Not launching its Trifold phone in the US? Sounds like a genius move by Samsung, if you ask me. I've had a chance to play around with Huawei's Mate X, the supposedly "game-changing" tri-fold phone, and let me tell you, it's been a wild ride.
I mean, can you imagine a phone that's essentially a tiny, foldable tablet? Sounds awesome, right? But trust me, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. The Mate X's software is still a hot mess, and those hinges? Forget about it. They're like the mediocre keyboards on those early Android phones - you'll be begging for a software update to fix the creakiness.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "But Alex, Samsung's Trifold is going to revolutionize the industry!" Hold up, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Remember when Samsung first released the Galaxy Note? It was supposed to be this massive game-changer, but really, it was just a bigger phone with a stylus. Don't get me wrong, I loved that thing, but it wasn't exactly the " phablet" revolution everyone claimed it was.
Samsung's Trifold is basically a more complicated version of that. You've got more moving parts, more potential points of failure, and a price tag that'll make your wallet cry itself to sleep. I mean, who's ready to shell out a grand or more for a phone that might not even make it through a year without something breaking?
In my experience, the average person doesn't need a tri-fold phone. We're talking about people who just want to scroll through Instagram, play some Candy Crush, and maybe, just maybe, use their phone as an actual phone. They don't need a device that can fold out into a 7-inch tablet. That's just too much. And what's the real benefit here? A slightly bigger screen? Please. I've got a tablet for that.
Now, I know Samsung's going to tout this thing as some kind of status symbol, but honestly? It's just a fancy party trick. "Oh, look, my phone folds!" Yeah, cool, dude, but can you actually use it without wanting to pull your hair out? That's what I want to know.
So, is Samsung making the right call by not launching this thing in the US? Absolutely. They're avoiding a logistical nightmare and saving themselves from a whole lot of returns and angry customer complaints. Trust me, this thing needs a lot more refinement before it's ready for the masses.
All of this is to say: don't believe the hype just yet. Tri-fold phones might be the future, but we're not there yet. And until Samsung figures out how to make this thing affordable, practical, and reliable, I'll stick with my boring old slab phone. At least that thing doesn't need a separate credit card just to afford the repairs.