PC World (2019-04)

12 PCWorld APRIL 2019

NEWS 3 OBSTACLES FOLDING PHONES MUST OVERCOME

2. BATTERY LIFE
   We’ve reached a point with
   contemporary phones where
   we’re pretty much able to leave
   our chargers at home, but
   folding phones could take a step
   back. Bigger displays use more
   power, but the folding phones’
   batteries haven’t scaled to fit.
   Granted, the batteries they
   have are beefy—4,380mAh on
   the Fold and 4,500mAH on the
   Mate X. The 6.6-inch Galaxy S
   5G (go.pcworld.com/sg5g) has a 4,500mAh
   battery, however, and that only needs to power
   a mere 6.7-inch display. Let’s not forget the
   additional power strains of switching screens,
   sensors, and 5G on these bleeding-edge
   folding phones.
   Huawei has built 55W SuperCharge into
   the Mate X, and Samsung allows for wireless
   charging on the Galaxy Fold. Nevertheless,
   anyone hoping for a day of use out of either
   phone before charging is going to be
   disappointed. Despite costing thousands of
   dollars, these new folding phones might very
   well turn us into “wall-huggers” (go.pcworld.
   com/wlhg) again.


3. USER EXPERIENCE
   My biggest concern with folding phones has less
   to do with design, fragility, or even longevity, and
   more to do with the real-world benefit. We might
   all want to run and see one as soon as they end

up in stores, but my question is: Are they really

giving us the best of both worlds?

With the Samsung version, you’re going from

a 6.4-inch display in the Galaxy S10 to a 4.6-inch

one in the Fold (when closed). And on the inside,

you get a 7.3-inch display, which is only about a

half-inch bigger than the S10 5G’s. The Mate X is

a little better with an 8-inch display, but the

outside screen already offers a full six-inch

workspace. So you’re really only gaining 2 inches

by opening it, which isn’t really worth it in most

situations. Huawei even admitted that they

expect people will use it closed most of the day.

Samsung’s triple-multitasking is a more

promising innovation for folding phones, but

there needs to be a real reason to jump from the

small screen to a big one. We don’t pick up a

tablet because we want a little more screen—we

use one because it offers a better experience for

getting things done. I’m not sure we can say the

same yet for folding phones.

The Mate X is certainly bigger when opened, but are we really

gaining that much over a flaship phablet?