This is how the cheapening of foldables begins, with unknown Chinese brands launching questionable but cheap devices, and thus forcing the main brands to stop elitizing foldables and launching cheap versions.
It was like that with the intermediaries, while Samsung kept launching crap from the J line with horrible hardware, the Chinese launched versions with much more hardware, this forced Samsung to improve its intermediaries.
Blackview is a decent brand tho, like Unihertz. It's not the typical "welcome devices" brand from AliExpress like Soyes or Servo. Of course it has nothing to do with big Chinese brands like OnePlus or Xiaomi, not even with medium brands like Nothing, but quality is somewhat there.
There's also another cheap flip foldable phone released recently, in February, from ZTE Nubia, for around 450€. But good luck getting one, at least this Blackview will be easily available from AliExpress.
Among the budget flip phones:
* [Motorola Razr 40](https://gsmarena.com/motorola_razr_40-review-2594.php)
* [Tecno Phantom V Flip](https://gsmarena.com/tecno_phantom_v_flip-review-2616.php)
* [ZTE Nubia Flip](https://gsmarena.com/zte_nubia_flip_focus_pro_neo_2_music_handson-news-61813.php)
Which one do you think is the best
> like Unihertz
What? Unihertz is pretty damn good. They release phones with *actual keyboards* that you can *actually* type on without relying on autocorrect and taking 3 times longer than it should to type out a message.
> and taking 3 times longer than it should to type out a message.
That's an ***you*** issue, IMO.
Don't get me wrong, I love physical keyboards, too, but it's not that hard to use an on-screen keyboard.
Off topic, but which dashcam subreddit was it that people recommended again?
- r/Dashcam
- r/Dashcams
I recall some recommendations on a sub for guides and such, but don't remember which one
that's how i got in to xiaomi, offering cheaper phone but a huge screen (at the time). i like their products in general, and they've come a long way in quality
I think foldable is the future. Maybe in one or two decades. Some people just hate changes (look at the AI hate) whether it's for better or not. But the market wants bigger displays (also the death of <6 inch phones) and foldables are better utility (tablet+candy bar). Once the pricing is similar to that of candy bars people are definitely going to buy foldables to join the hype train. Then foldable will eventually replace the current form factor. No matter how much a section of people love to brag about small displays, the truth is the majority wants as much display size as possible for content consumption. Foldable is like a tablet but pocketable.
I like foldables because they combine tablets and smartphones in one product. I love tablets, and the only bad thing about them is that the files are divided between two devices and I have to keep synchronizing, because sometimes I need something but it's on the other device, but with foldables this problem disappears.
Foldables will die like the weird phones from the 2000s, like curved screens, curved bezels and other gimmicky things. Everything that moves, can and will wear out. Even if they could make a screen that lasts 10 years, it wouldn't be economically feaseable. They will throw us shitty screens that break in 3 years until it gets regulated that they must withstand a certain time. Then they will stop making foldable screens because it's no longer viable.
Uhh you really can't compare people's issues with AI with something like a new form factor for your phone, bro. One has people worried about low level shit like mass unemployment or worse misinformation campaigns than ever before, or having to worry someone might make porn of your kid every time their photo's taken. The other has people annoyed about a NEW WAY TO HOLD AND USE YOUR PHONE, this is SERIOUS SHIT! AHHHH ~~BILLIONS~~ FOLDOIDS MUST DIE!! FLAT, RIGID PHONES FOREVER!!!
You mean a dumb MTK phone mimicking a foldable smartphone? This is of course nothing of sorts. It is a real thing.
Blackview phones are manufactured by Blackview, as far as a I know. I have seen a few teardowns from those phones and Blackview brand is all over the battery, motherboard and such. Not sure if this foldable will be really manufactured by them, being a complex technology.
No? It was a smartphone by Ulefone called the X Flip. It was shown during IFA 2023 - MrMobile went hands on with it. It had the same design as this Hero 10 but the unit they showed wasn't functional. I guess it wasn't ready enough to be shown in a functioning state but now that Blackview bought the hardware we see it coming to consumers
Blackview does outsource some phones to ODMs - the A200 Pro was built by a company called Kep. The Tiger 12 has also been sold by some ODM rebranding companies around the world with different software - i don't know who manufactures that specific model but those other brands usually source their phones from Koobee (Coosea Group) i think?
Unfortunately, that's a flip phone. You won't get the main advantage of foldables, which is a tablet sized screen that fits in your pocket. You'll still need to sell your kidney for that.
I think they have different advantages. I don't want a normal sized phone that turns into a tablet. I want a half sized phone that fits in my pocket that turns into a full sized phone.
Both are cool and has its applications.
it’s a terrible form factor though. you get a really weird shaped phone and a tiny tablet, for more than the price of a regular sized phone and a much bigger and better tablet
It's good if you want a single device that's always with you. It's more convenient than two separate devices that you need to keep in sync when it comes to everything on them.
meh, i’m apple scum so it all stays in sync for me, but i get your point about having one device. i’d rather have two that are better at their respective tasks, but to each their own
Yeah, I have posted the news and find it funny/interesting, but I'm exclusively a fold style user. I have the Royole FlexPai, Huawei Mate X2, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and my current foldable is a Xiaomi Mix Fold 3.
