Where the goal once had been to make phones and displays as small as possible, recent years have seen them get bigger and bigger until they were able to reach the common size which they currently hold with the ‘phablet’ style being the most common, but manufacturers are always pushing for change, for the next big thing or feature that could take the market by storm, and the most recent has certainly been within a changing display as enthusiast devices are offering folding displays in different configurations. But are they here to stick around, or is it just a gimmick that will go in time?
With different forms of media from streamed content and video in particular being popular and growing options largely in gaming like those found here too, a bigger screen certainly benefits the end user and is largely why the folding display concept is so intriguing, it keeps the smaller form factor that has become the standard but with room to have additional display sizes – early concepts had their spot of trouble with the fold cracking or display issues along the point of weakness, but some of these issues have already been ironed out. The problems stem a little further beyond the feasibility here though, with other factors being the reason why this change may not catch on, just yet at least.
(Image from techradar.com)
Price is certainly the biggest, these are enthusiast devices after all and come with the price tag to match, and given the tech is still so new and being figured out it may take a while before the price comes down to something more acceptable. Performance is another big question mark here too, there has been a lot of work to ensure that modern devices not only come in bigger resolutions, but also that the speed of these displays are faster offering 120hz refresh rates and faster have become the norm and stepping away from this will be difficult for those who have certainly got used to the change.
There’s certainly still a long way to go, and a lot of room for change yet too, once apps start to catch up to work seamlessly on the folding screen it may also be something that attracts more users, but until then they’ll very much remain in the niche. It may be just too much of a difference to lead a mainstream audience away too as comfort with the way modern devices are has become ingrained in the way we use our devices, but it does show that manufacturers are certainly looking to continue smartphone innovation, and could lead to a whole host of new possibilities and exciting changes to make our pocket devices better than before.