Six months. That’s the time I have enjoyed (and disliked) my first foldable smartphone. I’m going back to the slab form factor. I feel disappointed and even defeated; I truly tried to make it work, but the issues I detected one month after buying the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 eventually became a dealbreaker for me.
When I started using the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 —my first foldable device—, I was convinced that folding phones were going to be the next big thing. I thought that over the next few years most people would end up with a foldable smartphone. Now, a bit over a month into using one myself, I’m not so sure anymore.
As an iPhone owner since 2013, the announcement of the next iPhone is usually an exciting moment for me. To be more precise, the anticipation leading to the announcement is what’s stimulating; the actual moment of truth tends to be disappointing since 2017. About a year ago, I wrote about how there has not been any dramatic change since the introduction of the iPhone X. The 2021 iPhone, rumored to be called iPhone 13, will not change that trend if all the leaks get confirmed next month.
This made me look towards the Android ecosystem, where some inspiring changes are happening while iPhone power users yawn. Top examples of this are Samsung’s folding devices, like the newly announced Fold3 and Flip3, and Google’s futuristic AI features, namely the on-device speech recognition on the new Pixel 6 or Duplex’s ability to make and receive calls for you.
Last week I bought a new TV for my parents. It turns out, salesmen give you weird looks when you tell them that a Smart TV is not as powerful as a simple laptop connected through HDMI.
Nonetheless, the TV I got has integrated Wi-Fi and yes, is a Smart TV. All in all, I kept telling my mom (the techie of the family) that by having the Surface next to the TV, they wouldn’t use the “smart” part.
Geek on record 