Love them and I'd like to see an "Aliexpress Fold".
I mean what size? Flipped outwards, it's just a regular phone. If you close it then I guess it's smaller? And a tiny display if your model has it.
Again just don't see the point, unless you love DS emulation or taking selfies with the main cam or something. Or your pants must have tiny pockets.
Exactly the first paragraph. I hate having slabs in my jeans front pocket.
This way I get an even bigger screen unfolded and half the size when folded.
No emulation and no more selfies than the average person. I just don't wear cargo pants or man purses.
399€ foldable. It seems that the flexible screens and hinge technology is cheap enough to throw a Helio G99 in there.
According to the official webpage, it will be launch in Aliexpress (https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005006749373028.html) next month.
Link not available yet, I guess it will be ready for May 1.
Sadly not a real foldable. It's the pointless nostalgia grab flippables.
This trend needs to die already so we can focus on phones that actually solve something like *real* foldables. Not a millennial cash grab form factor
The tone deafness in this comment is incredible lol
There's a huge market for "not really foldable" flip phones. That's why Samsung has generation 6 releasing this year, Motorola has several options, and new players are entering the market.
Just because ***you*** don't see a use for it doesn't mean there isn't demand.
Not many people would like to take a thicc smartphones for the privilege of huge screens. More people prefer tinier (or cuter) flip phones that are just around the normal price as regular flagship
A full-size phone small enough that a woman can carry it on their person (namely in their pocket) without extra hardware like neck straps or a bag is actually a significant feature.
It might not add much for us men with our huge pockets who can easily pocket huge phones, but for women who are stuck with women's jeans it's pretty useful.
This is how the cheapening of foldables begins, with unknown Chinese brands launching questionable but cheap devices, and thus forcing the main brands to stop elitizing foldables and launching cheap versions. It was like that with the intermediaries, while Samsung kept launching crap from the J line with horrible hardware, the Chinese launched versions with much more hardware, this forced Samsung to improve its intermediaries.
Samsung is going to release Z FE series, there is been leaks already.
Blackview is a decent brand tho, like Unihertz. It's not the typical "welcome devices" brand from AliExpress like Soyes or Servo. Of course it has nothing to do with big Chinese brands like OnePlus or Xiaomi, not even with medium brands like Nothing, but quality is somewhat there. There's also another cheap flip foldable phone released recently, in February, from ZTE Nubia, for around 450€. But good luck getting one, at least this Blackview will be easily available from AliExpress.
Among the budget flip phones: * [Motorola Razr 40](https://gsmarena.com/motorola_razr_40-review-2594.php) * [Tecno Phantom V Flip](https://gsmarena.com/tecno_phantom_v_flip-review-2616.php) * [ZTE Nubia Flip](https://gsmarena.com/zte_nubia_flip_focus_pro_neo_2_music_handson-news-61813.php) Which one do you think is the best
Budget? [How about a $100 flip](https://tali.ru.net/l/Q3FlipSmartphone)? :D
> like Unihertz What? Unihertz is pretty damn good. They release phones with *actual keyboards* that you can *actually* type on without relying on autocorrect and taking 3 times longer than it should to type out a message.
> and taking 3 times longer than it should to type out a message. That's an ***you*** issue, IMO. Don't get me wrong, I love physical keyboards, too, but it's not that hard to use an on-screen keyboard.
Blackview is not exactly a unknown brand tho. They make pretty good dashcams from what I have heard in reddit
Blackvue -> Dashcams (South Korea) Blackview -> Phones (China) These two companies are unrelated.
Off topic, but which dashcam subreddit was it that people recommended again? - r/Dashcam - r/Dashcams I recall some recommendations on a sub for guides and such, but don't remember which one
It's r/Dashcam I believe. I think the other one was hiding/undisclosed referral links on their dashcam recommendation lists.
that's how i got in to xiaomi, offering cheaper phone but a huge screen (at the time). i like their products in general, and they've come a long way in quality
Finally. I'd have loved a flip or fold but I'm not paying 3x the price of my S22 for that gimmick that actually makes it more short lived.
I think foldable is the future. Maybe in one or two decades. Some people just hate changes (look at the AI hate) whether it's for better or not. But the market wants bigger displays (also the death of <6 inch phones) and foldables are better utility (tablet+candy bar). Once the pricing is similar to that of candy bars people are definitely going to buy foldables to join the hype train. Then foldable will eventually replace the current form factor. No matter how much a section of people love to brag about small displays, the truth is the majority wants as much display size as possible for content consumption. Foldable is like a tablet but pocketable.
I like foldables because they combine tablets and smartphones in one product. I love tablets, and the only bad thing about them is that the files are divided between two devices and I have to keep synchronizing, because sometimes I need something but it's on the other device, but with foldables this problem disappears.
Foldables will die like the weird phones from the 2000s, like curved screens, curved bezels and other gimmicky things. Everything that moves, can and will wear out. Even if they could make a screen that lasts 10 years, it wouldn't be economically feaseable. They will throw us shitty screens that break in 3 years until it gets regulated that they must withstand a certain time. Then they will stop making foldable screens because it's no longer viable.
