WE called the race for a foldable phone some months back – now that the giants have finally fired their marketing salvos, it’s a good time to ask: How exactly is that going to change your life? What’s next?
01: Lazy-ass Netflix-ing
A substantially bigger screen robs you of another reason to clamber to the living room couch just so you can make out what’s going on in your favourite TV series / film. Huzzah to those who have no qualms wasting away in bed either prone or supine.
(RELATED: Streaming looks to be taking a bitter turn as the ‘golden era’ of Netflix hegemony comes to an end.)
02: Goodbye, workstations
Our phone chips have become so ludicrously powerful that they’re more than capable of taking on most of our workplace needs. Phones that plug right into monitors have been around for a few years – now with double the screen real estate, we can even consider dropping the monitor from the equation.
As space becomes scarce and co-working the norm, company-issue laptops or PCs may become a thing of the past. Mind, we wouldn’t actually want this reality – you’d be squinting at a relatively miniscule screen for too long, causing more eye strain than ever.)
03: Embarrass up to 3 friends at a time
With what is essentially a split-screen setup, we imagine some rudimentary two- to four- titles being created for the “square” devices. The Huawei Mate X, which folds ‘outward’, looks like it could run a mean game of Battleship or Connect Four, and both devices look great to try a game of Monopoly (or carrom) on.
04: Super multi-tasking
While you could already split-screen multitask on most Android phones, the area allotted to each app was abysmal. As seen in the Samsung Fold’s teaser videos, multitasking looks a lot more comfortable – plus, it ships with the ability to open three apps now. Perfect for those who can’t stand switching in and out of chat apps.
05: Typing-magic diary style
Remember the good ole Casio magic diary, the first device that trained a generation to type furiously with our thumbs? If you haven’t a clue, think electronic dictionaries, which still use this format.
The ‘inward’-folding Samsung Fold looks great for those of us with broader fingers who need a wider keyboard but don’t want their app shrunk to a sliver.
