{"id":15395,"date":"2019-06-19T18:14:25","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T18:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/samsung-and-huaweis-next-moves-could-make-or-break-foldable-phones.html"},"modified":"2019-06-19T18:14:25","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T18:14:25","slug":"samsung-and-huaweis-next-moves-could-make-or-break-foldable-phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/samsung-and-huaweis-next-moves-could-make-or-break-foldable-phones.html","title":{"rendered":"Samsung and Huawei’s next moves could make or break foldable phones"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"samsung-galaxy-fold-35\"<\/span><\/span>
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The future of foldable phones is murky even now.<\/p>\n

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\n Angela Lang\/CNET
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The foldable phone revolution has hit a wall. Massive delays threaten to derail the momentum that the new phone category — part phone, part table — heralded as one of the biggest leaps for mobile phones. Foldable phones promise to double the device’s screen size with a large, bendable screen. They also aim to revolutionize design at a time when\u00a0phone sales have waned<\/span>\u00a0amid lackluster design upgrades. Samsung and Huawei wanted their\u00a0Galaxy Fold<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Mate X<\/span>\u00a0to prove how exciting and successful a foldable phone could be. Instead, their futures are in question.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After significant delays to the\u00a0Galaxy Fold<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Mate X<\/span>, what happens next is crucial to Samsung and Huawei’s respective foldable futures — and could help or hurt the chances of unreleased foldable devices from other brands<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Foldable phones were meant to be the future, but sales holds on the $2,600 Mate X<\/span> and $1,980 Galaxy Fold<\/span> could to make the new designs DOA as excitement sours into disappointment. Samsung delayed the Fold<\/span> when the screens on some reviewers’ test phones kept breaking<\/span> (ours didn’t). Huawei delayed the Mate X to “improve” the screen<\/a>, the Wall Street Journal reported, though Huawei surely also wants to avoid the same fate that befell the Fold’s delicate plastic display. <\/p>\n

Samsung and Huawei are currently the world’s largest and second-largest phone brands, respectively. All eyes are on them. Cancel sales and other phone-makers could also scuttle their plans in the hopes of dodging poor sales and public ridicule. Launch the phones late, but without issue, and careful rivals may be encouraged to introduce foldable phones, too. What happens next may make a difference in whether foldable phone designs ultimately fail or succeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Today, these major hiccups are dampening enthusiasm for the bendable devices before they even come out. A foldable phone has to use flexible plastic, which make them especially vulnerable to nicks and gouges, pressure damage and bulges formed<\/span> by debris tunneling under the display. These delays cast doubt on how well the radically expensive devices hold up to constant use. <\/p>\n

The screen issues don’t come as a total surprise. The brands only showed off their foldable phones briefly, unlike virtually every other models that see much more time in reviewers’ hands before the final review unit appears. We used the Mate X for about five minutes in March<\/span> and first touched the Galaxy Fold moments before we received our review unit in April. The phone-makers’ elusive attitude<\/a> was a strong tip-off that the foldable devices weren’t ready for prime time. <\/p>\n

The Fold was announced Feb. 20 and was supposed to sell 54 days ago on April 26. Huawei unveiled the Mate X a few days later and was slated to sell in June. Samsung declined to comment. Huawei didn’t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

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The Mate X’s screen bends outward, which means the plastic display covers the exterior of the phone frame.<\/p>\n

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\n Andrew Hoyle\/CNET
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Plastic is a problem, but bendable glass is years away<\/h2>\n

From the very beginning, phone-watchers remarked that the Galaxy Fold and Mate X’s foldable plastic screens could be their very undoing. Because who wants to spend $2,000 or more on a scratch-prone phone?<\/p>\n

The key to making phones stronger is bendable glass, which won’t be ready for a few years. CNET got an\u00a0exclusive look at Corning’s bendable glass<\/span>, which, even if fragile, is still expected to offer a degree of protection over the Galaxy Fold and Mate X’s plastic screens.<\/p>\n

Observers were mostly concerned about the “ugly” crease you see when you unbend a foldable phone<\/span> into its full-screen mode, and if this could lead to wear and tear over hundreds of thousands of bends. The crease either appears as a ridge or a valley depending on if the larger screen unfolds on the inside or outside of the device.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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For example, the Galaxy Fold opens like a book to reveal an interior 7.3-inch display, where the Mate X’s 8-inch screen acts more like the book cover that wraps around the outside of the frame.<\/p>\n

A plastic screen prone to scratches on its softer surface was another issue, especially for outward-bending models like the Mate X, where more of the delicate screen is exposed. <\/p>\n

In the Galaxy Fold’s case, where Gorilla Glass protects the interior screen when the phone is closed, I still noticed indentations and scratches on the plastic cover material after just seven days. Some of the Fold’s issues arose because reviewers peeled off a protective layer<\/a> that wasn’t intended to come off, which made the phone immediately stop working. Samsung has reportedly fixed these problems<\/span> but hasn’t shared when it plans to put the Galaxy Fold on sale.<\/p>\n

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What about the US ban against Huawei?<\/h2>\n

Some have wondered if the US government’s move to blacklist Huawei from its US partners<\/span> plays a role in the Mate X’s delay. For example, Huawei is cut off from any US-based business supplying software<\/span> (e.g. Android), components and even consulting services across all of Huawei’s businesses.<\/p>\n

Although the ban received a temporary reprieve that allows Huawei to support current products, it’s uncertain if the Mate X falls into that category. The Mate X was announced before President Trump signed the executive order against Huawei<\/span> but not yet been released. <\/p>\n

If Huawei needs Google’s support for foldable phones<\/span> and Android apps to sell the Mate X outside of China, that could certainly influence its decision to wait. The Wall Street Journal reported that sourcing parts wasn’t an issue, according to Huawei SVP Vincent Peng<\/a>, but that Huawei and Google are still discussing the license over Android apps.<\/p>\n

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Android Q supports foldable phones.<\/p>\n

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\n Google
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Don’t give up on foldable phones yet<\/h2>\n

It’s too soon to declare foldable phones dead. Samsung and Huawei still plan to launch an improved Galaxy Fold and the Mate X, respectively, and Google declared support for foldable designs<\/span> in May at its annual Google I\/O conference for developers. That means app makers are already optimizing their software to work on foldable phones.<\/p>\n

While off to a sputtering start, these companies have invested millions into foldable designs. It’s a gamble that they’re counting on to pay off in the long run.<\/p>\n

Other phone brands also have foldable plans. Apple, LG, TCL<\/span> and Oppo have either filed patent applications for foldable designs or announced that they’re already at work. Rumors are ripe for a foldable Moto Razr comeback<\/span> design that will modernize the beloved flip phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Apple often waits years after a category is established — think smartphone or smartwatch — before coming in with a fully polished product. <\/p>\n

The very first foldable phone models were always going to be niche, beta-style devices for bleeding-edge adopters, models that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of a brand-new design ethos that their makers could then fine-tune down the line. <\/p>\n

Samsung and Huawei aimed to score the first points and force rivals to follow suit. But if competitors are learning any lesson, it’s to slow down and get their foldable designs right. Hopefully Samsung and Huawei are taking note, too.<\/p>\n

Posted June 15 at 5 a.m. PT. Update, June 16, June 18, June 19 at 7:15 a.m. PT<\/strong>: Edited for clarity.<\/p>\n

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