Sino-Singapore Jingwei Client February 26 (Chang Tao Intern Lang Jingning) folding screen mobile phones recently ushered in the launch of new products. On the evening of February 24, Beijing time, Huawei released a new generation of folding screen mobile phone Mate Xs in Barcelona. Earlier, on February 12, Samsung released the second folding screen mobile phone, the Galaxy Z Flip, with an up-and-down folding design.

If Samsung launches the Galaxy Fold on February 20, 2019, it will start to attract market attention. Folding screen phones have "debuted" for a full year. Over the past year, stunning, questionable, out of stock, and high prices have always been hot words around folding screen phones. A year has passed, how much has a folding screen phone matured? How far is the average person from a folding screen phone?

On February 24, Beijing time, Huawei released a folding screen phone Mate Xs. Source: Huawei

Folding screen phones usher in update iterations

Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, this year's Mobile World Congress was cancelled, and Huawei also moved the conference online. The new generation of folding screen phone Huawei Mate Xs has undoubtedly become the most watched product of the whole conference.

Mate Xs is Huawei's second-generation folding screen mobile phone, priced at 2499 euros (approximately RMB 19,000), and will open online appointments at 10:08 on February 26th. The first-generation folding screen phone Huawei Mate X was released on February 24, 2019, a year ago. It was priced at 2299 Euros (approximately RMB 17,500), and the Bank of China version price was adjusted to 16999 RMB.

Huawei Mate Xs has two forms: folded state and expanded state. In the core configuration, Huawei Mate Xs is equipped with Kirin 990 5G SoC processor, supports SA / NSA 5G dual module network, supports 5G + 4G dual card dual standby, supports more 5G frequency band. In addition, Huawei's Mate Xs has also been upgraded and optimized in terms of screen material, hinge structure, 5G performance, and camera system.

Huawei Mate Xs Source: Huawei

Huawei Mate Xs can bring users more efficient and immersive interactive experiences in applications such as video, reading, navigation and games. Through parallel horizons, two-level interface of an application can be opened at the same time, making full use of the large screen space. When multiple applications are running, two applications can be displayed on separate screens at the same time and run independently. Files, text, videos, and other files can be dragged between applications. The third application can also be opened through the split screen shortcut bar.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Source: Samsung China

In addition to Huawei Mate Xs, two other folding screen phones have recently appeared. On February 12, Samsung released the folding screen phone Galaxy Z Flip. This phone uses a vertically folded screen and a retro flip design. Unlike the Fold released last year, Z Flip no longer covers the CPI on the surface of the folding screen. Protective film, while using a new flexible ultra-thin glass as the screen cover.

Three months ago, in November 2019, Lenovo released the Motorola Razr folding screen phone, which also uses the upper and lower folding design.

How mature is the folding screen phone?

At the beginning of the foldable screen mobile phone, accompanied by the user's surprise, it was a deep concern, this worry mainly comes from the screen of the foldable mobile phone. A Samsung Galaxy Fold user once told a reporter from Zhongxin Jingwei: "How do you describe it? Just put your phone in your hand, and you are afraid to open it and fold it at will, for fear of being broken."

Data Map Samsung Folding Phone Galaxy Fold Released February 21, 2019

In fact, Samsung's first folding screen phone, the Galaxy Fold, did not go on sale until 2019 due to screen quality issues. Seven months have passed since its release date.

In April 2019, Samsung issued the first critical test machine to the global media. However, in the subsequent evaluation phase, the Galaxy Fold had problems such as bumps, black screens, and splash screens in the fold in a very short time. Samsung engineers believe that the gap between the inner screen protective layer and the panel, and the gap at the center of the upper and lower sides of the folding hinge caused dust, impurities, etc. to invade the fragile OLED panel, resulting in problems such as black screens, flower screens, and splash screens.

When the Galaxy Fold was released, Samsung stated that it had solved the above problems. However, some users told the reporter that after using it for a period of time, the crease in the middle of the mobile phone screen was very obvious.

After using the Samsung Galaxy Fold for a period of time, the crease is obvious. Photo by Chang Tao

Perhaps there is a lesson learned, Huawei Mate Xs spent a lot of effort on the screen.

According to reports, the screen of Huawei Mate Xs uses a two-layer aerospace-grade polyimide flexible material, which is 80% stronger than a single layer, and the weight is 3 times more expensive than gold. The hinge system of Huawei Mate Xs has more than 100 devices, using materials such as zirconium-based liquid metal to greatly enhance the strength of the hinge. Under the folding screen of Huawei Mate Xs, there is also a layer of flexible graphite heat dissipation material. The bionic design of flying fish fins can perfectly fit the folding form, and heat is transmitted across the screen to achieve balanced heat dissipation.

In an interview with Zhongxin Jingwei Client, Dean of the First Mobile Phone Research Institute said that in fact, folding screen mobile phone technology has made significant progress in the past year. For example, the hinge is more mature and more refined, but the shape is not much innovative. . At present, the biggest pain point of folding screen mobile phones is still how many times the hinge can be folded. Both Samsung and Huawei have stated that the screen can be replaced once at a relatively cheap price, which indicates that the screen may still encounter quality problems when pushing the market.

