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'The One Feature That Keeps Me From Recommending Flip Phones' (theverge.com) 32

Posted by msmash from the fair-enough dept.
Dust is that "feature" or drawback, The Verge's reviewer Allison Johnson argues. Samsung's head of smartphone planning Minseok Kang told her earlier this year that creating dustproof foldable phones remains technically challenging but "not impossible." Current flagship foldables from Samsung and Motorola carry IP48 ratings that protect against particles larger than one millimeter, while traditional smartphones at similar price points offer full IP68 dust and water resistance. The durability gap persists five years after Samsung's original Galaxy Fold experienced screen failures from small particles entering the hinge mechanism.

'The One Feature That Keeps Me From Recommending Flip Phones' More | Reply

'The One Feature That Keeps Me From Recommending Flip Phones'

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  • But is there enough demand (Score:3)

    by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) on Monday August 18, 2025 @11:07AM (#65597348)
    for companies to invest in and improve this format of phone? I've owned several flip phones way back to the Star-Tac and I wouldn't want this now over a monolithic touch-screen phone.

    Most of the time when I hear pro-"flip phone" arguments it's from people that don't want "smart phones", but most of these flips phones are Android (smart) phones just in a different format and can be made to do anything any other Android phone can do.

    • ... amongst business travellers on short tripes who just want to take a single device with a reasonable sized screen (ie no tablet or laptop), and of course the usual techno-fashion victims. Its too bulky for it to be a mass market phone.

    • Re:But is there enough demand (Score:5, Insightful)

      by thegreatemu ( 1457577 ) on Monday August 18, 2025 @11:44AM (#65597446)
      "Flip phone" in this article is referring to foldable touch screen smart phones, unlike every other use of the term.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sique ( 173459 )
        I am using it in the way the article use it.

        Just because you grew up with the StarTAC does not mean it is the one and all of flip phones. And I never liked flip phones, and I don't like the new crop of them either.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      TFA calls them "flip phones" but the ones it talks about are folding phones. There are flip phones on the market, but that's not what TFA is talking about.

      I'd like to get a folding phone for the larger screen. They seem durable enough now - I take care of my phones. Would be nice if the screen was a bit harder maybe, and I'd like a reasonable case. Main thing is a strap hole. Best way to avoid dropping your phone.

      The problem is they all seem over-priced and under-powered. I know that big folding screens cos

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sique ( 173459 )
        To me, "folding phones" are just flip phones. I don't see any reason to find a new term for something that's essentially the same.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dgatwood ( 11270 )

          To me, "folding phones" are just flip phones. I don't see any reason to find a new term for something that's essentially the same.

          Completely different at multiple levels:

          • Flip phones were called that because you flipped them open to answer the phone. Foldable phones do not do this.
          • Flip phones had to be flipped open to use them. Foldable phones typically have a functional screen on the outside.
          • Obviously foldable phones have a screen that flexes. Flip phones do not. This is a major reliability risk, unlike a properly designed hinge.

          So it's really confusing to mix up the two terms. From a usage perspective, they're nothing alike. F

      • It's The Verge - it might as well be the tech blog of that uncle who likes talking about "gadgets" when he's not selling used cars.

    • Re: But is there enough demand (Score:4, Interesting)

      by dbialac ( 320955 ) on Monday August 18, 2025 @12:04PM (#65597506)
      I've owned 4 out of the 5 models from Samsung. The first three, the original to the 4, are great phones. Samsung was listening to actual users instead of reviewers. The five and beyond defeat the point of a flip phone: the high degree of durability when dropped. I have an original that sill works and has no cracks on the original screen. This is after countless times it was dropped in a long hospital stay by nurses causing the phone to fall. The reviewers convinced Samsung to drop that ability. There's now a big screen on the front of the phone. Never trust somebody who only uses a phone for 2 weeks to review a cell phone.

  • My OCD hates that bloody crease.

    • This is about flip-phones, not foldable phones.

      • Re:Crease (Score:5, Informative)

        by nightflameauto ( 6607976 ) on Monday August 18, 2025 @11:21AM (#65597376)

        This is about flip-phones, not foldable phones.

        The headline says flip phones, but the summary speaks of foldables. If only Slashdot had editors look things over at some point in the process.

        • To be fair, TFA also refers to flip phones and foldables interchangeably, and it's impossible to tell what they're actually talking about.
          • I thought it was me but I have no idea what the summary is about. It started talking about foldables and I thought they would segue into flip phones but that never happens

      • No, it's about foldable phones.

        Whoever wrote the headline must be AI or young enough to not know there's a major difference between the two.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by unrtst ( 777550 )

        This is about flip-phones, not foldable phones.

        Bullshit. The title is, but TFS and TFA are about foldables. Go reread them. TFS has "fold" in it three times, but not a single "flip".

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Zangief ( 461457 )

          right, but I think the term just means "foldable" now

          it's not like there are many important real flip smartphones right now

          • My understanding is that there's a market for old flip phones in Amish communities (as they typically ban smartphones, but it's okay to have a phone that you can shut off when you're at home), and there are some schools that have talked about banning smartphones so the kids can still get in contact with parents but not be playing games and using social media while at school. ... but models? No clue. The only one that I can think of is from old TV ads for jitterbug phones. (a special network/service for o

      • Re: Crease (Score:2, Redundant)

        by yuvcifjt ( 4161545 )

        There appears to be no difference, or very minor between foldable and flip phones - the first opens horizontally, while the latter opens vertically.

        • There appears to be no difference, or very minor between foldable and flip phones - the first opens horizontally, while the latter opens vertically.

          There's a yer momma joke in there somewhere, I'm just not caffeinated enough to see it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Sique ( 173459 )
        Flip phones and folding phones are the same. They are phones you fold if not in use, and you can flip open if you need them.
    • I've owned 4. You won't see it while you're using it.

  • No surprise here. The hinge and the ribbon cable across the joint was the failure point for my Motorola flip phones and a series of Psion pocket computers (much missed). A minor miracle that none of the laptops I have worn out over the years died quite that way. But being larger they were a tad more servicable. Which was not a feature of the other devices. Nice that the concept has resurfaced but a better approach to the failure points remains elusive. Sigh.

  • My IP65 rated Pixel 3 immediately took on water and stopped working when I flipped my kayak, leading me to suspect that IP ratings are a lie. I do kind of want a flip phone because every time I mow the lawn with my smart phone in my pocket, it goes into emergency call mode and start entering random digits... which I can't hear over the lawnmower. So I fear my phone may accidentally butt-dial 911.

    • IPx5 is not rated for submersion.

      That would be IPx8.

      • My bad. "The Pixel 3, Google's latest iteration of the phone, has a rating of IP68, which means that it's slightly more water-resistant than its predecessor. It can withstand being submerged in up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes, according to Trusted Reviews." There was literally water dripping out of the case, so either the factory failed to seal it, or the seal broke after being carried around in my pocket for a few months.
  • What about freezing weather? Know someone who had a folding Samsung phone, but the non-removable screen protector developed a crease very quickly. They continued to use it normally regardless and the screen ended up cracking because of it. $1200 to fix so it was just garbage at that point.

  • Why do I need a hinge on my phone?

    From what I can tell, it offers no tangible improvement to the device and is just something else that can break.

  • As long as the phone runs for 3 years, all is well in the world. If it lasts more, the better. I am even open to change the batteries (plural) at some point.

    Having said that, is not like i work in construction, or in dusty envirnoments, so i do not know outside of those cases how much dust can be a problem for a foldable used by normies...

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