It Opens Like a Book - How 'Good' Would a Fold-Open Screen Be Like? Anticipating Samsung Innovation

At first thought, a 'fold open' screen for a mobile phone does seem 'obviously better'. Every one of us has been in that situation at some point, with some picture, video, website, game or other content, when we felt "I wish the screen was bigger". And I've been on this blog telling that 'Screen Size Trumps Everything'. We've seen the reversal from the trend of mobile phone handset devices getting ever smaller (from 1980s to 2007) and the opposite, via first the original iPhone, and then subsequent ever-larger screens which have brought us the massive phablet screen sizes that barely fit into any pocket or hand. By the two most important measures of the three measures of physical size (Height x Width x Thickness = Volume) and I mean height and width (not thickness) the modern largest phablet phones are larger than most commercial mobile phones of the mid 1990s.... Only by the thickness aspect, are we currently ahead of the phones from two decades  ago. yeah, thats 'progress' for you. 

So when someone says 'how about a folding screen on a mobile phone' - folding like a magazine, to give us a larger screen - that does sound like a brilliant idea. That oh yes, please, lets not try to make our current oversized phones even larger, what if we had a smaller phone, and just offered it with a folding screen in some way, that gets us the larger screen size, but in a far-smaller handset overall (while then, very likely, somewhat thicker, bulkier, to allow for two layers of the screen element, when folded into our pockets).

Well, we're probably gonna see it soon. Samsung has been teasing developments into that direction and now it does start to look, like we may see the first flagship phone by any major brand, that has a folding screen that folds in half when in the pocket, and opens up to twice-size when opened up for any screen work. It may be somewhat like an old Motorola flip-phone (flipping upwards) but its more likely to be like a 'palmtop' such as a Nokia Communicator, opening sideways. Like a book. It may end up having an extra screen, smaller, to use when it is 'closed' like later editions various flip phones and folding phones like Communicators. So you don't have to open the folding screen to use it. 

COMMUNITIES DOMINATE ORIGAMI

And that has me thinking (oh-oh...). Will it really be any good? I don't mean mechanically (will it be durable, will the seam between the two sides of the fold, be visible..). I mean for the CONSUMER. What good would a folding screen really be?

And first off, you might say, duh, Tomi. It is TWICE the size of the screen! As long as the phone doesn't cost twice as much, of 'course' it will be better. It will be twice as good. Didn't you say that screen size trumps everything? 

Yes, I did say that. But we have a nagging warning from the recent past: the hapless Blackberry Priv and its square screen. No matter how you turned it, horizontal or vertical, you could not get more to see in a movie, video, photograph. Unless that picture was taken with some ancient square-film camera, you only lost and never gained with the square screen. So aspect ratio plays a big role in our display. So old style TV images were 4.3 aspect ratio but most modern flat screen TVs are in 16:9 aspect ratio (Wider). And movies often are in 'widescreen' which can be as wide as 2.2 to 1 aspect ratio. And recently we've started to see wide-screen smartphones in the rough mid-point between those, using an 18:9 aspect ratio.

BABY YOU'RE SO SQUARE

So what does this do to our viewing pleasure? Lets stay with the most standard screen size today, 16:9. And lets flip our screen. Here the blue screen is any regular smartphone in portrait mode, and the yellow part is the same screen turned sideways to horizontal orientation for landscape images, videos & movies:





Now, lets try a twin-screen out of the same phone. So it is standing up, portrait, identical size to the above, and is a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. Then we open it up 'like a book' (or magazine) and we get two screens, side-by-side. But what happens when we view something on it? What? A standard video clip on YouTube or the picture we just received about our nephew? If we now use the double-screen to view any content that is formated for 16:9 aspect ratio video, and we view it on the double-screen, we get this yellow image. I have superimposed on the same image, what would be the SAME screen, in single-screen size, but flipped sideways to landscape mode....


