[lsiunsuex]

"Far be it from me to assume that I know what Samsung’s plans are with regards this technology and I’m certainly not rubbishing the innovation, I just wanted to clarify the basic maths that says these foldable phones just can’t be bezel-free and in the form factor we expect from modern phones/tablets."

But you did though. We barely have a prototype to look at (short of the demo on stage) let alone put a technology like that in the hands of Google or Apple engineers.

There was no need for a smart phone, until there was. There was no need for a tablet, until there was. Smart watch, smart speaker, and so on.

Version 1 is always crap and most (all) know that? Give it a couple iterations, a little trial and error and you'll probably get your aspect ratio or tiny bezels.

[PhasmaFelis]

All the article claims is that you can't have a device with one hinge and an 18:9 aspect ratio both folded and unfolded, because 2*9/18 != 18/9. It never says that no other workable ratios exist. In fact it specifically says the opposite. I'm not sure why so many people are misreading it.

[nathcun]

"Give it a couple iterations, a little trial and error and you'll probably get your aspect ratio or tiny bezels."

Did you read the rest of the post? I'm saying that mathetmatically those two things are completely irreconcilable.

I'm not saying the phone will be bad, just that it is impossible for the both the phone and tablet to conform to the form factor of a typical phone/tablet that is out now.

[lsiunsuex]

Yes - I read the article.

Phones and tablets come in hundreds of different screen sizes. Ever see this map?

https://crossbrowsertesting.com/blog/mobile-devices/android-...

There isn't a "typical" shape / size for a phone / tablet.

You can say an iPhone screen size when duplicated into 2 side by side does not equal an iPad screen size, landscape or portrait and I'd completely agree with you. But to say a new class of device won't have it's screen sizes and needs to conform to screen sizes of the past... that just doesn't make sense. No one conforms to screen sizes; past, present, or future.

[nathcun]

I know there isn't a typical size, but the trend has been towards taller phones. The desire to keep to the aspect ratio isn't about conforming to old phones but conforming to the aspect ratio that films/TV shows are in.

[PhasmaFelis]

> Yes - I read the article.

The article specifically says that other aspect ratios are feasible, and even suggests one.

[arbitrage]

Yeah, your assumptions that you base your argument on to get to a 'mathematically irreconcilable' conclusion is really a matter of perspective.

The future of the form-factor of foldable tech is by no means locked in stone.

[nathcun]

I'm saying it's irreconcilable that the phone be like phones we know now (18:9, minimum bezels), and the tablet be like tablets we know now (18:9, minimum bezels). If we have either form conform to what we know now, the other must be very different.

[mxwsn]

What tablet is 18:9?

From a quick google search to https://www.cnet.com/topics/tablets/best-tablets/large-table..., I see no such thing.

[nathcun]

I was wrong on the tablets, I was meaning an ideal tablet for watching TV/films which is mostly 16:9 or 18:9.

Tablets typically are 4:3, which would result in a phone being 3:2 which would be 25% shorter on 18:9 phones, and 15% shorter on 16:9 phones, which is a reasonable departure from the norm, and ultimately means neither the phone nor the tablet are well set up for watching films/TV.

[arbitrage]

Sorry, I am just not convinced of the soundness of your argument.

[PhasmaFelis]

You're not convinced that 2*9/18 != 18/9?

I think you may be seeing a different argument than OP was making.

[nathcun]

What exactly aren't you convinced of?

[trevyn]

Heh, the “stubby little thing” image in your post is exactly the form factor of phone that I want!

[nathcun]

I'd be quite happy with it too. The issue is that the tablet side will have the same aspect ratio, which isn't ideal for film/TV.

[arbitrage]

Don't forget about letterboxing.

[nathcun]

I'm considering the assumption that the tablet aspect is primarily for watching TV/films, meaning letterboxing is essentially a bezel.