This is Samsung’s foldable smartphone | Hacker News Reader

This is Samsung’s foldable smartphone

theverge.com

35 pointskanishkdudeja13 comments

I'm somewhat amused by the way the mention of Microsoft's planned "multiscreen device", as well as the entire article linked to there, makes no mention of the Nintendo DS. It doesn't blend the screens together or have a folding screen, but it certainly has shown that consumers don't consider that a must-have (at least for more specialized devices). I'd argue that a phone with twice as much screen space via folding would have the potential to be successful even with a noticeable bezel -- or even a visible hinge -- between the screens.

ZTE Axon M phone is as you described, but it didn't really catch on. Reviewers of the device did not like the gap from the bezels. I think it hit a sort of uncanny Valley of a gap that the Nintendo DS didn't hit.

DS software was specifically designed to use screens as separate units (for example, actual game video on top, extra data on bottom), not as a unified screen, which helped.

There were other dual screen phones other than the Axon, off the top of my head I can remember NEC Medias W and Kyocera Echo (which was the first Android dual screen phone iirc). There was also a Sony tablet with dual screens, Sony Tablet P.

I'm sure lots of people here will complain about the thickness of the phone and the fat bezels on the accessory screen, but I don't care: As long as the screen durability is reasonable, I will get this device.

I think the thickness is because of a special cover on the phone to hide the final design. that's also the reason why they turned down the lights.

You can down vote me, but I just see a proof of concept, nowhere near a final market-ready product.

Just look at how they present it. Semidark scene, no details whatsoever.

Well, I think a major hurdle of this tech is that it was unclear whether it is physically possible to create a screen with that extreme of a flexible hinge. Though I would never downplay manufacturing challenges, the existence of this POC is a huge deal in my book.

I was hoping for the screen to fold the other way around, i.e it would be outside and it would go from portrait mode to square or landscape (eliminating the need of a 2nd screen)

I think both types of design will coexist soon- The advantage of the inward-folding version is that it would be likely to survive a fall, a desirable feature to have on (what I think is likely to be) a $2000 phone.

I don’t want one, but at least it’s something new!

Really interesting approach the external screen. Seems a bit of a delay to transition to that folded mode.

But I did see a phone with a selfie screen on the back.

Gimmick.

That is until Apple does something similar for the iPhone, at which point we will be officially permitted to call it innovation.

And 5-7 years later we will get "Android phones just copied it from Apple" /s

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