Has the shape of smartphones just changed? (probably not, or not yet)

Just before leaving for the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​invited by Huawei as part of its Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) Program, I read a hands-on review in TNW about Samsung’s new foldable model, the Galaxy Fold, and which I found interesting because of its balanced assessment of the advantages and disadvantages the form poses.

This year’s MWC will undoubtedly focus on what we might call the form factor. Last year we saw a whole bunch of iPhone X copycats obsessed with infinite screens, a notch facial recognition; this year, in the absence of a major surprise from Apple, its competitors will try to steal a march. We can expect to see folding models, different notches tiny or even holeless and using the screen as a speaker.

These variations of the form factor are undoubtedly good news. However, in some cases, like the Galaxy Fold, they can be so drastic that they practically redefine or the smartphone, effectively creating a new product. The model, according to the first reviews, is a monster with three screens (one for use with the device closed, and other two when it is fully deployed) which explains its very high price, close to $2,000, along with its size and weight. Obviously, having two bodies makes a much larger battery possible, as well as having much more space for other components. This…