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Huawei unveils new trifold smartphone before Apple’s iPhone 17 reveal (www.scmp.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 26 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Honestly, if I could get a phone that unfolds to a tablet size like that + Desktop Mode, I’d combine it with a portable keyboard and trackpad combo and be perfectly happy using that as my laptop solution. One cellular plan, large screen, and super portable too, not to mention phone controllers like the GameSir and Backbone for when I want something more gaming handheld-esque, Linux ARM64 virtual machines, and more!

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    It would be nice if one of the folds could be left folded at the bottom to give you a keyboard.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Not really - keyboards need to be much farther from the screen than that. Laptops are terrible for the same reason. Maybe your body can accept that bad ergonomics, but mine cannot. which is why I carry a separate keyboard for my laptop and phone. (plus mechanical keyboards are much better anyway)

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    I mean I wouldn't look at this as a laptop replacement, just something I could use that way in a pinch. Lots of clamshell phones in the early 2000's had this layout and it worked pretty well.

    If you really wanted to use this as a laptop much better to carry another little folding keyboard with you.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    That’s why I mentioned the keyboard accessory, be it some advanced folding keyboard with iPad Magic Keyboard-like tech or something of the sort. Sure, it’s not replacing laptops anytime soon, but again… think of the iPhone. “An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.”

    I’m surprised Jobs didn’t add “a camera” considering how for most people, smartphones have now encapsulated all four of those already. Sure, if you REALLY want the best out of each of those categories, you’ll almost always be better off carrying each individual item, but in terms of ease of use and convenience, smartphones win just about every time for those categories. In the future, I could see devices like these becoming the next “mini laptops” for most people, assuming we get to a point of comfortable prices and well-made accessories.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Valid arguments. Laptops are not ideal for everyone, and even the “best” ones are hardly “one-size-fits-all.” Still, considering the percentage of the world that does rely on them over bringing around a mechanical keyboard and bunch of other accessories, laptops aren’t necessarily the BEST computers – they’re the “go” computers. I’m just suggesting that with future tech, folding phones and proper accessories could also begin to fill that gap. Think of Android’s desktop mode and the lapdock – the phones are getting powerful enough to do “real work” for a lot of people, had their phones just had the same screen sizes and proper keyboards.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Think about the current dual-screen laptops. That would be cool, but I’m not sure how usable a keyboard of those dimensions would be. Not discrediting the idea, though; I’d love to see it too.

    Side note – imagine a fold-out accessory like the Mcon controller but thinner and lighter. That could make for a cool keyboard, no?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    I just want a phone that can fold out for reading comics, sounds pretty nice, only reason I bought a tablet was the constant zooming required, I forget to bring my tablet places constantly or just don't want to because its another thing to carry around

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Bro just use a laptop.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Meanwhile sometime in 2007: ”Dude, have you seen that new iPhone thing? So cool; imagine being able to have one device that could do it all! Even if it’s not the absolute best at all of those, it’s only a matter of time before it progresses! What do you think?”

    Other dude: “Bro just use an iPod, a phone, and an internet dommubicator”

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