 



Note the gain is truly modest. The light green image sideways is not twice as big as the blue screen sideways. It is only 26% larger in area, and only 13% wider. It is yes, visibly bigger, but only just. Barely so. Is this worth a ton of money? I kind of doubt it. The concept might not be worth the extra money and it could be a huge waste of effort. Because most people who could afford a premium Samsung folding-screen smartphone, would also own other phones and definitely have friends with similar phone screen sizes (unfolding phones) and the comparison would be too easy to make. How much more are you gaining from this? Not really that much, considering the folding screen IS twice as big (costs at theoretically twice as much in pixels, but probably even more, due to the folding tech, and while the whole phone won't need to be twice as expensive, this would definitely mean a more expensive phone...).

LIFE'S GOOD

That is with a 'normal screen' phone, at the 16:9 aspect ratio. What happens if we do the new wider 18:9 aspect ratio? Now there is literally no gain (in terms of width of image, vs flipping the same phone screen side-ways). Then the image looks like this:






Yeah maybe LG was playing some offense in its defense against Samsung, when they introduced the 18x9 aspect ratio screen size haha... Ok. How DO we gain from the folding screen? Would you believe it, the best gains come if we go down to old-fashioned screen formats, like 4x3 of old TV. Here we DO get a benefit, especially if we are viewing 16:9 type of content (which was already poorly fitting to the orig 4:3 screen). If Samsung went 'back' to this type of screen format, then the GAINS would be big from doubling the screen... 




(Note that I now added a new color, red, to illustrate the 16:9 format image on the single-pane 4:3 screen, turned sideways for landscape viewing.) But the OTHER issues with phones would then come into play - in other words, we'd get wide phones that don't fit in our pockets (as modern phones have screens that go very near to the edge of the phone. What could we then do? If you want DRAMATIC increase in a folding screen, then you'd really need to go to 3-way folder with 16:9 aspect ratio. THIS is what would be an impressive folding screen:




But that would then bring us tons of new problems such as... the second fold. Its not like folding paper (yet, haha Communities Dominate Origami)

I don't want to sound like a wet blanket, and I DO DO DO so hope for innovations and new form factors for our phones... but the folding screen? Gosh, it does seem like awefully lot of trouble for a truly modest gain. It might turn out not quite the miracle breakthrough that we had hoped..

Comments

[z]

@Tomi

If you delete 1 clown, remember clown name alias

LongAPPL
LongApple
LongAAPL1997
LongApple1997
LongAAPL1997Sonic

Jim Glu
Jim Glue
James Glu
James Glue

[Mart]

Tomi, foldable (android) phones were tried before by at least NEC and were not received well....although Android didn't really support the concept and the bezel meant a large gap between the 2 sides so maybe have a better chance now.

[Wayne Borean]

I can see the advantages, but I can also see the disadvantages (moving parts), so I'm really not sure that folding screens will have enough advantages to make them a success. What might work would be the largest current screen size folded to give an enormous screen, with a Bluetooth keyboard (or built in keyboard) to make a laptop replacement.

I'm skeptical about this innovation. Should be interesting to see how it all plays out, and at least someone is trying something.

[Abdul Muis]

Lenovo have prototype
https://youtu.be/nPreMCCvMCs

[Winter]

"Apple has patented tons of things related to foldable displays and so has done Gorning."

The idea of a folded screen is rather old. Even the OLPC had such a design:
https://www.wired.com/2008/05/negroponte-show

I found references to this idea from 1993:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/73754/?reload=true

[shortAAPL2017]

@long

you delete cookie cause you coward, want do bad, hide always.

[john F.]

@Tomi,

Hi Tomi, was reading about android adoption rates, this few paragraphs i found interesting, in a way, why innovate if most users don't use it or are 2 years late.

Here are some paragraphs, it might be interesting to deep dive in this matter, so we don't talk apple all the time -))
What's your take?

