it's a conversation piece anytime you ever pulled that phone out of your pocket it's gonna be instant like whoa like that's cool remember how satisfying it was to flick your razor phone open or how pocketable it was well the best assets from flip
phones are making a comeback in smart
phones I do want it to fold more than
once for 1900's Samsung brought folding
phones to the US in 2019 with the galaxy
fold and Motorola followed suit with its
2020 razor Samsung now has a second
folding phone in its lineup the galaxy Z
flip they allow you to take a device
that would normally be big like say your
iPhone you complain that the screens
getting too big and close that into a
smaller device that should theoretically
be more pocketable companies like royale
Huawei and Xiaomi all have folding
smartphones available or in the pipeline
and even Apple is speculated to have one
in the works but why why has the
smartphone industry brought this form
factor back from the dead the reasons
the manufacturers are bringing out
folding phones aren't necessarily
because consumers are saying I want
these and I need these and at a price
point of well over $1000 with few models
holding up to durability tests who are
these phones really for after you know
10 years of rectangle phones is kind of
like whoa there's something new out
there it's not for say your mom or your
dad or just some regular joe folding
phones are ridiculously profitable right
now there was a lot of satisfaction to
folding phones they were compact and fun
to use but since we've gravitated to
larger non flip phones our options have
been more or less these thin glass and
metal rectangles on one hand consumers
have issues that they see it smartphones
are just too big when they want to carry
around their pockets but when they open
them up they enjoy a larger smartphone
and then the folks who are ready are
comfortable with a larger smartphone
they want to be able to do more on these
smartphones by unfolding them to turn
them into a tablet that could be one of
the reasons why the form factor is
making a return but to get to where we
are today with folding smartphones 2
technologies had to be fine-tuned
the hinge and the flexible OLED display
the Kyocera eco gave users the first
look at a commercially available dual
screen smartphone in 2011 it used it
patented pivot hinge to lift the top
screen up and away from the bottom
screen creating a device that looked
like a really really small tablet the
phone was not well liked by reviewers
but it paved the way for companies to
create innovative hinges which is a key
component in folding smart phones
normally with a hinge especially back in
the early 2000s late 90s you didn't
really have to worry about much except
for maybe keeping the phone closed and
not getting anything in it today you
have to worry about a lot more then in
2013 Samsung showed off its Yeun concept
a flexible OLED display that was plastic
instead of glass LCD has so many
different layers attached to it and some
of them can't be you know bent they
can't be flexible but with OLED displays
as long as the little like diodes inside
of the screen are airtight you can put
them in you know anything you want as
long as you know the connections aren't
broken inside the company later used
this technology in its Galaxy s6 edge
smartphone curving the OLED display
around the corner of the screen this is
the technology it then developed into
its folding smartphones
the number one most expensive technology
on this entire device is the foldable
displays and as companies like Samsung
get better at manufacturing them and
manufacturing them at lower cost but
they can then take those lower costs to
the consumers
thanks to these advancements there are
many folding phones on the market today
the Royale flex pay was technically the
first folding smartphone to hit the
consumer market but the Samsung Galaxy
fold was the phone that stole the show
and it proved it you can actually have
foldable screens that are out there in
the market on the other hand I didn't
like the size of it it felt weird like a
square so it wasn't really useful for me
although it has a really solid following
among enthusiasts Motorola also became a
contender with its revitalized razor
phone that phone in particular drew
excitement thanks in part to nostalgia
if you look at my last video like you
know I did the same durability test I
always do but now that video has like 7
million views now Samsung has its second
folding smartphone the galaxy Z flip
which the company touted as the first
phone with bendable glass every time you
fold it you're not just spending glass
you're bending at the laws of physics it
wasn't even close to that it was almost
the exact screen that they had on their
previous version so I mean that part was
a little bit annoying see those two
technologies the hinges and the flexible
screens that were so crucial in the
popularization of folding phones are
also the two things that screw up the
most my my tests are kind of you know
they're extreme and they kind of like
show the potential damages and like
point out what people should be aware of
and like with a screen that soft like
you know you do have to take care of it
