Survey says 50% of Americans are interested in foldable phones, while Samsung boasts about its future
Smartphones and devices with foldable screens are gaining popularity, but there is still a long way to go before more people buy one.
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I began writing aboutdual-screen PCsright around when Senior Editor Zac Bowden broke the news about Microsoft’s ‘foldable mobile device with a focus on pen and digital ink’back in 2017. That foldable device reality is slowly but surely coming to life with — ironically — Samsung leading the charge and Microsoft way in the backseat.
Today, the South Korean firm wrotea blog postdoubling down on foldables. Citing its own internal consumer study, Samsung noted, “Galaxy Z Fold2 has 96% user satisfaction, and nearly 9 in 10 say they would purchase a foldable phone again.” The company remarked that it had lowered prices, offered its Z Premier support service, customer referrals, and more to drive user adoption of the nascent technology.
In another recent survey referred to by Samsung,YouGov asked 2,000 peopleabout foldables, and precisely 50% were either ‘very interested’ or ‘interested’ in the tech.
Dual and foldable screen devices still have a long way to go to win over audiences, but interest is growing.
Samsung owners were even more excited (52%) and Apple iPhone users less so (47%), which is unsurprising. It turns out, if your brand does not make a foldable phone, you are less thrilled about owning one (once Apple “invents” folding screens for the world, we’re sure that will change).
Indeed, a lot has been happening in this burgeoning market. Huawei now has itsMate X2 Proand Xiaomi hasMi Mix Fold– both of which iterate off Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold2 design. Microsoft has itsSurface Duo, which doesn’t have a folding display, but it is dual-screen, and we’re expecting anoverhauled v2 designwith modern smartphone features (better cameras, 5G, NFC, etc.) later this year.
However, the market also still has a long way to go. I haven’t yet reviewed Lenovo’s excitingThinkPad X1 Foldmostly because Windows 10 is just a bad fit for the concept-defying device. I also think “defined real estate” with two screens is better than one that folds (the exception being theGalaxy Z Flip). Durability is still a concern, with 50% of people worried about things breaking, according to YouGov. So far, we have not seen many app optimizations for Android for either folding screensordual. Pricing is also a significant factor, with 37% of Americans thinking the $1,000+ cost is too high, and companies need to do a better job convincing people the technology is not just a fad as 43% now believe.
But it is also evident that pushing the foldable form factor forward is still the goal for 2021 and beyond. Smartphone salesrebounded this quarter, but the industry is still looking for its next big thing, and all eyes are on foldables to reignite interest — and that is what is happening. SamsungGalaxy Fold3andZ Flip 2should drop sometime in July, Surface Duo v2 later this fall, and more are on the way.
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For more deep-dives into the tech, make sure to watch MrMobile’sInto The Fold video series, which explores state of the art in foldables including what works, and what doesn’t.
Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer,podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.
