Dear Everyone, “Don’t bet on Galaxy Fold. Huawei’s Mate X is clearly the way!”
The form factor that Foldable Phones must have.
What do you give up when you move from your smartphone to a form factor such as Galaxy Fold? Samsung wants us to focus on what we gain: A MUCH bigger display. But what do you give up?
There are some minor trade-offs with the Galaxy Fold’s form factor:
- A soft plastic display surface instead of glass,
- the huge UNAVOIDABLE notch that will awkwardly cut into all your content,
- a wedge shaped phone with a gap in the middle when folded,
- the gap that houses all kinds of debris,
- a heavier & a thicker phone,
and what do you give up is a lot of money.
But Galaxy Fold will always get cheaper, slowly if they remove the notch by implementing expensive under-screen cameras. The plastic display surface will become better, the device will always get thinner and lighter, and the gap will be taken care of by even more flexible displays. These are things that the industry compromises with in short to mid-term.
To the industry: the product designers, developers and consumers betting on this new form factor… The real question is: Which form factor will hold up in the long run: Samsung’s “innie” Galaxy Fold, or Huawei’s “outtie” Mate X?
This is why the “outtie” is the answer :
What do you essentially give up with Galaxy Fold is: A traditional smartphone and the option of not having to deal with it’s trade-offs in the first place.
What the fuck did I just say? Let me explain.
Ever since the dawn of smartphones in 90s, there has been a long running debate of how a smartphone be designed. Apple crushed all of these debates by crushing the physical keyboard and inventing the face of hand-held computers common today. The iPhone set the tone for what will be perfected over 10 years as this monolith of glass that is your window to the world.
Today, everyone knows how to make a smartphone. It’s a standard recipe that makes all the phones look similar and it’s hard to make a really bad phone these days. Anyone can make a good standard smartphone. The best phones are only differentiated by the nit-pickers.
This speaks volumes for THE design. Like the design for a spoon, the masses have accepted this monolith of glass as the robust standard for a smartphone. And the Galaxy Fold asks you to ditch this design for something, allegedly, better. The large display folds like a tall, narrow book, rests in your hand like a baton. And on the cover is an awkward tiny display begging you to unfold the device. Whereas the Huawei Mate X doesn’t demand any of this while still giving you the “better”.
In it’s default state, in it’s folded state, the Mate X is simply a conventional smartphone. It’s simply a big smartphone and can continue being that, unless you unfold it and there you have it… the magic of foldable phones: An almost Tablet-sized, exactly Kindle-sized display.
The display wraps around the outer surface of the fold. It’s an “outtie” which means:
- In it’s folded state, the part of the screen on the back can show anything being seen by the main cameras. That means you can turn the phone around and use the rear cameras for selfies, and no front camera needed. And (say it with me) NO NOTCH NEEDED.
- Curving the display on the outside means a bigger curvature and you don’t have to wait for the display technology to get any more flexible. The display neatly folds without causing a weird wedge shape with a gap.
- And because of this, the phone is flat, a little thick but not weird or uncomfortable, and my favorite part: the rear cameras are part of a ridge that goes along the entire side of the phone. This serves as a grip for you to hold the phone when unfolded with one hand like a Kindle Oasis. This means the Mate X achieves yet another thing: it’s as comfortable to hold with one hand as a Kindle.
In the folded state, Galaxy Fold gives you an awkward tiny screen begging to be unfolded. When unfolded, it’s big, pretty and as I am looking at my iPad right now, it would be so much better for everyone. But it will always be only comfortable to interact with using 2 hands.
I want to be able to use my smartphone with one hand as well. I want to be able to use my foldable smartphone like a tried-and-tested, conventional smartphone. And most times that is all you need, and all most apps are designed for.
To put it plainly, Galaxy Fold asks the industry to give up on the smartphone design that we have mastered around touch screens for the privilege of Galaxy’s FOLD. With the Mate X, I still get a good, flat, curved sided smartphone that then unfolds to give a lot more utility and fun. Mate X is, so obviously, the way.
