News I've used foldable phones for months — here are four software issues I noticed

[AC News]

Reviewers tend to say that “many apps aren’t optimized” on foldable phones, but what exactly do they mean by that? Here’s a breakdown of some common software issues.

I've used foldable phones for months — here are four software issues I noticed : Read more

 

[politebat2001]

Name the phone that's perfect? I'll wait.

 

[Village_Idiot]

I don't think that was the point of the article. It's not about the devices, it's about apps and whether they support foldable display devices.

To be honest, not all apps need or should support foldable or multi-display devices. Apps like Instagram or Venmo. They would be apps most people would use in portrait mode anyway.

Apps like Outlook or Gmail are examples of apps that should support foldable displays.

 

[kiniku]

The OnePlus Open caught everybody by surprise. So much that Samsung and Google will take notice. Samsung has had very little incentive to innovate its foldables for the U.S. market. Pixel brought in a Johnny come lately in too. But this is going to cause both to be more competitive.
The OnePlus Open is a much better alternative to both. But it also is not without it's shortfalls. I see the fall of 2024 as a great year for foldables!

 

[Village_Idiot]

Samsung is still innovating. It's kinda like when the first Note series devices came out. First people made fun of it. Then when they saw how popular they were becoming, started to copy them. The innovation came when app developers started writing apps to take advantage of the larger screens and smart styli like the S pen.

Now that Samsung has shown that foldable devices are viable and practical, you will see more a maturing of the technology. Other OEMs are starting to copy...again. Like with large screen phones, it will be app developers to innovate by writing apps to take advantage of foldable display technology.

Your OnePlus example demonstrates that cycle perfectly. OnePlus didn't push the hardware technology forward that much. It is the software innovation that OnePlus implemented is what makes the OnePlus Open a very good device and noteworthy.

It's been the story of computers since the first digital computers were invented.

 

[kiniku]

Samsung is still innovating. It's kinda like when the first Note series devices came out. First people made fun of it. Then when they saw how popular they were becoming, started to copy them. The innovation came when app developers started writing apps to take advantage of the larger screens and smart styli like the S pen.

Now that Samsung has shown that foldable devices are viable and practical, you will see more a maturing of the technology. Other OEMs are starting to copy...again. Like with large screen phones, it will be app developers to innovate by writing apps to take advantage of foldable display technology.

Your OnePlus example demonstrates that cycle perfectly. OnePlus didn't push the hardware technology forward that much. It is the software innovation that OnePlus implemented is what makes the OnePlus Open a very good device and noteworthy.

It's been the story of computers since the first digital computers were invented.

That much? The Open is vastly superior in hardware. Larger, much brighter displays. Normal (not shrinked) front display. Larger and longer battery life. And much better cameras. The Fold is still using the outdated cameras from the Fold 4 which are worse than the S22 Ultra's.

 

[Village_Idiot]

Using a faster processor, brighter display, and a better camera is not innovation. You can use the best hardware on the market, but if the software and user interface is mediocre, then what you have is a mediocre device. Like I said, what makes it noteworthy and not a mediocre device is more to do with how innovative the OnePlus software is.

Furthermore, Samsung will answer with the Z Fold 6 and both Google and OnePlus will have to catch up again. Then both Google and OnePlus (and possibly Apple) will answer back. Eventually, one of them will introduce a whole new type of device and start the cycle all over again (probably not Apple).

This cycle has been going on since the first digital computers were designed over 60 years ago.

 

[mustang7757]

I don't think that was the point of the article. It's not about the devices, it's about apps and whether they support foldable display devices.

To be honest, not all apps need or should support foldable or multi-display devices. Apps like Instagram or Venmo. They would be apps most people would use in portrait mode anyway.

Apps like Outlook or Gmail are examples of apps that should support foldable displays.

With more and more manufacturers developing and selling foldable it would be wise for Google since they just launched their own foldable to get app developer to support more and more Foldables like Samsung has more 3rd party apps that take advantage of the big screen than Google pixel Fold .
I've been on Samsung 3/4 and now 5th generation foldable and just got the pixel fold just recently launched.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

That much? The Open is vastly superior in hardware. Larger, much brighter displays. Normal (not shrinked) front display. Larger and longer battery life. And much better cameras. The Fold is still using the outdated cameras from the Fold 4 which are worse than the S22 Ultra's.