An independent telecommunications analyst, Fu Liang, said in an interview with Zhongxin Jingwei's client that the current price of folding screen mobile phones is still high, which indicates that the relevant technology is not mature and cannot be applied to low- and medium-priced mobile phones. Ranks. Many technical pain points have not been resolved, such as the refined combination of hundreds of parts, the life of various parts, and the protection of foldable screens. Samsung uses inward-folding, which puts more pressure on the screen.

There are technical bottlenecks that directly affect the production capacity of folding screen mobile phones. According to relevant media reports, Samsung Galaxy Fold's production in 2019 is only 500,000 units, which is far from the expected 1 million units.

Fu Liang said that even if some people want to buy, the current folding screen mobile phone production capacity is likely to not guarantee the supply. If you want to popularize folding screen phones on a large scale, you must first ensure large-scale offline supply.

Sun Yandi once pointed out that it is not the terminal manufacturers that decide the mass production process of folding screen mobile phones, but the screen manufacturers such as BOE, Samsung, LG, Sharp, and Visionox. In other words, the development and mass production process of folding screen mobile phones depends heavily on the technological maturity of panel manufacturers. Yanyan Sun believes that this is very similar to Apple's custom capacitive screen in the early years, and technological progress depends on the cooperation between manufacturers and the supply chain.

How far is the folding screen phone from ordinary people?

Starting from the end of 2018, the concept of folding screen mobile phones has gradually been heated up, and is even considered to be "foldable for the next decade." However, after 2019, people have discovered that bringing dreams into reality is not easy. In addition to technical challenges, the high price has also become the "iron threshold" for the popularity of folding screen mobile phones.

Photographed by Chang Tao of New Jingwei in Rouyu Folding Screen Phone

In November 2018, Shenzhen science and technology company Rouyu Technology publicly released the world's first foldable flexible screen phone-FlexPai. This phone starts at 8999 yuan; Samsung Galaxy Fold National Bank version is priced at 15999 yuan; The early version of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip National Bank is priced at 12,499 yuan, but the early price is not the final official price; Motorola Razr is priced at 1,499 US dollars (about 13,650 yuan).

In November 2019, when the Huawei Mate X went on sale, the phenomenon of scalping frenzy of cattle was staged. The Huawei Mate X, priced at 16,999 yuan, was spotted at 60,000 to 80,000 yuan.

So, how far is the folding screen phone from ordinary people? When does an entry-level folding screen phone appear?

Yanyan Sun said that the folding screen entry machine is expected to appear next year, but the price will also be 8,000 or 9,000 yuan, because of the need to consider the ingenuity, anti-folding, and after-sales service and other factors.

"At present, mainly two manufacturers are pushing, and the yield of hinges and screens is still not very high. The advancement of folding screen technology is not a unilateral progress in supply chain technology, but a joint research and development by manufacturers and supply chain. Closed, maybe every link is full of patents, can not be used by third parties, and can only be developed on the basis of experience. "Sun Yanchen said.

Fu Liang said that under the condition that the configuration is unchanged, the folding screen is two or three thousand yuan more expensive than an ordinary mobile phone of the same configuration, which is acceptable to users. Although it is impossible to predict the specific time when the entry machine will appear, Fu Liang said that the foldable screen mobile phone market will definitely have a big change in 2020. "Samsung's new products have begun to go at civilian prices. Several similar phones will appear this year, and different manufacturers will find different solutions through active innovation."

At present, Xiaomi, OPPO and other mobile phone manufacturers have announced the relevant folding screen concept machine, the media also exposed the TCL pull-out folding screen mobile phone concept map.

Will folding screens become the mainstream form of mobile phones in the future?

Some people think of folding screens as a new measure for mobile phone manufacturers to stimulate consumption and lead the trend. According to data released by market research agency Gartner, global smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2019 were 373 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7%, and the global mobile phone market continued to slump.

Sun Yanbiao once said that in this context, facing the cold winter of the global smartphone market in 2019, both mobile phone manufacturers and consumers need a breakthrough thing, and this stimulus point is probably a huge change in appearance .

In addition, the demands of users to watch videos, play games, and process files with their mobile phones have prompted the mobile phone screen to develop in a larger direction. In the case where the screen expansion of the direct-screen mobile phone has reached the limit, the larger screen expansion can only develop in the direction of the folding screen, which is why many mobile phone manufacturers have exerted their efforts on the folding screen.

But the problem is that folding screen phones not only challenge production technology, but also challenge users' habits. Can folding screen phones become the mainstream form of future phones? Are consumers willing to pay for it?

Yanyan Sun said that the folding screen must be one of the mainstream forms of mobile phones in the future. At present, consumers' focus on folding screen mobile phones has changed, and people no longer pay attention to whether there are creases or everyone acquiesces to the existence of creases.

Fu Liang said that the future prospects of folding screen mobile phones remain to be seen, at least in a short time the market is not large. "In fact, the folding screen is just the tip of the iceberg of flexible screens. In one or two years, it may not be accepted by the public. In addition, its practicality remains to be examined." (Zhongxin Jingwei APP)

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