Weekly poll: which is the best foldable form factor?

24 November 2019
Samsung and Huawei introduced inward and outward folders this year, Motorola came in late with a clamshell. There are other possibilities too.

Sort by:

  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • NUw
  • 24 Nov 2019

Half- roll up.

Have a round section for grip/battery/cpu and a normal (small) rectangle sticking out. Pull the screen out to extend it to a larger screen.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 3Ja
    • 24 Nov 2019

    The Mate X is still the best looking after all this time and the most powerful to.. no competition

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • aja
      • 24 Nov 2019

      This is pretty much debatable, and highly dependent each consumer's usage pattern. First, let's say you want a foldable rather than a regular screen:
      If you want a compact device, then it's clamshell for you.
      If you want a big screen in the size of a regular one, then it's a inward or outward, and you'll base your choice depending on the theoretical lower chance of getting a crease with outward or the more security that comes with the inward folding devices.
      If you just want more screen real estate without worrying about scratches, then you'd buy the mix alpha.

      But again, you can save yourself the headache and buy a regular phone and wait for the technology to improve ;)

        • A
        • Anonymous
        • 3xN
        • 24 Nov 2019

        Samsung got ridiculed for a small useless display but Motorola beat them and made an even smaller useless display but apparently now it's ok.

        Samsung did it best, small screen on outside for calls and big screen inside for gaming and better yet it wont get scratched as easily as the Mate X.

          I would love a "WRISTPHONE".
          We've had wristwatches, its about time they become our only gadget needed.
          In the folded state, it can display time, and one button press should make it straight for normal use. It should be comfortable too, with a leather or cloth back... no glass and all here.

          I'm not talking about smartwatches, I want the phone itself to be on the wrist.
          Now, which company can accept my challenge?

            I voted for dual fold, but not the type Xiaomi has patents for.
            What I'd like to see is Nokia Morph type of a folding phone.
            Small when folded, tablet 3 times bigger when unfolded.

              For years, I waited for foldable displays. I first saw them on YouTube for CES 2011. From 2013, I kept waiting for it. I remember Samsung would delay it year after year. They even had a YOUM announcement in 2013 and I thought that would be the foldable but it only became the curved one.

              The idea was for a phone to expand to a tablet. But when I finally saw the Fold earlier this year and seeing all the problems it had as well as the Mate X, I realized the wait for it really wasn't worth it. Components don't fold like paper.

              I think how Motorola did it is the most polished way to do it since they were the masters of the flip phone already. It actually makes the most sense while the Fold and Mate X seems awkward and less durable to use.

              It took a 15-year-old design and two decades old form factor to help bring foldables into "the fold."

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 99A
                • 24 Nov 2019

                People dont need any foldable smartphones, companies nowadays tell people they need it. That the secret

                  The clamshell design is bad. It doesn't offer anything useful. It just adds complexity and jacks up the price.

                    Anonymous, 24 Nov 2019Constant exposure will mar the screen with more damage. Us... moreThe same as with amoled burn in problems, power consumption or pwm, its just small obstacle considering advantages.
                    But there is even immediate way to solve it, like screensaver while charging for those part of screen with less or no use.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • Nxp
                      • 24 Nov 2019

                      Just having a beer, 24 Nov 2019because not many people are really keen on carrying a phabl... moreSlightly more than half the height, approximately twice the thickness is still a large lump in your pocket. And it is a phablet with you at all times even if folded.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • Nxp
                        • 24 Nov 2019

                        vrvly, 24 Nov 2019Outward folding means you get to use it the same way as unt... moreConstant exposure will mar the screen with more damage. Using various sections independently (regularly used front, sometimes used back, seldom used edge) will result in uneven subpixel wear and destroy uniformity in time. And this particular example is still a huge phablet in your pocket.

                          No option for none of them at all? I actually believe the Microsoft Surface Duo will be the most popular form factor. The maturity of foldables just isn't there yet.

                          If I had to choose an option, then clamshell. It looks to be the safest and most durable. It's not perfect. On the Razr, dust can enter the tiny gap. There is still a crease although it isn't quite as evident as the Fold and Mate X.

                          When I started my love for cell phones, it really began with a flip phone and the tiny VGA cameras it had. The most popular form factor in the 00s was the candybar just like the slab has been for this decade. For a brief time during the MySpace era (2003-2006), flip phones were all the rage in the United States.

                          There were only three form factors back then.. Candybars (sometimes w/ QWERTY), flip phones, or sliders (vertical or horizontal with QWERTY). I'm going to pigeonhole old school BlackBerrys with candybar and Sidekicks, T-Mobile G1, Xperia X1, and so on with sliders. Xperia Play was a different beast but it's technically a slider to me for the gamepad.

                          Flip phone was probably the 2nd most popular behind candybar because Nokia was still #1 globally but never catered to the American market. So who was the most popular OEM in the US? Motorola. For a long time, it was always them. Then RIM for a brief time until Apple became the most popular OEM in and hasn't let go of it ever since.

                          I want to return to that flip phone design. I think we reached the max level with the slab design that everything looks the same already. Looking at the reviews or hands-on videos of the Fold and Mate X, it just looks awkward. The Fold has a tiny display outside of it and is still a large phone when closed.

                          Just my preference, I want to return to pocket-sized phones. I don't need a tablet in my hand. That's why I choose clamshell. The other options, it's almost like it's asking to be broken. I also don't need to cover my flip phone with a case. I never did back then with my previous ones.

                          I will say Microsoft might actually be right with their take. Dual display with irreversible hinge is the way to go. Surface Duo might be the only right answer and it isn't an option. Foldables could really be just another expensive gimmick. But marrying it with a clamshell can ignite the return of the flip phone.

                          Motorola Razr is a revenge on the iPhone.

                            Outward folding means you get to use it the same way as until now, with high quality cameras included. As bonus all back sensors double as selfie. MateX is the only true foldable flagship.
                            If it's about applying the same to other form factors, like vertically to the clampshell like factor, I cannot imagine that to be ergonomic or big enough for 5+ cameras.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • uSZ
                              • 24 Nov 2019

                              Mix alpha isn't a foldable and even serving as dual display phone, I'd rather use nubia z20. The camera placement of alpha resulted in awkward rear screen.

                              For real foldables, mate x for me, although durability of all foldables is still questionable at the moment

                                Anonymous, 24 Nov 2019I don't get why clamshell is so popular, it doesn't make an... morebecause not many people are really keen on carrying a phablet with them all the time. I personally love the pocket size with the option to have bigger size, if I want. The best option would be rolling out phone or folding as it was presented by Nokia back in 2007 I think? ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX-gTobCJHs )

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • N70
                                  • 24 Nov 2019

                                  From what is currently available i would pick the galaxy fold. These screens are too fragile to be exposed all the time and something like the RAZR seems pointless to me, it unfolds into something that i have already been carrying in my pocket for years.

                                    • E
                                    • End
                                    • 3Dd
                                    • 24 Nov 2019

                                    LG G8x!!

                                      Where's the option none of them. They're a fad or gimmick.

                                      What do you need a folding screen for? All I see is something that has a very limited lifespan and something that's very expensive to repair or replace.

                                        Love the Community, 24 Nov 201920 seconds. 20 seconds after you posted it, there's already... moreNah, it can easily happen in a relatively new thread in a forum with many thousands of readers.

                                          2 of 3