more than your average phone plastic or
otherwise quote soft screens along with
dust prone hinges have wreaked havoc on
these phones the Samsung Galaxy fold was
riddled with display issues when it was
released and our first one broke for
example and we weren't really sure if
the second one would even after our
testing period after about a week or so
the company claimed users were removing
the protective layer on top of the
screen which destroyed the delicate
oled underneath samsung had to pause
production delay the release date and
make some changes to the phone when the
updated phone was released it was better
but still delicate I had no problems
right but four or five variant very
influential people did which I respect
that they did but I didn't have those
issues the Motorola RAZR revealed a new
hinge that looped the flexible OLED
inside the hinge instead of creating a
crease like other folding smartphones
but the hinge ran into some trouble when
Zak Nelson tested its endurance against
dust and debris the screen is not broken
yet
but the sound of the hinge is more like
nails on a chalkboard at this point and
not as much buttery smoothness like it
was before the only weak point would be
you know getting dust inside that hinge
and then also softness of the screen but
other than that like it's it's a really
cool phone but like Zack said his tests
are extreme I'm sorry I am NOT going to
scratch my keys or my coins or that open
razor blade that I keep in my my purse
or my pocket on on this phone so and
then there's the hefty cost to consider
at least right now the galaxy fold costs
one thousand nine hundred and eighty
dollars the Motorola RAZR costs one
thousand five hundred dollars and the
galaxy Z flip costs one thousand three
hundred and eighty dollars you know
throughout history people buy the flashy
cars just because they're flashy and so
now there's flashy phones and you buy
them just because they're they're cool
and flashy so we've developed the
technology we've prototyped it and
developed it into a pretty extensive
lineup of phones available to consumers
now what we've gotten into a situation
where smart phones aside from maybe the
photography adders that have been put in
there aren't very exciting initially I
was like well why are they kind of
making folding phones but then as I've
gotten into it like it's actually a
really cool form factor and the more I
see them the more I kind of want one
with decreasing global smartphone
shipments it's very likely these
companies are
trying to spice up the market these
shipments grew steadily from 2009 to
2016 but since then shipments have been
steadily declining you can understand
well there'd be a lot of excitement
about this device it is a real radical
new design against the backdrop of this
smartphone market where overall growth
is really ground to a halt for Samsung
it's the hype that's the real payoff not
the profits Samsung and Motorola have
not released sales figures for their
folding phones but the Galaxy fold was
expected to sell 400,000 to 500,000
units in 2019 when compared to JP
Morgan's iPhone 11 shipment forecasts of
a hundred and eighty-four million units
in the same year Samsung's fold is not a
financial contender but Morehead says
these folding phones are still
profitable because they cost more than
flagship phones if I look at the Bill of
Materials even though I said the folding
display is the most expensive device
these companies are making a killing and
I think that's good for the industry
because it's really hard to make profits
on smartphones even Apple filed patents
for some folding technology but nothing
has been announced yet if Apple did hit
the market with a folding phone it could
change the trajectory of the folding
phone future I think if it introduced a
foldable display and it was ready and
did a good job at it
it might help boost the adoption of
foldable products simply because it's
Apple and it has a lot of customers
almost 40% of galaxy fold customers were
X I phone customers and that's really
hard to do but there are some important
changes that need to be made first first
I think they need to be thinner so that
when you fold them down they're nice and
thin in your pocket and not bulky second
the price needs to come down and I think
that'll eventually happen is
manufacturing ramps up and as they're
able to perfect the process and third I
think they need to become more durable
I'm also not just looking at what's in
front of my face I'm looking at what it
could become and what are the current
challenges today when the iPhone was
released in 2007 it changed the world
smartphones were too
come almost ubiquitous 10 years later
when Apple dropped the headphone jack it
changed the way we connect to our phones
wireless headphones are now everywhere
when phone companies ditched physical
buttons on smart phones it changed the
form factor we were used to now you'd be
hard-pressed to find flagship phone that
has a physical button on its front but
it's hard to see a future where folding
phones are the norm at least with what
we're seeing right now I think the
galaxy Z flip even though it's expensive
is as close to there as we are right now
but we're not there there yet
