There are now two fold-able devices one can preorder, actually 3 but I know, no one would buy the third one.
Samsung made the long-awaited & expected announcement of its new fold-able device which will cost about $2000.
Side Note — I am improving my credit score so I can get a low-interest loan for my next smartphone.
This step is the mainstream entry for foldable portable computing devices. The reason not to call it as a phone but instead, a computing device is because that’s where this new form factor is going to go, or at least I believe so.
In a week after Samsung’s foldable device, Huawei showcased its fold-able device, which looks like a better design that Samsung’s device.
The reactions to the new form factor are mixed but mostly negative.
The most vocal argument against fold-able devices is that they are looking for a problem to solve. This argument fails when you start imaging the possibilities.
This is not an attempt nor an argument to push anyone to buy the Samsung foldable or Huawei one. It is also not about which company will make the best foldable device. It is also not a justification for the astronomical pricing. They are all issues that will be addressed over time but not of current interest.
It is only an argument for why fold-able devices are a significant part of the future.
Multi-device Problem — A foldable device once perfected, will eliminate the need to carry an iPad or a tablet. An entire category of devices will be eliminated.
In a more Utopian future, a foldable device can eliminate a third computing device, laptops. It can be carried everywhere without a need to carry any other device, whatever your profession might be. It can truly transform what we today call a phone into a full computing device (which can also be used to communicate like a phone). This Utopian future is not an exaggeration when you compare today’s smartphones computing ability with an 8–10 years old laptop.
This is the future that can be possible with this new form factor. The speed of Moore’s law is doubled and possibly tripled through fold-ables for all practical purposes.
It is a way we can pack a full-fledged portable computing machine, into one device and eliminate carrying a whole bag of technology whenever we get out of our houses.
All this will only possible with technological evolution in multiple areas and will need solutions for various market problems like pricing, software etc.
This promise of a future possibility is why I am bullish on the foldable device. And once Apple & google come out with one possibly in 2022 the future will truly fold.
P.S — History could have gone any number of ways, but it did bypass a lot of possible positive outcomes and reached to this particular moment, so this possibility of foldable future is also a positive expectation for a future history which might never really come true.