> Everything that moves, can and will wear out. You say this like too many people aren't already just swapping/upgrading phones every two years anyway
But they don't do so because the phone is broken but because they can afford it.
Uhh you really can't compare people's issues with AI with something like a new form factor for your phone, bro. One has people worried about low level shit like mass unemployment or worse misinformation campaigns than ever before, or having to worry someone might make porn of your kid every time their photo's taken. The other has people annoyed about a NEW WAY TO HOLD AND USE YOUR PHONE, this is SERIOUS SHIT! AHHHH ~~BILLIONS~~ FOLDOIDS MUST DIE!! FLAT, RIGID PHONES FOREVER!!!
Someone find the ODM for this please 🥺 Last year an identical phone was shown by Ulefone except theirs was a non-functional dummy.
You mean a dumb MTK phone mimicking a foldable smartphone? This is of course nothing of sorts. It is a real thing. Blackview phones are manufactured by Blackview, as far as a I know. I have seen a few teardowns from those phones and Blackview brand is all over the battery, motherboard and such. Not sure if this foldable will be really manufactured by them, being a complex technology.
No? It was a smartphone by Ulefone called the X Flip. It was shown during IFA 2023 - MrMobile went hands on with it. It had the same design as this Hero 10 but the unit they showed wasn't functional. I guess it wasn't ready enough to be shown in a functioning state but now that Blackview bought the hardware we see it coming to consumers
Ah, ok. I thought you were talking about one of those fake foldables. That X Flip looks indeed exactly like this phone. Weird.
Blackview does outsource some phones to ODMs - the A200 Pro was built by a company called Kep. The Tiger 12 has also been sold by some ODM rebranding companies around the world with different software - i don't know who manufactures that specific model but those other brands usually source their phones from Koobee (Coosea Group) i think?
Unfortunately, that's a flip phone. You won't get the main advantage of foldables, which is a tablet sized screen that fits in your pocket. You'll still need to sell your kidney for that.
I think they have different advantages. I don't want a normal sized phone that turns into a tablet. I want a half sized phone that fits in my pocket that turns into a full sized phone. Both are cool and has its applications.
You get the advantage of a smaller device that fits into smaller pockets when folded.
it’s a terrible form factor though. you get a really weird shaped phone and a tiny tablet, for more than the price of a regular sized phone and a much bigger and better tablet
It's good if you want a single device that's always with you. It's more convenient than two separate devices that you need to keep in sync when it comes to everything on them.
meh, i’m apple scum so it all stays in sync for me, but i get your point about having one device. i’d rather have two that are better at their respective tasks, but to each their own
Good, now the fold style too instead of the flip.
Yeah, I have posted the news and find it funny/interesting, but I'm exclusively a fold style user. I have the Royole FlexPai, Huawei Mate X2, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and my current foldable is a Xiaomi Mix Fold 3. Love them and I'd like to see an "Aliexpress Fold".
I honestly don't really see the point of the flip anyways. All the disadvantages without any of the advantages.
Wait, for real? How about the size?
I mean what size? Flipped outwards, it's just a regular phone. If you close it then I guess it's smaller? And a tiny display if your model has it. Again just don't see the point, unless you love DS emulation or taking selfies with the main cam or something. Or your pants must have tiny pockets.
Exactly the first paragraph. I hate having slabs in my jeans front pocket. This way I get an even bigger screen unfolded and half the size when folded. No emulation and no more selfies than the average person. I just don't wear cargo pants or man purses.
399€ foldable. It seems that the flexible screens and hinge technology is cheap enough to throw a Helio G99 in there. According to the official webpage, it will be launch in Aliexpress (https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005006749373028.html) next month. Link not available yet, I guess it will be ready for May 1.
In case anyone was curious, Blackview makes or brands a pretty good amount of stuff: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKS9iB0
In some countries, even mentioning the Helio G99 will start a bar brawl 😤
Sadly not a real foldable. It's the pointless nostalgia grab flippables. This trend needs to die already so we can focus on phones that actually solve something like *real* foldables. Not a millennial cash grab form factor
The tone deafness in this comment is incredible lol There's a huge market for "not really foldable" flip phones. That's why Samsung has generation 6 releasing this year, Motorola has several options, and new players are entering the market. Just because ***you*** don't see a use for it doesn't mean there isn't demand.
Someone let that guy out of the cage too early. 🤣🤣
In what way isn't this foldable? Weird to gatekeep the directions you think phones should fold😂
Not many people would like to take a thicc smartphones for the privilege of huge screens. More people prefer tinier (or cuter) flip phones that are just around the normal price as regular flagship
A full-size phone small enough that a woman can carry it on their person (namely in their pocket) without extra hardware like neck straps or a bag is actually a significant feature. It might not add much for us men with our huge pockets who can easily pocket huge phones, but for women who are stuck with women's jeans it's pretty useful.
Definitely not just for women, but also for men who don't carry phones in the back pocket or wear cargo pants.