Nice. I love the Surface line
I saw photos and videos of the Huawei Mate X and honestly, at first it seems really, really cool, but the more I think about trying to actually use it, it just seems like a gimmick. But then, I stood in line to get the very first iPad on opening day, and I did use it for a couple of years, but I eventually sold it realising I didn’t REALLY need a tablet between my phone and my laptop. And now my Samsung Galaxy S8+ is a Phablet anyway. I can’t imagine needing anything bigger without then needing a whole laptop like situation. I’m probably not the demographic for this at all.
I think the iPad is a very genuinely useful product for a great many people though, @kionon.
Like you, I can’t see a foldable phone as being useful. Very gimmicky.
But - the tech itself could have many uses. Take a big screen tv wherever you go. Or as above - some kind of wearable.
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I have no problem seeing the uses for a folding phone. All you have to do is imagine the uses of a phone and the uses of a tablet.
Benefit of buying one instead of a separate phone and tablet?
Cost and convenience.
I’m a person who uses my phone a lot, and I use my iPad a lot. So it only seems the natural progression to have both in one. At least that’s me, not everyone uses their devices as much as I do.
I think it is, but for me my iPhone 6S ended up nearly big enough to do what I mainly did with my iPad 1st gen did but my iPhone 3G or my iPhone 4 could never do. However, now definitely my Galaxy S8+, and I am sure an iPhone whatever plus is more than enough space, @cosmichobo. I could see someone who needs an actual tablet folding it to store it away for greater protection. Dropping it would be less dangerous too, because the screen would be hidden by the outer chassis.
@Dan except but I do. Which is why I call my Galaxy S8+ a Phablet. But then I have small hands (I’m tall, but honestly, I’m slender and pretty small boned, etc). In my hand any of the Plus offerings from Apple or the big Android device makers feel like holding one of the mega candy bars. Barely get my hand around them.
A large screen phone can be productive, there’s no doubt about it. There are things I can do on my 12” iPad Pro that I can still do on my XS, but wouldn’t necessarily want to when I have a larger screen at my disposal. So for me, rather than going back and forth between devices, I’d have them be one and the same. Just a matter of folding/unfolding.
This does make me think of the Apple Pencil. I wonder how they would approach the Apple Pencil with the ‘Apple Fold’. Would it be a full sized pencil you take out when in tablet mode? Or would they opt for something smaller?
Huawei knocked Samsung attempt for a six.
I must say I’m tempted by the Huawei Mate X, it’s just that all my Android experiences are turning me away.
That thing is a stunner though.
The thing I don’t like the look of with the Huawei, is the fold is obvious when the device is fully opened. It doesn’t appear to sit flat like the Samsung does. There were many times in the video I could make out a “fold line” in the middle of the display, or noticed the slight angle of the hinge when the device was fully opened. Looks like you might need to hold it on the fold to keep it sturdy when in use.
I am feeling zero FOMO. I’m excited for new tech, time will tell what the public wants/needs.
Huawei is super expensive though, likely at least a grand more than the Fold
Wow… how have I never heard of FOMO before… 
Rather than a foldable screen why wasn’t the next evolution a dual screen flip device? If the bezels were minimal you could effectively have a larger screen but in 2 pieces. Perhaps not ideal but there are many places that display a single video across say 9 or 16 screens.
Back in the day I made a mock-up of a dual screen hinged 3GS. In those days, we still had plenty of flip out phones, so seemed reasonable. These days… maybe not so much.
I think when talking of multiple displays showing 1 image… the key is distance from the display… closer being badder.
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A ‘dual monitors’ approach to a phone doesn’t appeal to me personally
Bigger screens are nice and all but when these are slightly smaller than an iPad mini and an odd shape I’m starting to wonder what the benefits really are vs the size, weight and complexity of these devices.
I have always been a fan of docking stations and have said many times over the years that it would be great if your phone could plug into your computer and be your user folder and allow for a portable experience. These days phones are more than powerful enough to actually BE the whole computer for many (most?) people now making the solution even simpler.
To that end I love the concept of Samsung DEX. A docking station which allows your phone to use a larger screen, keyboard and mouse. I do think many apps would likely need to be tweaked to take full advantage of the larger screen and input devices.
With Apple working on Marzipan there is some potential that iOS apps start getting more focused on working on larger screens with different input devices. Coupled with the rumoured Apple CPUs replacing Intel chips one day then in my mind that opens the potential for iOS to become the desktop and things like DEX to be the solution.
With this type of approach the lower power user simply uses their phone on a cheap (in Apple terms anyway) dock and a power user buys a far more expensive unit that comes with extra CPU’s (and maybe other resources too) that can be used to increase the processing power of the phone.
Sure it’s a giant dream, but something I see as a better approach than a folding phablet.
I’m not sure how well Apple’s docking systems sold in the past… and they probably aren’t really all that comparable these days… But I don’t see them going for it.
Shame.
I think it has a future if implemented properl
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If I recall correctly, this was basis for the Ubuntu phone (I am not even sure if the project led to models being available.
There is this (privacy focused with a dock) phone on pre-orfer
https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/
also links back to this thread on using linux in place of OS X
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If/when the tech becomes cheap enough… I’m sure we’ll be seeing all kinds of uses.
Pull your wallet out - it’s outside is a foldable screen.
Handbags - One bag could fit every dress because you could just tell it what colour/s textures to display.
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I agree. The current implementations are limited, and I think that we’ll really need to wait and see what works and what doesn’t.