Foldable tablets may have advantages over foldable phones

 

Foldable tablets may have advantages over foldable phones

Having a phone that can fold in half to easily fit in your pocket can certainly be useful. But a tablet that can do the same thing is even better, mostly for the simple reason that tablets are inherently larger than most phones.

There's another advantage: Foldable tablets may not face all of the same design challenges that bendable phones have encountered so far. For example, one of my biggest complaints about the Galaxy Z Fold lineup has been that it sometimes feels awkward to use when closed. The cover screen has vastly improved since the first Galaxy Fold arrived in 2019, but it still doesn't come close to feeling like a standard, nonfolding phone. 

The Galaxy Z Fold also feels bulky when closed since its thickness essentially equates to two phones stacked on top of one another. When I reviewed Microsoft's Surface Duo 2 in 2021, I struggled to find a comfortable way to hold it when taking photos with the main camera since you must keep the phone unfolded to see what you're shooting.

These drawbacks may not be as big of an issue with foldable tablets. Unlike phones, you're probably not going to be using a tablet in one hand most of the time. An outer display on a foldable tablet, if there even is one, wouldn't matter as much because you're presumably going to be using the device unfolded. The foldable tablets I've seen so far don't even have cover screens. 

Aside from the selfie camera for video chats, camera quality also isn't as important on a tablet as it is on a phone. So the awkwardness issue I mentioned when taking photos with the Surface Duo 2 likely wouldn't happen on a foldable tablet. 

The primary appeal behind foldable tablets from Samsung, LG, Lenovo and Acer -- concept or not -- is portability. Having a tablet that folds in half makes it easier to fit in a backpack, suitcase or purse on your next flight, commute or beach trip. But phones are already compact in their current form, meaning the value proposition behind phones like the Galaxy Z Fold can be a little harder to sell.

That doesn't mean foldable tablets are immune from design hiccups, as my colleague Dan Ackerman wrote when trying out Lenovo's and Acer's devices. Creating larger displays that bend and fold likely presents its own set of engineering challenges compared to foldable phones.

Foldable phones are also moving more quickly, with market researcher IDC forecasting a 66.6% year-over-year increase in global shipments in 2022. So even though foldable phones may have different hurdles to overcome, companies like Samsung have been able to address these points over several generations of products so far.