2y ago

Amadeo's Pixel Fold dead after 4 days of light use

arstechnica.com RIP to my Pixel Fold: Dead after four days

The closed display halves almost touch, and that can smash debris into the screen.

"I didn't do anything to deserve this. The phone sat on my desk while I wrote about it, and I would occasionally stop to poke the screen, take a screenshot, or open and close it. It was never dropped or exposed to a significant amount of grit, nor had it gone through the years of normal wear and tear that phones are expected to survive. This was the lightest possible usage of a phone, and it still broke."

This can happen to any phone of course — there are numerous threads on reddit of faulty S23 phones that are only days old, and of course the first Galaxy fold phones were problematic — but still. Rough start!

Technology @kbin.social

RIP to my Pixel Fold: Dead after four days

arstechnica.com /google/2023/06/rip-to-my-pixel-fold-dead-after-four-days/

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I'm surprised people still want foldable phones. IMO they're a gimmick - worse, a gimmick based on technology that clearly isn't "all the way there" yet.
- As a user of the galaxy fold 3 for almost 2 years i can say without a shadow of a doubt. Its not a gimmick. Ive genuinely had no issues with it in terms of durability or faults (i know there are some that did but i guess like many others i got lucky) I could never go back to a standard phone. Watching videos, browsing the web, playing games. Even stuff as simple as being able to see a whole picture without needing to zoom in to catch details, but still having the option to, has been brilliant.
  Being able to use it closed for normal stuff and open for bigger stuff (honestly the majority of the time i have it open) is so functionally superior.
  The camera options are great. I have a main set of cameras on the back, an under screen camera for the big inner screen and a front facing camera for the outer screen and if i want i can ipen the phone and use the main cameras as a selfie camera because the view finder can be displayed on the outer screen which when open is pointing towards me.
  The multi tasking is pretty powerful too. I can have my budget open on sheets, my calculator open and my notepad open all together. I can have maps open along with my web browser for train times and my s pen notes app open for planning trips.
  I guess it comes down to use case. If you dont use your phone the way i do then you might not get the same out of it as i do. But for those that do its a game changer.
  But since you are fully entitled to yoyr opinion i wont expect you to change it because of mine. And i wont down vote your comment because im only here to offer the view point of someone who has used the phone for nearly 2 years (as i said before) as a different perspective.
  Seriously i could never go back. Im sad that the pixel fold is not turning out to be as good as the galaxy because i was seriously considering making it my next phone. Guess ill be going for the next galaxy device.
  Out of interest what about the tech is not all the way there yet? Im maybe not as clued in as you on that point as i felt like the fold 3 was the nail on the head for these types of devices.
  
  Out of interest what about the tech is not all the way there yet?
  The durability issue. I shouldn't have to rely on "getting lucky" if I want the display to not get a huge crease (or outright break, in the case of OP) - especially considering how expensive these devices are compared to standard phones.
  
  But faults are not exclusive to folding phones. Almost every phone has sone lemons so no matter what you buy you still have to get lucky. The worry about durability isnt a real factor. Just watch jerryrigeverythings durability test video https://youtu.be/F8Thuw3qPGw Spoilers. It passed. And ive had mine for almost 2 years, dripped it numerous times (in one case i threw it to the ground becauwe something scared me whilst i had it ipen and the worst it suffered was a scuff to the metal frame)
  The crease is an inflated concern. It doesnt affect useage, or functionality and is basically unnoticable when using the phone.
  Have you ever had one of these phones? Have you used a galaxy fold 3? Or is the concern you have based on reviews or bad press? I assure you its all quite unfounded.
- why not? having a phone and tablet in one device is a godsend. if the technology is mature, that is
  
  I've never really liked tablets - I much prefer a real computer. That probably explains our disconnect.
  
  tbf, it's not like I use tablet as a computer replacement, only for media consumption. having an extra screen real estate when you need it is convenient
  
  My single tablet use case is ebooks. I despise the ugly "e-ink" readers and love the simplicity of a cheap tablet. It's really the only way to read in any situation because reading from even a small laptop is inconvenient in the places I read in.
  Of course, my smartphone use case isn't that big -- emergency calls/texts, typing out grocery lists, and portable storage. I have a simple talk/text plan, no mobile data. Never understood the need for one. In an absolute need, I can seek out somewhere with wifi and use that, but I don't really even do that. Just never been a smartphone guy. Wish payphones and pagers were still around so I could ditch mobile phones completely.
  Computers are still so far ahead of any mobile device in usability and convenience that it's not worth using mobile devices casually.
  
  My single tablet use case is ebooks. I despise the ugly “e-ink” readers and love the simplicity of a cheap tablet.
  Dang, you've got eyes of steel. I could never read books on an LED screen - the eyestrain is just too much. E-ink doesn't have that issue.
  
