments/13w7cgj

I really hope this doesn't happen with the Pixel Fold and for all the Galaxy Z Fold owners who mocked the bezel, if that's what it takes to not have the middle of the inner screen spontaneously crack, I'll switch to purchasing Pixel Folds permanently even with it's undercooked tablet features compared to One UI.

 

[TheMystic]

Maybe I'm just neurotic

No. What you said is 100% true.

If iPhones had a chance suddenly not working from turning the screen on at the same rate of Galaxy Folds breaking from its intended purpose of unfolding way before reaching 200k folds, it would actually make headlines and there would be a recall.

That's not likely though. Apple is an arrogant company that doesn't respect it's users' feedback. If they did, they wouldn't have continued using the flawed 'butterfly' keyboard for 5 years, despite so many complaints, and more importantly, Apple knowing about the design flaw for long. And this is just one example. There are many others.

Apple’s Butterfly Keyboard Fiasco Leads to a $50M Settlement

The class action lawsuit alleged that the company knew about the problems with its MacBook keyboards.

www.wired.com

 

[ncr100]

I worry about the Fold and About OS: have recent versions of Android have kept up with the concept of multiple simultaneous screens?

In more detail :

I have a concern, deriving from the fact Google had to update 50 plus applications so that they would work correctly in This foldable's environment. Google touts that mass update as a pro, in marketing around the fold. However the fact that the operating system doesn't already support multiple screens at different densities, as the article below mentions, is an enormous concern for me. I really don't want to see inches and inches of empty white space and a concentration of content on the left of my screen.

It would suck if third party applications have to be recompiled so that they are aware of the folded screen. In fact, if that's the case, then my mind will be blown. Android forever has seemed to have smart screen density and other presentation technology, speaking as an Android developer myself.

Oppo Find N2 review: Beautiful hardware that Android just can’t deal with

Square-screened Android devices don't play well with the app ecosystem.

arstechnica.com

Maybe this is just an issue with the Oppo Find N2 distribution of Android. Fingers are crossed.

 

[krabman]

That's not a Pixel specific problem. Unfortunately Android is woefully behind Apple in terms of Android applications addressing tablet formats. You never really know what you're going to get and it doesnt matter which device you're talking about. You can get an actual working tablet UI, bars, regular phone app unchanged and blown up oversized. You just don't know until you try and it applies to all Android devices with the tablet formats.

Another thing which relates to the folders is that sometimes an app will decide to go to it's tablet UI and also flip it to landscape; so then you have to rotate the phone. You don't know what you're going to get there either, you find out when you open the app.

Google is looking to fix the lack of tablet support in Android so it makes sense to clean up their own house. To give it some perspective; on the first Z Fold some of Samsung's own apps didn't work right. They've since fixed all of their apps that I use but they didn't start out that way.

The pixel should have fewer oddities with apps and how they open because you'll already be in landscape when you unfold. That's my guess but it is based on observations made by people attending the hands-on as well as my own experience with 3 folders.

 

[jtizzle34]

I'm absolutely loving this phone! Btw I've had a Samsung fold 3 and 4 and never had the screen protectors come off of them or crack or whatever. Also I've dropped my fold 4 on concrete because I'm dumb and hate cases but it still works absolutely flawlessly! So what I'm trying to say is my experience with folding phones is very positive thus far! I hope my pixel fold continues the trend. So far so good. (I'm getting a case this time around )