The folding phone craze has started – and it’s off to a bumpy start (pun intended).

I know that some are excited for a folding phone, but as I mentioned when the Galaxy Fold was announced, I’m not that excited. It seems like the launch of the Galaxy Fold isn’t going quiet as well as Samsung would hope.

I’m going to link to The Verge’s review of the Galaxy Fold here so you can read all about it if you’re interested. The review does a great job of going through all the issues the devices have, but I’m going to run through them here as well.

Folding Phone Screen Problems

So far, there seem to be two major issues with the screen on the Galaxy Fold.

1. There seems to be some type of layer on top of the plastic screen. Many of the reviewers thought that it was the standard screen cover that usually covers the phone’s screen during shipping.

The reviewers are attempting to remove this cover because it looks like just that, a cover. There’s no documentation that says that this is anything but a cover. As they are removing the cover though, they are starting to realize that it is DAMAGING THE SCREEN. That slim layer of plastic is actually the top layer of the screen and once it is removed, the screen stops working. I haven’t seen the device myself, but this to me seems like bad design if two Pro Reviewers think that they can and should remove this layer.

2) Two other reviewers got bulges inside the crease of the phone. At first, they just noticed a bulge on the screen. Then as they continued to use it the bulge pushed even further through the top of the screen ultimately damaging it.

As far as reviews for a device go, this is one of the worst since the exploding phone from a few years ago.

Long Time Fixes?

It seems like Samsung is rushing to get these devices out. They didn’t let anyone get hands-on time with them when they were announced and there were rumors that the device wouldn’t be ready for launch. But they seemingly have met the deadline and sent these things out to the most important people to get the hype train started. But they all seem to be breaking.

It doesn’t seem like a company as big and successful as Samsung would send out bum units out, but it really seems like the screen protector wasn’t really thought through. I’m not sure how ready these devices really are.

Of course, there will always be lessons to learn, it just seems like these missteps are huge.

I’ve seen that they are adding documentation to the shipping unit not to remove the screen, so they have learned something from it. But the bulge developing in the screen is more worrisome. These bulges appeared after just a days use. It will be interesting to see what happens once the device ships to consumers.

I really hope that Samsung is able to find out and fix what caused these bulges before they ship them out since the device is near $2000. If a piece of debris got into the hinge, that’s going to be trouble when more people get these things. I’m sure that Samsung will try to fix it though.

Lessons Learned

Other than those major device crippling issues, there have been a few things learned so far with the folding screen.

From the reviews that I’ve read, many of the reviewers like the larger screen of the fold, but hate the tiny front screen when in “phone-mode” for lack of a better description.

Along those same lines, the reviewers have commented that the devices are thick when folded up. So much so that you won’t really like it in your pocket, or for those quick moments when you’re waiting in line.

I think the tech is cool, but I’m still not sure that I want my phone to fold. It just doesn’t seem useable or favorable over just a large screen phone. When folded, the screen is a tight, tall and skinny 4.7 inches. This is the same screen size of the iPhone 8, but unlike the iPhones of yore, the bezels are much bigger on the Fold and the screen seems so skinny that it’s not really a pleasure to use. When you unfold it, the screen is a great 7.3-inch screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio. You get good width and height here. That aspect ratio is what makes this folding device more interesting to use than say the iPhone XS Max with it’s 6.5-inch screen. It is the aspect ratio that makes the biggest difference here.

The unfolded screen size is almost the size of the iPad Mini. But is that size really that far off from the large phone screens we have now?

What this product has done is made me more interested in a folding tablet than a phone. While we’d all love a device that folds up to the size of a phone that could fold out to a tablet size – so that we can own just one device instead of 2.

Early Days for Folding Phones

Still, we are in the early days of the folding screen. I still question if this really is a technology that we want? I would put it to Apple to honestly show us the best use for a folding screen.

If Samsung wanted to send me a review unit, I’ll happily try it out and see how it feels, but I’m not about to spend $2000 on a device that might break after a days use.

After the first hands-on with the Galaxy Fold, I’m not convinced at all that this is something that I want, but I’m still intrigued by what this could mean for the future. Maybe, we’re just looking at it in the wrong light right now.

Besides, I really think AR will come along and make us all want that instead of a folding screen eventually.

What do you think? Are you excited for a folding screen for a smart phone? Let me know in the comments.