It was just a decade ago when turtle-necked Steve Jobs revealed an avant-garde piece of technology, now to be found in every other person’s pockets; the smartphone. Since then, numerous players across continents have entered the game and leveled the playing field to a great extent. Today, the product has become homogenized to such a degree that it is almost impossible for one to distinguish from one block of a touchscreen to another without paying close attention to minuscule design anomalies. Almost every smartphone serves the same functionality as the other even if the price difference between the two is over $1000! That raises the question of what would be the next wave of innovation in the sphere which would truly make the product distinguishable not only in terms of functionality but also its identity. Well, the smartphone industry has come up with an answer about what comes next — foldable smartphones! Even though it may not be the answer every consumer was expecting or looking for, but it is something worth looking at.
As smartphone users, most of us have been through the phase of trying out plenty of feature phones, each comprising of different integrations of prevalent technology. These integrations excited the customer as it collated the functionalities of different devices into one novel device, but today it has reached a stage of relative saturation. For the last few years, smartphone manufacturers have periodically churned out models that are only relatively thinner, faster and stronger (yet claiming to be THE most superior phone ever), however, the realm of functionalities has remained quite the same for a while. Despite the immense buzz around foldable smartphones as a revolutionary technology, manufacturers have failed to deliver a commercially viable superior product. The concept of such a phone has been floating around the industry for quite some time but is yet to reach its customer’s palms. Most recently, Samsung was about to launch the Galaxy Fold but after distributing it to a closed audience of reviewers, their screen miserably backfired and the scheduled product launch for 26th April was delayed indefinitely with a promise to deliver a stronger and sturdier product. Other companies like Xiaomi, Huawei, LG, TCL, and Motorola are also scheduled to launch their versions of the foldable phones later this year but one could expect similar setbacks.
This recent novelty can be perceived in numerous ways, on the one hand, it has advanced the possibilities of our established materials in the form of flexible screens and flexible batteries which denotes the vast scope of innovation. Current renditions of the product promise the user a portable device with an immersive experience in terms of watching videos, playing games, and reading books and articles. The possibility of multitasking and using your phone as an all-inclusive device seems plausible but its implementation is far from the high standards we expect from a device with a price tag as high as $2000! There are multiple issues with the versions of foldable phones we are seeing today — delicate plastic screens (gorilla glass is not bendable, yet), lack of app support (imagine viewing half-sized videos despite folding out your fancy next-gen phone) and the fact that they are SO expensive today! The current wave of the foldable product itself might just end up being a temporary fad but the technology behind it could potentially be an important precursor for things yet to come.
So, when the question arises whether one should ride the wave of the latest in-thing, it is for the user to assess himself. Does it completely replace the utility of a laptop or even an iPad today? Not really. Does it spark the new wave of smartphone technology which might become the norm in the future? Yes. So, if you identify yourself as tech-geek infatuated with regular improvements in innovation, definitely check out the latest array of products even if you don’t end up owning it. However, if you find yourself anywhere else on the spectrum of interest in technology, it would be very wise to not purchase the initial versions of foldable smartphones even if your pockets are deeper than foldable screens.
