• cm0002@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    It’s too darn expensive for what it does

    It’s a phone that folds in half, the tech has been in development for something like 15 years. I swear I’ve been hearing about folding/flexible displays at CES since like 2004

    After years and years of complaints of nothing but stagnant candy bar designs we get something new and fresh and now it’s “too expensive” LMAO

    • hendrik@palaver.p3x.de
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      2 months ago

      Sure. I’m not against people buying it. Including for novelty or be an early adopter. I’ve had a look at all the foldable phones in the store and I didn’t really like them. I mean it’s a nice idea, and I can see how I’d get some good use out of that large screen. But at least the Samsung one had a pretty noticable fold in the middle. And I can get a rusty used car for that kind of money. Or a mid-range gaming PC new. Maybe I’m just not the target audience. I never got why people buy expensive phones. My $350 one can do pretty much the same tasks in everyday life and also the camera and everything is decent enough. And I spent the extra money that’d get me to $2.000 on a laptop and other things. Yeah, but I know different people make different decisions and that’s fine. I’d be in for something like a Nokia N950 if we want to change the form factor (and operating system for more diversity). But that’s not happening. Or just a regular uninspiring Pixel with the price point of the 4a, just with the current (extended) update timeframe. That’s something they don’t do very often. Probably because of the smaller profit margin. But I also consider it an achievement and challenge to design and sell a device close to high-end specs, just for a fraction of the price.

      • seang96@spgrn.com
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        2 months ago

        The reason I got the OG pixel fold was because the dimensions were very similar in size to the pixel 5 and I love it. Bigger phones than that don’t work well with my smaller than average hands. That being said I don’t like how the newer one is less wide. Also yes there are non flagship phones that are smaller, but I want pixel due to update support and their A series which tend to be smaller always lacked wireless charging which I prefer to have.

    • GarlicToast@programming.dev
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      2 months ago

      A foldable costs more than my laptop and tablet combined. While being less resilient and less capable.

      I’m not going to pay premium for a device that will break if it get exposed to dust.

      I will pay premium for durability, fixability, modularity and for gnu/Linux that mobile device that can interface with android apps that society forces me to use.

      • stardust@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        Doesn’t last as long as regular laptops either with how poor OS support is in comparison. Phones have felt like disposable tech compared to regular computing devices, since once a device stops getting security updates it’s not really something you want use for stuff like passwords or banking like you did when you first got it. Phones need to get better in that area.

      • cm0002@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I’m not going to pay premium for a device that will break if it get exposed to dust.

        From what I understand the Samshit Foldables have achieved a dust resistance rating.

        But in general, I think the dust problem is rather overblown. Just exposing it to dust isn’t going to kill it IME, if you were like a construction worker or other industry where you’re dealing with a very dusty environment to begin with then yea. But the average person should be fine with the occasional light dusty environment

        • burgersc12
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          2 months ago

          I know someone whose phone no longer folds because shit got in the cracks. Its common for regular people, not just construction workers.

      • cm0002@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Believe me, I’m not rich either lol

        I buy phones like millions of others in the US, from the carrier on a EIP

        So its more like ~50/month for a regular top tier flagship or an extra 25 (75/month) for a foldy

        • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Ah, over here you buy phones separate, and foldables cost 4x++ what I’d be comfortable spending on a phone. (currently on a Fairphone, if I use it for 5 years that’s 130€/year of use, and that’s at the minimum use. Plus the contract costs me… I forgot, but very little per month.