I absolutely don't believe this is a fad
this is a trend and to me it's very
natural I don't think it's a fad I think
it's going to stick around for a while
you
phones are making a comeback in smart
phones I do want it to fold more than
once for 1900's Samsung brought folding
phones to the US in 2019 with the galaxy
fold and Motorola followed suit with its
folding phone in its lineup the galaxy Z
flip they allow you to take a device
that would normally be big like say your
iPhone you complain that the screens
getting too big and close that into a
smaller device that should theoretically
be more pocketable companies like royale
Huawei and Xiaomi all have folding
smartphones available or in the pipeline
and even Apple is speculated to have one
in the works but why why has the
smartphone industry brought this form
factor back from the dead the reasons
the manufacturers are bringing out
folding phones aren't necessarily
because consumers are saying I want
these and I need these and at a price
point of well over $1000 with few models
holding up to durability tests who are
these phones really for after you know
10 years of rectangle phones is kind of
like whoa there's something new out
there it's not for say your mom or your
dad or just some regular joe folding
phones are ridiculously profitable right
now there was a lot of satisfaction to
folding phones they were compact and fun
to use but since we've gravitated to
larger non flip phones our options have
been more or less these thin glass and
metal rectangles on one hand consumers
have issues that they see it smartphones
are just too big when they want to carry
around their pockets but when they open
them up they enjoy a larger smartphone
and then the folks who are ready are
comfortable with a larger smartphone
they want to be able to do more on these
smartphones by unfolding them to turn
them into a tablet that could be one of
the reasons why the form factor is
making a return but to get to where we
are today with folding smartphones 2
technologies had to be fine-tuned
the hinge and the flexible OLED display
the Kyocera eco gave users the first
look at a commercially available dual
screen smartphone in 2011 it used it
patented pivot hinge to lift the top
screen up and away from the bottom
screen creating a device that looked
like a really really small tablet the
phone was not well liked by reviewers
but it paved the way for companies to
create innovative hinges which is a key
component in folding smart phones
normally with a hinge especially back in
the early 2000s late 90s you didn't
really have to worry about much except
for maybe keeping the phone closed and
not getting anything in it today you
have to worry about a lot more then in
2013 Samsung showed off its Yeun concept
a flexible OLED display that was plastic
instead of glass LCD has so many
different layers attached to it and some
of them can't be you know bent they
can't be flexible but with OLED displays
as long as the little like diodes inside
of the screen are airtight you can put
them in you know anything you want as
long as you know the connections aren't
broken inside the company later used
this technology in its Galaxy s6 edge
smartphone curving the OLED display
around the corner of the screen this is
the technology it then developed into
its folding smartphones
the number one most expensive technology
on this entire device is the foldable
displays and as companies like Samsung
get better at manufacturing them and
manufacturing them at lower cost but
they can then take those lower costs to
the consumers
thanks to these advancements there are
many folding phones on the market today
the Royale flex pay was technically the
first folding smartphone to hit the
consumer market but the Samsung Galaxy
fold was the phone that stole the show
and it proved it you can actually have
foldable screens that are out there in
the market on the other hand I didn't
like the size of it it felt weird like a
square so it wasn't really useful for me
although it has a really solid following
among enthusiasts Motorola also became a
contender with its revitalized razor
phone that phone in particular drew
excitement thanks in part to nostalgia
if you look at my last video like you
know I did the same durability test I
always do but now that video has like 7
million views now Samsung has its second
folding smartphone the galaxy Z flip
which the company touted as the first
phone with bendable glass every time you
fold it you're not just spending glass
you're bending at the laws of physics it
wasn't even close to that it was almost
the exact screen that they had on their
previous version so I mean that part was
a little bit annoying see those two
technologies the hinges and the flexible
screens that were so crucial in the
popularization of folding phones are
also the two things that screw up the
most my my tests are kind of you know
they're extreme and they kind of like
show the potential damages and like
point out what people should be aware of
and like with a screen that soft like
you know you do have to take care of it
more than your average phone plastic or
otherwise quote soft screens along with
dust prone hinges have wreaked havoc on
these phones the Samsung Galaxy fold was