  I don't get that, really. I get eyestrain from e-ink. It's just so hard to read because of the way it looks. Reading on a tablet is just like anything else. Also, you should know that using a tablet isn't like reading a piece of paper -- it emits light, rather than absorbing it. Dark mode is your friend. I think that's people's problems trying to read on a tablet, they don't use dark mode and end up staring into a bright light for hours on end.
  Dark mode should be the natural, default state on all computers, tablets, smartphones, etc. You're goinjg to ruin your eyes staring into a white screen.
  
  I do already use dark mode (Dark Reader ftw) but for me, any emissive display seems to cause eyestrain over a long enough period. I rarely use the backlight on my e-ink reader, so it reads like crisp print on paper.
  Maybe you were using really low-res/first gen e-ink? Or perhaps we're just built different :p
  
  Nah, I think we're just built differently. Well, I'm built differently, with spare, broken, defective parts. Such is my life. Even modern e-ink readers give me eyestrain.
- I had a Z Fold 2 for 2+ years before selling it and it was a great phone overall. Didn't feel like the technology "wasn't there yet" but it felt like a full fledged product and the built quality was really top notch.
  What i agree with is that indeed the inner screen is a gimmick or the foldable idea itself. I found myself using the inner screen mostly for streaming and using the outer screen for literally anything else. Which meant that for 95% of the time I used the outer screen.
  I think the Flip series has a way better usecase for a foldable because the fold Idea reduces the size of the "normal way of use" product.
  I think the Fold expands on the "normal way of use" so it is easier put it in the gimmick territory.
  I still think it is better to just get an Phone + Tablet overall if you want the best of both worlds.
  But to be clear, this has been my experience as having had the Z fold 2 as a daily driver for 2+ years.
- Have you used one as a daily driver yet? They're great!
  I started with a SD2, then moved to the ZF4. I loved the Surface, but it's design caused some issues that the ZF4 doesn't have. The ZF4 is great, and really shows of Samsung's software innovations to just the screen real estate.
  Not sure I'd go back to a standard slate style phone.
  
  the only reason im considering going back is the price. we already know the fold 5 is gonna be expensive, maybe samsung can drop the price some but not nearly enough for me right now. but im still happy with my fold 3. im not in a position to afford a $1500+ phone right now.
  
  The trick is trade in your old one so you're not paying full price for the new one.
- I want one that's already 'there'. I appreciate the work and sacrifice early adopters are doing to help me get there.
  
  Same. I make good money and can easily enough deal with the expense. But the durability is something they need to improve to get me on board.
  I think it'd be pretty neat for the extra screen real estate, improve "front facing" camera, and for watching videos. It's mostly small things, but they are cool!
- Eh, the tech is undeniably cool. Problem is though, as you said, the tech is nowhere near where it needs to be.
- I definitely want one, my phone is currently a bit too small to watch things on, but a tablet is good for that. Reading too. I want the price to come down a bit first though.
- I'd really like one. The idea of a pocketable tablet sounds appealing. But the durability and expense issues leave me unwilling to take the risk
  
  I saw someone who had a Nintendo DS emulator loaded up and it looked sooooo cool.
  
  That's a great usage! It'd be cool if there were apps and games that were designed for the two screens like DS games were, but it's probably too niche of a market for most apps to target. Though perhaps someday it'll be more common.
  
  I did that on mine with the full skinning to make it look like an actual DS. Can confirm, it's pretty cool.
  
  Woah that's so cool! Can you share?
  
  https://www.androidcentral.com/how-turn-your-galaxy-z-fold-3-nintendo-ds
  
  Woah that sounds so cool! Can you share?
- I thought there were gimmicks too but I now think that somewhere down the line – once they're more refined and less expensive – I'd like to get one.
  I was tempted to buy the Pixel Tablet until I realized that I don't want a second device. I'd rather like a multi-purpose device. And the Pixel Fold seems to have a great form factor to use it as a "normal" phone, and then switch to the large screen when you want to do something that you'd normally do on a tablet, just with the benefit of having all your settings, apps and recent notifications right there with you. It's a seamless transition which is really neat.
  
  I've been on the Galaxy Flip phones for a couple years now and I love them. I cannot see myself returning to a brick phone in the future. I think that as long as you treat the phone with a little respect, it will be fine. I'm not exactly gentle with mine and I have never had an issue.
  
  I'm with you on the tablet thing. I even did buy a tablet many years ago, but barely used it. I think mostly because I didn't want to deal with carrying around another device.
- It's interesting that this comment is currently very positive (10-1) because it would have been downvoted to hell on Reddit. Really makes you wonder how much corporate astroturfing was happening over there...
  
  It's probably a combination of astroturfing and the toxic Reddit standard of downvoting anything you don't like/agree with. That's not what it's for, people - don't ding a good-faith comment just because it rubs you the wrong way!

49 comments