Galaxy FoldWarning taken from the overturned cart in frontThere are still short boards after repeated extension and Reform

Referring to Samsung's folding screen mobile phone, it started to develop the folding phone Galaxy x as early as 2011, for which many patents have been submitted, but the prototype has not been published yet. It was not until SDC 2018 (Samsung 2018 Development Conference) in 2018 that the prototype demonstration machine of the folding mobile phone was first shown, using the flexible and scrollable screen called infinity flex.

In response, DJ KOH (Gao Dongzhen), then president of Samsung's mobile communications business, said: 'we are ready for commercialization and have overcome various difficulties.

However, in the first week of the original launch date (April 21 last year), there was a problem with Galaxy fold. Many foreign media, including CNBC and Bloomberg, have got test machines with various faults, including screen flicker, screen rupture, hinge bulge, etc. For this reason, Samsung delayed the sale in time, returned to the market for improvement, and finally re sold.

But then, after the official sale, many users who started with Galaxy fold still reported that although Galaxy fold has been redesigned and adjusted by Samsung, there are still quality problems, such as serious wrinkles, color spots in the middle of the folding screen and so on.

The report of ifixit, a third-party dismantling agency at that time, also showed that the modified version of Galaxy fold is still very fragile (Samsung has a warning on the screen of the new machine: it can't use it vigorously, be careful of water and dust, and can't apply film, etc.) Samsung has tried to cover as many exposed spots as possible to prevent dust and debris from entering the phone. The opening hole on the plastic baffle has been sealed with a protective cover, but there are still gaps on the back of the phone, which can provide access for dust and debris. In addition, although the hinge has been carefully designed, its performance in the user's practical application remains to be observed.

When it comes to the hinges involved in ifixit, Samsung officially calls the galaxy fold 200000 times, with an estimated life of five years. However, the actual test conducted by CNET shows that when it folds 119380 times, the galaxy fold has been damaged, which is reflected in the loss of the original damping sense of the hinge. Most importantly, half of the screen has stopped working. This means there is no value as a folding screen phone. As a result, foreign media believe that even the modified version of Galaxy fold is still a semi-finished product.

But it's such a semi-finished product that Samsung actually went on sale. However, the statement of sales volume is vague, which makes people highly suspicious.

First, in December, young Sohn, President of Samsung Electronics, revealed at an event in Berlin that sales of Galaxy fold had reached 1 million.

But by the beginning of this year, DJ Koh, Samsung's co chief executive, is expected to have sold 400000 to 500000 Galaxy folders, explaining that previously, young Sohn may have mistaken the target sales for the real sales. This explanation is quite speechless.

In fact, regardless of sales volume and how much, Galaxy fold was finally named one of the most failed technologies in 2019 by MIT Technology Review.

Galaxy Z FlipThe rear car is still covered.More responsibility than technology

To put it another way, if the market and users still have some tolerance for the problems of the first generation of folding screen mobile phones, then the relevant products released by the manufacturer next need to be careful and careful, at least to avoid the problems of the previous generation of products, or to ensure the experience of smart phone users using non folding screen mobile phones. But this is not the case.

As Samsung's second-generation folding screen mobile phone, Galaxy Z flip's first launch actually ran into trouble with the previous Galaxy fold.

First of all, it still failed to pass the test of Jerry rigeverything, which is well-known for its violent test. In fact, just scratching has caused scratches on its surface, and the screen will be heated and deformed.

Twitter user @ Quinn Nelson also tweeted that there was a problem with his Galaxy Z flip screen. In the video he showed, the bottom border of his Galaxy Z flip was creaking.

What's more worrisome is that after the launch of Galaxy Z flip, due to Samsung's quick booking sales strategy, the two first users who bought Galaxy Z flip encountered the problem of damage to the folding screen.

The actual situation is that before, there was an external media test on the galaxy Z flip, and the result is that only scratching the main screen of Samsung Galaxy Z flip with the nail plate has caused scratches on its surface, and the screen will be heated and deformed, which shows that the UTG glass of Samsung Galaxy Z flip still contains plastic, so it may be a prominent problem in the future.

It should be noted here that in order to improve the durability of the flexible screen, Samsung claims to improve the hinge, and the outer layer of the screen is also changed from polymer plastic to ultra-thin flexible glass (UTG). Although the toughness of the glass is not as good as that of the polymer material, it is at least more scratch resistant, which can make the device look more eye-catching, and can withstand 200000 times of folding and opening.

However, from the current test from a third party, the official promotion of Samsung just looks beautiful. What's the problem?