At any given point in time, most Android users are using something other than the last two versions of the software. Compare that to iOS, where new versions become the most used within the first few weeks, and dominate the base within the first three months.

The Most Popular Version Today is Two Years Old
The most widely-used version of Android today isn’t even the version released a year ago, but the Marshmallow version released in October 2015, nearly two years ago. And that just barely became the most widely-used version in June of this year — before that, it was Lollipop, released in November 2014:

Every Version of Android Gets Lower Penetration in the First Year Than the Last One
Jelly Bean achieved just under 40% penetration of the Android base at the end of its first year, KitKat achieved 30%, Lollipop 25% and 24% respectively, and we’re still waiting to see where Nougat will be after its first full year, but chances are it’ll top out at around 17–18%, the lowest by far.

[Abdul Muis]

@john

The way android and iphone do the OS is different. Using last year android does not mean insecure. The important thing is the monthly security update.

Second, each time a new android OS become available, the phone pool is bigger. In jelly bean ear perhaps only 800 million phone, compared to perhaps 2 billion phone of android phone now. So, new version is harder to dominate.

[Jim Glue]

The incredibly poor adoption rate of the latest Android OS is indeed a security concern. Things like "monthly security updates" aren't on those older versions of the OS. Google is working hard on this problem, but the fact they are working hard on it helps you understand that it IS a problem.

In addition to poor security (of which old versions of Android are only one of the problems) - low adoption of the latest Android means that developers can't create apps that use whatever new goodness that comes with the new Android.

Customer satisfaction is hurt as an older phone is REALLY an older phone. I'm not buying a new iPhone this year, but I got the nice new OS update. The improvement between my Apple Watch on Watch OS/4 and iPhone on iOS 11 is significant. All without having to buy anything new.

Apple iPhones get much better resale value because they can still run the new iOS. Better resale value means that iPhone's aren't as expensive as you might think.

If you can't admit the clear superior advantage of Apple's ability to get OS updates to it's install base...then you are merely a fanboy, an AndroidSheep. It's no different than Apple fans who would say that memory card expansion wouldn't be something nice to have.

[john F.]

@Abdul,

Not referring to security in particular but to innovation, Oreo is out and the android 95% of world can't update and enjoy all new innovations, those guys are using something from 2 years ago and many more even older, and it's a huge amount of people that reads on the news... new oreo, mega innovative, super android but can't even get it

Oreo is out and just a small % is on Nougat

My point is that this blog discusses a lot about iPhone deficiencies and faults, its ok.

It's time to have a deep discussion about this huge, disastrous problem, because it is... Android innovates, amazing and 2 years later people use the one of 2 years ago.

[Michael]

@Tomi: You could also *start* with a square(ish) device, and unfold it to a 18:9 (or whatever) format.

[Abdul Muis]

@John F

Perhaps because Tomi didn't see any problem with Android with such a huge user number. In other words... the problem is big but since the competitor were only 1/4 or 1/5 of android, so....

[Abdul Muis]

@Jim Glu

And you're not an iSheep?

[john F.]

@ Abdul
the competitor were only 1/4 or 1/5 of android, so....

Hi Abdul, it's about innovation not market share or size of competition, let me explain again my point because you answer in different direction.

Android comes out with innovation but 95% of android don't get to take advantage of this innovation, many can't update, many only can get oreo if they buy a new phone, many only use old versions of android and just a minority uses oreo

Let's address the problem I am asking Tomi about. All the talk about Android innovation but it does not go mainstream and it takes long time for a 1/4 or 1/5 of users to have ( see, now this number is important), and when they do, there is a new one already that they can't update, so...

[Jim Glue]

Hi Abdul,

Nope, I am guiltless of being an iSheep though I understand why the term exists. I like Apple products for many reasons, none of which have anything to do with image, status or popularity.

I like Android as well. I have Android based tablets and backup phones.

