I get it why foldable phones are a thing, it’s like having a normal size phone and a small tablet in one and it’s easier to work on fodable devices than regular phones. But why are flip phones a thing?
- Makes it smaller so it fits in pockets easily
- Screen is protected while it’s closed
- Can use it as a simple tripod by half-opening it
- Flipping a phone open is fun
Thanks, but I think all the points you’ve mentioned apply to the bigger foldables too (except for the smaller size).
Most people just need a phone, not a tablet. And also flipping a phone open is very fun
Objective answer: Flip phones tend to have better durrability, since they’re not 90% screen. If you don’t really need a mobile computer and just need calling, texting, and the occasional google, that you know won’t fail you for a while, flip phones are a solid option.
Personal opinion/rant: Some flip phones are (or, were) just cool as hell. I used to have a japanese flip phone that was fully water/dust proof, built with a 3D 2k display, 2k back camera with 3d photo/video capability, had a radio antenna/tv tuner, and a mobile wallet (the last 2 features I couldn’t actually use because they were designed to work in japan). Want to know when that phone was released? 2011. You could hardly find any smartphones that were even water/dustproof back then. We’ve only (relatively) recently gotten digital wallets from google/apple pay, and I’ve never seen a phone with 3d capabilities since. I am pissed off to this day that the Keitai market died pretty much immediately after that. So much personality gone for boring, standard brick-looking-ass phones.
You don’t understand the clamshell design?
- Protects both screens
- More real estate when open
- Small, basically half the size when closed
- Easy to go into standby mode: just close
The question you didn’t ask: What are the disadvantages of a foldable phone:
- Bleeding-edge tech, less support
- Issues with screens and hinges under daily use
- Expensive
- Hinge image not seamless
- Worse battery life
cellphones are designed with the microwave radio transmitter facing the back to minimize electromagnetic radiation from nuking the users. a foldable or clamshell design ends up nuking the owners.
Do you think radio is harmful? Radio waves are way lower in energy than microwaves so there won’t be much nuking going on regardless of phone design and if you believe radio waves are harmful I have some bad news for you regarding the radio waves that saturate the planet from literally every corner of the universe.
Oh boy
Please provide a diagram for how you believe folding and flip phones are held
Well off the top of my head, they fit in smaller pockets.
I really dislike the foldables that open to tablet mode. And I love foldables that become a square because they have none of the drawbacks while looking cool as shit when un/pocketing.
Flip phones are usually synonymous with dumb phones, so it’s more about being permanently online rather than physical dimensions.
I get what you mean, but with flip phones I meant phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or Moto Razr phones.
Those are still foldables. I definitely thought that by “flip phone” you meant dumb-phones.
They’re different sorts of foldables. Hence Samsung calling one of theirs “Fold” and the other “Flip” (because the latter is the same form factor as older clamshell designs).
Yeah, under Flip Phone I understand those things that were popular right before Smartphones became common
To me a flip phone is a phone that can be folded but the screen is not part of the hinge. Whereas “foldable” refers to a screen that can be folded.
The simple answer is that it makes a regular phone smaller. A bit fatter, sure, but a smaller footprint. And it protects the screen when not in use.
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In theory I get it, keep the screen protected and folded away, and keep the footprint of the phone small. However in reality they seem to be overly fragile, and so the thick AF case you have to put on them (which can’t really protect the most fragile party - the hinge) makes them a brick.
The cases do make them larger, as for every phone. But they still fit in your back pocket without threatening to fall out of it. The bulk of the case makes it even safer to pocket without making it any harder.
Secure pocketability when I’m not wearing a big jacket is the reason I have one, obv.
Tablet flip phones are huge and I have tiny hands and tiny pockets. I want a tiny phone which I can check the time and basic notifications on, and unfold to a regular sized phone when I actually need to reply to something.
Either way I’m guaranteed to scratch the screen by getting sand in there so it’s a no-go for me.
To be honest, when it comes to smartphones, I do not like either concept. Both designs are more failure prone.
Perfect for your need to replace it and add to the bank balance of the phone makers then.
technically all flip phones are foldable phones \o/
Foldable phones fold open into a bigger device but some people (like myself) want a smaller device. I had a new Motorola razr and the screen started to die after 6 months so I’m done with flip phones until apple makes one but the form factor is enticing to me
Now some people still use flip feature phones to disconnect and I get that to control the screen addiction but I’d still rather have just one device rather than a phone and a laptop/tablet so I dont roll that way
