96 PCWorld DECEMBER 2019FEATURE THE FUTURE OF THE TALL PHONE
built to “reframe your perspective.” Then two
days after Samsung’s keynote, Evan Glass
tweeted out an image of what looks to be a
folding Moto RAZR reboot with, you guessed
it, a seemingly very tall inside screen.
I have no reason to doubt Samsung’s or
Essential’s claims. But that doesn’t mean I have to
agree with them. While a square handset would
certainly fit in more pockets than something as
big as the massive Galaxy Note 10+, that doesn’t
speak to how easy it is to use when opened (or
closed, but that’s another issue).
If there’s one universal fact to every phone
that released in 2019, it’s that we can pick them
up and instantly start using them. There’s no
learning curve and no confusion. Even
Samsung’s Galaxy Fold stuck to the same basic
formula with its phone-to-tablet transformer.
But this new folding Galaxy Whatever is
something else altogether. It doesn’t open to a
bigger screen that lets you be more productive.
It opens to a taller screen. I can’t even begin to
comprehend how to use it with one hand, let
alone the logistics of landscape mode. It’s a
classic example of form trumping function.A TALL ORDER
Comparisons will immediately be made to the
RAZR flip phones and the Nokia 8110, two
phones that conjure nostalgia of the pre-
smartphone days. Each groundbreaking in
their day, they popularized the tall-and-skinny
form factor with unique designs incorporating
sliding or flipping mechanisms.L
et’s just say no to tall phones, right
now. I’m looking at you Samsung,
Moto, and Essential.
It’s been a rocky 12 months (go.
pcworld.com/rc12) since Samsung first
teased its folding phone, with a sneak peek at
the Infinity Flex display (go.pcworld.com/iflx)
at 2018’s developer’s conference. But that’s
not slowing the company down. At 2019’s
keynote in late October, Samsung showed off
a new display concept that flips the folding
phone concept on its head. Literally.
The new display folds open like a wallet,
rather than a book, to reveal an ultra-wide inside
screen. I’m not talking about a 16:9 phone like
the Sony Xperia 1 (go.pcworld.com/sxp1). Think
more 25:9, like the candy-bar phones of old. Just,
you know, with no buttons and a very tall screen.
To promote the new concept, Samsung
touted the device will “easily fit in your pocket”
when folded. When opened, Samsung says
the tall form factor “changes the way you use
your phone.”
Keep reading to find out why this simply
won’t work.THE RISE OF TALL PHONES
Samsung’s not the only phone maker teasing a
ridiculously tall phone. Earlier in October,
Essential teased (go.pcworld.com/eph2) a
“radically different form factor” with a picture of
a handset that looked more like a remote than a
phone. It showed off a few teaser images with a
tile interface, skinny apps, and an experience