riddled with display issues when it was
released and our first one broke for
example and we weren't really sure if
the second one would even after our
testing period after about a week or so
the company claimed users were removing
the protective layer on top of the
screen which destroyed the delicate
oled underneath samsung had to pause
production delay the release date and
make some changes to the phone when the
updated phone was released it was better
but still delicate I had no problems
right but four or five variant very
influential people did which I respect
that they did but I didn't have those
issues the Motorola RAZR revealed a new
hinge that looped the flexible OLED
inside the hinge instead of creating a
crease like other folding smartphones
but the hinge ran into some trouble when
Zak Nelson tested its endurance against
dust and debris the screen is not broken
yet
but the sound of the hinge is more like
nails on a chalkboard at this point and
not as much buttery smoothness like it
was before the only weak point would be
you know getting dust inside that hinge
and then also softness of the screen but
other than that like it's it's a really
cool phone but like Zack said his tests
are extreme I'm sorry I am NOT going to
scratch my keys or my coins or that open
razor blade that I keep in my my purse
or my pocket on on this phone so and
then there's the hefty cost to consider
at least right now the galaxy fold costs
one thousand nine hundred and eighty
dollars the Motorola RAZR costs one
thousand five hundred dollars and the
galaxy Z flip costs one thousand three
hundred and eighty dollars you know
throughout history people buy the flashy
cars just because they're flashy and so
now there's flashy phones and you buy
them just because they're they're cool
and flashy so we've developed the
technology we've prototyped it and
developed it into a pretty extensive
lineup of phones available to consumers
now what we've gotten into a situation
where smart phones aside from maybe the
photography adders that have been put in
there aren't very exciting initially I
was like well why are they kind of
making folding phones but then as I've
gotten into it like it's actually a
really cool form factor and the more I
see them the more I kind of want one
with decreasing global smartphone
shipments it's very likely these
companies are
trying to spice up the market these
shipments grew steadily from 2009 to
2016 but since then shipments have been
steadily declining you can understand
well there'd be a lot of excitement
about this device it is a real radical
new design against the backdrop of this
smartphone market where overall growth
is really ground to a halt for Samsung
it's the hype that's the real payoff not
the profits Samsung and Motorola have
not released sales figures for their
folding phones but the Galaxy fold was
expected to sell 400,000 to 500,000
units in 2019 when compared to JP
Morgan's iPhone 11 shipment forecasts of
a hundred and eighty-four million units
in the same year Samsung's fold is not a
financial contender but Morehead says
these folding phones are still
profitable because they cost more than
flagship phones if I look at the Bill of
Materials even though I said the folding
display is the most expensive device
these companies are making a killing and
I think that's good for the industry
because it's really hard to make profits
on smartphones even Apple filed patents
for some folding technology but nothing
has been announced yet if Apple did hit
the market with a folding phone it could
change the trajectory of the folding
phone future I think if it introduced a
foldable display and it was ready and
did a good job at it
it might help boost the adoption of
foldable products simply because it's
Apple and it has a lot of customers
almost 40% of galaxy fold customers were
X I phone customers and that's really
hard to do but there are some important
changes that need to be made first first
I think they need to be thinner so that
when you fold them down they're nice and
thin in your pocket and not bulky second
the price needs to come down and I think
that'll eventually happen is
manufacturing ramps up and as they're
able to perfect the process and third I
think they need to become more durable
I'm also not just looking at what's in
front of my face I'm looking at what it
could become and what are the current
challenges today when the iPhone was
released in 2007 it changed the world
smartphones were too
come almost ubiquitous 10 years later
when Apple dropped the headphone jack it
changed the way we connect to our phones
wireless headphones are now everywhere
when phone companies ditched physical
buttons on smart phones it changed the
form factor we were used to now you'd be
hard-pressed to find flagship phone that
has a physical button on its front but
it's hard to see a future where folding
phones are the norm at least with what
we're seeing right now I think the
galaxy Z flip even though it's expensive
is as close to there as we are right now
but we're not there there yet
I absolutely don't believe this is a fad
this is a trend and to me it's very
natural I don't think it's a fad I think
it's going to stick around for a while
you