Samsung should really feel ashamed of themselves letting Oneplus beat them on camera and especially Display. Even if they retaliate on the Fold 6, that's still almost a full year of playing second fiddle.

 

[Bkdodger1]

I'm not convinced this OnePlus camera is the standout winner here ...I've seen plenty of comparison pics and there are some wins for each foldable here in the US ..I will say I do like their screen brightness and overall screen ..that's a good thing

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I'm not convinced this OnePlus camera is the standout winner here ...I've seen plenty of comparison pics and there are some wins for each foldable here in the US ..I will say I do like their screen brightness and overall screen ..that's a good thing

I do have to admit that I'm only going off what reviewers are saying, but if it's even a contest it shows how much Samsungs laurel resting is making them slip.

 

[Bkdodger1]

I do have to admit that I'm only going off what reviewers are saying, but if it's even a contest it shows how much Samsungs laurel resting is making them slip.

I agree with Samsung sitting back critics and they need to push it up a notch...it's good to have the competition..I just like to point out there are other things to the Samsung experience that go beyond just the specs ..

 

[Village_Idiot]

Samsung should really feel ashamed of themselves letting Oneplus beat them on camera and especially Display. Even if they retaliate on the Fold 6, that's still almost a full year of playing second fiddle.

You do realize that the OnePlus came out AFTER the Z Fold 5, right? Samsung decides when to release new devices, not OnePlus. Samsung will release the Z Fold 6 when it is ready to release it. It has nothing to fear from OnePlus.

 

[mustang7757]

All I can say is Samsung dominates the foldable market right now while others just getting their first versions of it now , I think each iteration they are just polishing it but I'm sure at some point they will make some changes.

 

[Village_Idiot]

I agree with Samsung sitting back critics and they need to push it up a notch...it's good to have the competition..I just like to point out there are other things to the Samsung experience that go beyond just the specs ..

Samsung now has some real competition to contend with and knowing how it works, will turn up the heat. You pretty much echoed what I said previously. It's not all about hardware. If the hardware is top notch, but the software is, "meh." Then the overall experience will be, "meh." The problem is many people in these forums and elsewhere seem to think that having the fastest and "bestest" hardware means you automatically have the bestest device. It's like cars. You can have the car with the most powerful motor, top notch transmission, and suspension, but if you don't know how to drive it, you will still lose every race.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

You do realize that the OnePlus came out AFTER the Z Fold 5, right? Samsung decides when to release new devices, not OnePlus. Samsung will release the Z Fold 6 when it is ready to release it. It has nothing to fear from OnePlus.

Yep, and I don't give a shirt.

That's actually my exact point. Samsung used to be so far ahead of the competition that they could release a device in January and it would still be better than anything else that got released that year. Now they just wait for other people to beat them to a punch, relying on sheer bulk to absorb the damage and then slowly reacting to it. The industry has proven time and again that business model does not work. Unless you're Apple.

And I didn't say they should feel fear, I said they should feel shame.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I agree with Samsung sitting back critics and they need to push it up a notch...it's good to have the competition..I just like to point out there are other things to the Samsung experience that go beyond just the specs ..

That's very true, and the reason I use 2 or 3 Samsung devices on a daily basis while my Pixel sits on a shelf. But I do feel the need to hammer home that I'm not talking about esoteric specs here that are nice on paper butt don't really make a difference in daily use like the 12 Vs 16GB of RAM. Displays and cameras actually move devices.

 

[Bkdodger1]

That's very true, and the reason I use 2 or 3 Samsung devices on a daily basis while my Pixel sits on a shelf. But I do feel the need to hammer home that I'm not talking about esoteric specs here that are nice on paper butt don't really make a difference in daily use like the 12 Vs 16GB of RAM. Displays and cameras actually move devices.

Oh I agree with displays and cameras but if that software does not take advantage of it you might still not get those results from looking at the specs on paper ... it's just so much more than this phone has better specs and hardware to get your end results ...