None of this has anything to do with my analysis. You don't have to like Apple in order to understand what I understand. When I point out the security problems, fragmentation issues, and lack of OS upgrades for the average Android user...I'm not gleeful or wishing bad things on Android.

For example, Google buying/bailing out HTC is not a sign of strength for either company. My choice of an iPhone for my daily driver has nothing to do with my analysis of "what it means" that Google HAD to bail out HTC.

Around the net I've participated on various forums for years. I'd be embarrassed if I'd been saying Apple is doomed all the while Apple went from iPod maker to the largest and most profitable company of any kind. And after did so, and is so, and is so well positioned to keep it so....I'd be embarrassed to CONTINUE predicting doom for Apple.

I'm one of those who thought Msft had a chance with windows phone and that the purchase of Nokia, while desperate, had a chance to succeed. I didn't keep on with that perspective as reality showed me to be wrong.

The AndroidSheep here are like that. They aren't analyzing, they are fantasizing just as much as those who are still believing in Windows Phone would be

[Abdul Muis]

@Jim

"Nope, I am guiltless of being an iSheep though I understand why the term exists. I like Apple products for many reasons, none of which have anything to do with image, status or popularity."

Really, I quote you from http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2017/09/iphone-x-now-the-pain.html?cid=6a00e0097e337c883301b8d2aed409970c#comment-6a00e0097e337c883301b8d2aed409970c "A person who buys a $50 Android phone and runs it on a pay as you go plan with little or no data is not the same value for the ecosystem as a customer who spent $1000 on an iPhone and will spend another $1000 on accessories (Apple Watch, Airpods, iPad), apps, and services."

You keep insisting that Android user = US$50, and iPhone US$1000. You keep using the same argument since your name was baron, then wayne.

And you've been saying you're not an iSheep because you own US$50 android phone as a backup for your US$1000 iPhone, and iPhone user were rich... BIG LOL!!! You will be surprised when you go to asia, and see an android user who you claim to be poor, have 2 android flaghsip... And they pay in full price!!

[Abdul Muis]

@john F

"Android comes out with innovation but 95% of android don't get to take advantage of this innovation, many can't update, many only can get oreo if they buy a new phone, many only use old versions of android and just a minority uses oreo "

While this is a sad things for you and me. But the majority of android user just don't care. My parents were the example. Every couple months that I have time, I will check their phone, and update the android (security update or perhaps OS update), and apps.

And, they're not the only one. Many user, android or iOS, don't really care about the new update. They don't feel they got any new benefit from the new OS.

Perhaps you should try this. Asking yourself, if you only use WhatsApp, Google Maps, Google Chrome, SMS, Youtube, Netflix. What benefit do you got for upgrading the OS. That's what the majority think about OS upgrade.

But.....
If you do really care OS upgrade, then you should buy Pixel phone if you want to use the latest android, or if you don't mind being late a couple of months, then you should try Samsung/Sony/LG/Motorola flagship.

[Jim Glue]

Abdul - I am saying that Apple's market share decline is SOLELY about the growth of Android sales in the low price tiers. It has nothing to do with actually losing ground to Android in the price tiers Apple actually competes in.

And I agree that the majority of Android customers couldn't care less about the features at the high end. What you can't seem to grasp is that there is little to no money to be made catering to your grandparents BECAUSE they don't care. They don't use their smartphones to do much of anything actually "smart". They'd get along just fine with a feature phone.

[Abdul Muis]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/bill-gates-android-phone/index.html
Bill Gates just switched to an Android phone

[Abdul Muis]

@Jim Glu

" What you can't seem to grasp is that there is little to no money to be made catering to your grandparents BECAUSE they don't care."

And what you refuse to understand is that NOT all iPhone user is like the way you describe. If you go to Asia, 95% of iPhone user is the one that only use What'sApp, Facebook, SMS, browser.

When I said that most people don't care about the OS update/upgrade, I'm not talking about android user. It's mobile phone user in general.