Back in 2021 I bought into, literally, the new world of folding phones with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. I wrote quite a bit about that phone here. A phone that was a tall but narrow brick of a phone but then unfolded to turn into a small tablet. The compromises were real, but it felt like the path to the future of mobile devices. While I still believe that these kinds of folding devices do have a future, the persistent durability questions around the complex construction, fragile displays, and moving parts has led to a very bumpy road. And after 3 broken devices in 3 years, it is a train I am hopping off of, for now.
Yes, that’s correct, it is the middle of 2024 and less than 3 years after buying the Galaxy Z Fold 3, I’ve had three broken devices. And perhaps most concerning, they all broke in different ways, and all in less than a year.
· My original Z Fold 3 saw its folding screen crack all along the middle crease of it. This was after needing to replace that screen protector on that inner display, as it was prone to lifting along that crease. The screen protector was replaced on site once, but repairing the cracked internal screen required sending it into Samsung, which was covered under warrant.
· My replacement Z Fold 3 started rebooting itself whenever I closed the phone. I could use it as normal when it was unfoled, but as soon as I folded it in half, it would reboot. This was diagnosed as a hardware issue, but unfortunately the device was now out of warranty. I used some credit to purchase a Galaxy Z Fold 4, then the current model, to replace it.
· My Galaxy Z Fold 4 stopped unfolding completely. Instead of going to a flat 180 degrees, it would only unfold to about 150 degrees. This appears to be caused by a known issue where a strip of small brushes in the hinge designed to keep dust out comes loose and gets stuck in the hinge. After that first started, I noticed the loose adhesive strip for those brushes, and was able to pull the adhesive out of the phone. But with no adhesive, the brushes became stuck. This was repaired under warranty.
So while I’ve had three phones break, and two of them fixed and replaced under warranty, that is three phones broken in less than 3 years. The first case was likely due to glass fatigue, and is a well known issue among all folding phones today. Go to the Galaxy Fold subreddit and it is likely that you’ll find a post within the last few days of another phone’s inner display cracking.
The second case was the most unusual, and the exact cause is unknown. This is a more general hardware failure that is probably caused in some way by the sheer number of moving parts.
The third case is a slightly amusing situation where a piece designed to keep things from getting into the hinge to prevent damage and jamming being the thing that got into the hinge causing damage and jamming it.
While the phone was in for repairs, I went back to using a “normal” phone, in this case a borrowed Pixel 7a. I hadn’t used a normal phone as a primary phone in a couple of years, and what struck me the most was that…. I didn’t really miss the Z Fold. Folding phones today are a series of compromises to achieve what is still a very futuristic feeling device. The Z Fold series is heavy, being about 30% heavier than a standard phone, and when folded it feels like a tall and narrow brick. That was perhaps the most striking thing. Using the Pixel 7a and it just felt light and balanced in a way that the Z Fold 3 and 4 did not. Did I miss being able to open the phone to get a bigger screen? On occasion I did. Especially when looking at photos. But it was just so much easier to hold that it made up for it.
Then there were the other compromises. When I first reviewed the Z Fold 3 in 2021 I said the cameras were not as good as the best in the industry, being about the same as the 2020 era Galaxy S20 series of phones. Those cameras were good, but not the best. The Z fold 4 and today’s Z Fold 5 cameras received minor upgrades in cameras, but they have fallen farther behind. And Samsung on the whole has not kept up camera quality compared to competitors. My biggest frustration with Samsung cameras is how poorly they handle motion. They can take good photos of still objects, but introduce any kind of motion into a frame and the cameras fall apart very quickly, with the foldable phones even worse at it. The main camera on the Pixel 7a, which could be found for $400 on sale when I was testing it, absolutely blew away the camera on the Z Fold 4 which was over $2000 when new. Part of this is because the folding phones, despite being larger, have less room for camera hardware in them, as the hinge does take up a good portion of the device, as do multiple screens and batteries.
And oh, the battery. The battery on the Z Fold 3, 4, and 5 are all 4400 mAh. That is the same capacity as the Pixel 7a, and most modern high end Android phones have batteries in the 5000 mAh range. Combine that with the fact that the Z Fold 4 has to power a 7.6” high resolution display, and the battery life when using the internal screen was bad. I had no trouble getting the Pixel 7a through a day when I needed it to, and there was not a day with the Z Fold 3 or 4 where I didn’t need to charge it part way through. This is a fairly obvious “bigger screen + smaller battery = less battery life” situation, but I got so used to the mediocre battery life I forgot what having a good battery on a phone was like.
And lastly, the ergonomics and weight. I already talked about it feeling like a brick. I found trying to use the phone one handed difficult, as it was just too heavy to hold for longer periods of time. And it was just too tall and narrow to use for longer periods of time. Other phone manufactures do make shorter and wider folding phones, and I hope those feel better to use when folded, but the Z Fold design is looking very dated, and Samsung really needs to try something else there.
All of these issues are hard to ignore. And considering that less than 3 years into using this kind of phone I’ve had to replace it three times, it is time for me to put it down. I still have the repaired Galaxy Z Fold 4, but it is not my daily phone anymore. These phones make great small tablets, that’s why I was sold on them to begin with, and the Z Fold 4 will be a small tablet that sits on my coffee table, while still getting to understand the benefits and drawbacks of a folding phone.
Yes, despite all the negativity here, there are still benefits. There are certain things that truly do feel like the future. When it works, the experience is great. Looking at a photo on a smaller screen, unfolding it to look at that same photo on a much larger display. Watching YouTube while reading a web page on a display big enough to actually do it comfortably. Reading long form content and books is excellent. My primary appeal of a folding phone was the idea that I didn’t have to carry a phone and tablet with me all of the time, and that was realized. I had a number of situations where I found I had the benefit of having a tablet with me when I didn’t actually bring one. When these devices work and realize their potential, I see great things.
But I need my phone to be reliable. And having one breaking every 8-10 months is just not something I’m willing to live with anymore. So I waited for a sale on the Google Pixel 8 pro and in May a sale came. I bought it, stuck my SIM card in the phone, and haven’t looked back. And you know what, there’s something to be said for a “normal” phone that just works, has a truly excellent camera system, and something that I don’t have to constantly worry about whether or not it will break from normal use. I’ll have a lot more to say about the Pixel line going forward. But for now, It has completely replaced my Galaxy Z Fold 4, and I don’t feel like I’m missing a thing.