Just as Galaxy Z flip went public, the Korean Herald quoted insiders as saying that Samsung still hopes to ship 2.5 million Galaxy Z flips in 2020, although last year's sales volume of Galaxy fold did not reach 1 million.

It seems that Samsung is not satisfied with the sales volume of the first generation folding screen mobile phone that has been changed before, so the second generation Galaxy Z flip has set a higher sales target. Don't think that the sales volume of 2.5 million units in Samsung's overall smart phones can be ignored. This shipment volume is placed in folding screen phones, which is 5 times of the previous generation of Galaxy fold (based on the last 500000 units modified by Samsung).

In addition, it was also reported by South Korean media that although Samsung Electronics was the world's largest smartphone manufacturer last year, its life was not easy, and its profit and shipment volume increasedAppleDouble attack with Huawei.

Indeed, as of the third quarter of last year, apple continued to dominate the global mobile device market, winning 66% of the industry's profits and 32% of mobile phone revenue, according to counter point. Samsung Electronics ranked second, but accounted for only 17% of industry profits, up less than 10% from the end of 2018.

Specifically, within Samsung, the profit proportion of it / mobile Department of its smart phones accounted for the company's profit, which also rose and fell from 58% in 2014 to about 33% last year, and set the lowest profit since 2017.

In terms of shipment volume, according to canalys data, although Samsung still ranks first in the global smartphone shipment volume, its growth rate is only 2%, far lower than Huawei's 17% growth, which was achieved last year when Huawei encountered considerable resistance in the overseas market.

When we look at the above dilemma of Samsung's smart phones, it's not hard to understand why Samsung is so eager to make a substantive breakthrough in folding screen phones.

This is not wrong for an enterprise, but it must be on the premise of ensuring that the basic use mode and experience of smartphone users do not decline. If it is necessary to achieve the basic functions of the non folding screen smartphone before and even avoid physical damage under various use rules and conditions formulated by the manufacturer, what is the value of such innovation? After all, smart phones are just consumer electronics, not delicate luxury goods.

Especially for Samsung, there are some problems in the first generation of Galaxy fold and its extension. Today, the second generation of Galaxy Z Flip will still appear again. Apart from the technical reasons, whether we should also reflect on the responsibility of the market and users? After all, Samsung has been over pursuing the so-called innovation in Note7 before, which has not only caused considerable losses to the market and users, but also outweighed its own losses.

Folding screen mobile phone, please slow downDon't forget the human-oriented spirit of science and technology

It's true that a new technology needs trial and error process from birth to maturity, but the cost of trial and error should not be paid by users. As for folding screen mobile phones, we need to improve. Why?

When asked if they would be interested in buying a Samsung folding phone Galaxy fold, only 3% of them have a strong desire to buy it, while 85% have no interest, according to a survey conducted by patently apple in late July and early August. When the option of Samsung folding mobile phone is removed, the purchase interest of consumers will increase, but only 4% of them are strongly interested, and 76% of them are not interested.

According to the counter point survey, more than 70% of users who are indifferent to the folding screen mobile phone will change their views once they use it for a day or two.

Combined with these surveys, it is not difficult to see that the folding screen mobile phone with low recognition in the minds of users is not easy for users to have access to it, and the experience of first contact is very important.

So the question is, if the first thing they touch is the foldable screen smartphone that is not as good as the current one, and the price is high, how will it affect the development of this product, manufacturer and industry?

Here we may as well have a look at the apple. Apple has never taken the so-called innovation as the goal of innovation, but a kind of technological consolidation, that is, to make the user experience the best in the existing product form and hardware. Maybe some people here will question that Apple's innovation is "pseudo innovation", but the market and users are always the most objective and authentic test criteria.

According to the comprehensive analysis of flash message, Apple's iPhone took up 9 seats among the top 20 smartphone models in terms of single sales last year. The first model was the iPhone 7 three years ago. On the contrary, almost all of the high-end smartphones of friends are new models launched last year.

What is the industry's view on this? We believe that real innovation should first and always be based on user experience, rather than just being fast and innovative.

To sum up, as one of the users, we, like the manufacturers, are looking forward to the development of folding screen mobile phone technology, and hope to have a qualified folding mobile phone in the next few years. However, for their own interests, some manufacturers' behaviors not only forget the spirit of innovation that science and technology should be people-oriented, but also will inevitably frustrate the prospects of the foldable mobile phone industry, and more importantly, make users lose confidence in the future of foldable screen mobile phones.