Normally, the new models of foldable smartphones should have been unveiled with great fanfare this week at the Mobile World Congress, the annual high mass of telephony, in Barcelona. The show was finally canceled due to coronavirus. Europe 1 was nevertheless able to test these little gems of technology ... which above all left a taste of unfinished business.
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The foldable smartphone is a very beautiful object, with a fascinating flexible screen. But beyond the gadget side, the added value compared to a conventional smartphone is almost zero for the moment. Manufacturers have a hard time imposing their vision. Scratched screens, overly fragile phones ... Huawei has postponed sine die the release of its foldable phone model. And last year, Samsung had to do it twice before marketing its own, the Galaxy Fold.
Consumer demand
The South Korean brand continues to believe in it. She just released a second foldable smartphone. "Consumer demand has been the same for almost ten years now: to have ever larger screens to streamline its consumption of content," said Guillaume Berlemont, marketing director of Samsung France to Europe 1. "It is estimated that, within five years, more than 80% of smartphones worldwide will be foldable models."
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Samsung and Huawei are not the only manufacturers in the ranks. Motorola and the Chinese Oppo and Xiaomi are preparing foldable smartphones for this year. The main problem remains the prohibitive price: 1,500 to 2,000 euros for current models, much more expensive than conventional smartphones.