Foldable Smartphones: Is the Future Shape of Mobile Unfolding?

What does the future of smartphones hold? Are foldable phones here to stay or just a gimmick with a limited lifespan? With more companies dabbling with foldable devices and the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 underway, it appears foldable smartphones might be shaping the future of mobile. While at this point the steep price tag still makes foldable devices something of a gimmick for affluent tech enthusiasts, the benefits and functionality of such phones seem promising for users and manufacturers alike, who have been putting greater emphasis on foldable smartphones. While the concept seems to be more than a fad, one issue remains the price. Let’s see more about foldable smartphones and is the future shape of mobile unfolding.

Foldable smartphones are making waves

It’s only been roughly two years since we first saw foldable smartphones hit the market. A relatively small Chinese start-up, Royole, released the very first commercially available foldable smartphone FlexiPai in July 2019, shortly after followed by Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X. While the technology is still in its infancy, a lot has already changed. Companies have been investing tons of money to make foldable phones the next big thing. Samsung is leading the way with the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip series. Just one year after the release of the first, the Z Fold2 has shown major improvements with better specs and most of the many issues the first foldable Samsung phone had eradicated. Motorola followed suit by reviving its classic flip phone Motorola Razr with a foldable screen, while Xiaomi created the foldable Mi Mix Fold phone.

It’s evident that foldable smartphones are no longer just a fad, but seem to have the potential of being the next big thing. One issue, however, remains the steep price tag. With manufacturers using cutting-edge technology and stepping into a new field that hasn’t previously existed, it makes sense the price for a foldable device is still high. While technical issues and new designs still need to be tested and improved, prices are likely to stay high. However, as time and technology progress, manufacturers should be able to make these phones cheaper and available to the masses. While prices remain high, foldable phones are unlikely to become mainstream. However, the benefits of such devices already prevail. 

The perks: the large screen and added functionality

The advantages of using a smartphone with a foldable screen are plenty and have sparked the hype surrounding these devices. The screen offers a wide range of benefits and features and allows users to use the large screen of a tablet without having to carry a bulky device in their bags. It’s a hybrid between a smartphone and tablet and offers all the functionality that comes with it. Folded, you can easily use it like any other smartphone, although it really shines with the display unfolded. For instance, the large unfolded and angled screen offers great multitasking features as it allows users to have several apps open side by side. 

When only using one app, the large screen offers crisp, detailed graphics, no matter if you’re watching a video on YouTube, streaming a film on Netflix or playing your favourite mobile game. Gamers can truly benefit from the large screen as mobile games are exploding in popularity. With more games coming to mobile devices, offering a great gaming experience on smartphones has become an important endeavour for manufacturers. Both AAA video games and classic games are now available on mobile devices – no matter if you’re fighting your enemies in Fortnite, building mansions in Minecraft or spinning the reels of slot machines. In fact, there is a range of online casinos in South Africa for mobile, which offer a great variety of casino games such as slots and table games on smartphones. Mobile casinos and other mobile games allow users to play whenever and wherever they like, which works especially well on the larger screen of a foldable phone. When playing, the unfolded display allows for more space for touch controls without obstructing the screen while showing the game in more detail to have a more immersive playing experience even when you’re on the go.

Foldable smartphones are an exciting technology to watch that has already seen drastic improvements within the short time it has been around. While foldable smartphones still have a long way to go before reaching the mainstream, it seems evident they are here to stay and will continue to shape the future of mobile.