I assume everyone on Lemmy uses GrapheneOS on a Pixel 7 or LineageOS flashed onto a LG Tribute with zero Google apps, and everything backed up via nextcloud running on a headless Debian Raspberry Pie?
I’m just a scrub using stock Android. Am I the only one?
Fold 5. Battery is getting annoying, so decent odds I pick up the 8 when it drops in the summer. I miss the days when you could just pop a battery out. It’s expensive but the larger screen is amazing and I’ll probably never go back. I’m not married to having a Samsung foldable specifically, but the only really competitive options are banned in the US.
You like the fold? I’m due for a new phone.
I love having a foldable. It makes reading, writing, and media consumption so much more enjoyable. But still fits in the pocket unlike a tablet. I don’t have any particular loyalty to Samsung, but it’s the best foldable I’ve found so far.
Convenience for writing would be helpful. I do some of that. And yeah, watching stuff on a normal phone sucks.
Have you had to replace the glass for a screen, ever? Just wondering how big a pain it is.
I had it replaced once, perhaps 15 months after purchasing. The problem was not with the screen, but the screen protector was separating down the seam. Possibly due to my profession in the medical field, which occasionally sees me and my phone exposed to high intensity UV light. Apparently this shrinks the material. Modern phones aren’t something you can so easily work on yourself. I had it replaced by an authorized repair shop in my area. Apparently they had a recall on either the whole model or my production run, because they had a one time replacement deal for $250. This got me a new internal screen, battery, and possibly hinge?
I had a ZFold 4 for a good long while before switching to a Pixel with GrapheneOS (OP is right, it’s a legal requirement when joining lemmy). I can share my experience.
I really loved it but I also had very specific use cases. It was great for reading long-form content on the go and much more comfortable browsing websites, mostly those where they don’t have / use mobile-first design like old forums. It was also great for sharing content in person, like sharing a spreadsheet or slideshow in person became so much easier. Some edge cases were nice to have, like taking a conference call you could split screen at the crease and prop it up for a more laptop-like experience. Ultimately it did away with the tablet use case between my laptop and phone.
Downsides were definitely price, it’s like an $1800 phone, probably more now. I kept it for probably 4 years and still use it occasionally so I feel I’m getting my moneys worth. Not sure how the durability is these days, used to have issues with screens cracking even though mine is going strong. They redesigned it from 5+ in a way that it folds fully flat now and should extend screen life.
It really boils down to “is the screen real estate of two phones worth paying the price of two phones?” It has all the flagship features you’d expect, so you’re really buying the form factor.
I don’t really have any of those edge cases, but I’ve never had a tablet, and this looks like a neat alternative. How is reading a book on mobile screens, these days?
Depends on the book. For stock digital graphic novels, it’s much easier on the Fold. For webcomics they are usually optimized for a narrower vertical screen. Same applies to static PDFs.
Text really comes down to the viewer. Assuming it’s a book format that can be reflowed, reading can be just fine. I still prefer the wider format so I’m not constantly scrolling or tapping to turn pages, probably helps with eye fatigue too but not sure how long you plan to read on your phone anyway.
I mean novels and such, not comics. I’ve generally found E-ink to be a lot easier on the eyes, but it’s been a while since I’ve compared, and this would be convenient.