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[Jeffrey]

ZTE at it again doing wacky stuff after that hilarious failed kickstarter, bringing us the spiritual successor to the Kyocera Echo.

Should at least be more usable now that android better supports splitscreen. Also a preview of the experience to come with the rumored samsung galaxy folding screen phone.

Basically a thick 5.2" 1080p 2016 flagship phone (sd821, 4gb ram, 3180mah battery, 7.1.2 nougat $725) with a gimmick of flipping its back up to be dual screens, ala backwards DS.

The modes seem similar to your windows multimonitor stuff. (mirror mode, so you can put the phone in a 'tent' and have 2 people watch a video?, extended mode to give a squarish tablet with middle bezel, dual apps, traditional 1 screen mode when closed).


previews:

https://youtu.be/lRjFk2ka56E
https://youtu.be/pdY8EGR4VPQ
https://youtu.be/xX31xYRl-II

http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/10/17/zte-axon-m-hands-zte-actually-made-kind-good-foldable-phone/
https://www.gsmarena.com/foldable_zte_axon_m_is_official_with_dual_touchscreens-news-27776.php

Initial thoughts:

The good:

- Axon name, so headphone jack + quad dac, stereo speaker setup.
- clean stockish android.
- the modes seem well thought out, easily switch with the M button.
- For a weird concept phone, not really many compromises in a year where everyone is dropping headphone jacks or something for 'water resistance' or w/e the current excuse is.
- actual dual apps is something you just can't do on phones for many apps. Like you can pokemon go while watching youtube or be on discord.

The bad:

- at&t exclusive in the US.
- doesn't launch with oreo.
- $700+ is a bit pricey for a gimmicky phone that I doubt no one will truly support.
- still some limitations of android creeping in, like android police noticed that in portrait opened mode, keyboard will only appear on the left or right screen.
- bezel in the middle
- 2016 cpu is a bummer because it doesn't get the battery optimizations of the smaller 10nm chipset of the 835, which I bet this phone would need with that smallish 3180 mah battery.
- can't really use a case, and if you drop the phone, and crack either side, you kinda boned.


Anyways, i'm hyped for the future of smartphones.

 

[Mechanized]

That looks like shit. But they gotta start somewhere I guess.

 

[jwk94]

That looks like shit. But they gotta start somewhere I guess.

Yeah it looks really bad. There's really no good way to do a clamshell phone. Either both screens are exposed or you leave a bit of space between the two for grit to get between the cracks.

 

[Chuckl3s]

I don't see the point of two screens.

 

[skullmuffins]

full screen mode is pretty much ruined with that awful bezel running down the center

 

[FTF]

That's...not what I was expecting :/

 

[Hexa]

Nope. This is simply a bad idea until you have flexible screens. That is where you need to start. After that there'll still be a lot of work figuring out what configurations actually work, but this is all around terrible and unnecessary.

 

[RS4-]

Bendable paper phone instead.

 

[geomon]

I give it about a week before one of those screens starts to crack or the hinges break off the phone.

 

[Bad_Boy]

samsung is gonna come for that dual screen booty in 2018. meaning sleeker design and actual software support.

i hope.

 

[Certinty]

The multitasking aspect looks cool.

Besides that though I can't say there's anything else I like.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Double the chance of cracking a screen when dropping

Really need that.

Actually looks interesting, the tablet like mode is kind of cool but not at that price for a phone that's unlikely to get the support it needs

 

[Slayven]

That looks like shit. But they gotta start somewhere I guess.

Pretty much, they figure out a way to shrink the hinge in the middle, they might have something.

 

[LewieP]

That's not "foldable", it's just a hinge.

Edit: Remember this from Sony?
https://www.theverge.com/2012/3/6/2847197/sony-tablet-p-review

 

[Jeffrey]

That's not "foldable", it's just a hinge.

Edit: Remember this from Sony?
https://www.theverge.com/2012/3/6/2847197/sony-tablet-p-review

I have one of those! Still kinda interesting. Shame Sony mobile is so dull these days.

 

[jett]

This doesn't look like a folding screen at all. No thanks.

 

[Ottaro]

That's not "foldable", it's just a hinge.

Yeah, I don't care for this use of the term. If this has a foldable screen then so did the Nintendo DS.

 

[andrerobot]

They should have put a keyboard instead, or massive speakers, lol.

 

[Zen Aku]

Its nice that they're trying to do this, but it does feel like it should be in the oven for another year or two until they can make it better. At this point the design feel like it's in developmental phase. Guess they really wanted to beat Samsung to the jump in making the first dual screen phone.

 

[dcll]

I am a huge fan of ZTE phones after first owning the Zmax and since then I have owned the Zmax 2, Axon 7, Axon 7 Mini, Zmax pro and the Blade V8 Pro. The Blade V8 Pro is pretty much the same specs as the Moto Z Play but cheaper.

 

[Kyoufu]

It's too thick and the screens aren't actually foldable. Pass.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Looks like a bootleg DS.

 

[Grimm Fandango]

Trying to cash out before the Samsung model arrives?

 

[geomon]

Looks like a bootleg DS.

 

[NervousXtian]

I'm trying my hardest to think why having 2 screens helps anything... and I can't think of anything.

A bendable single screen though, I get that for sure. This.. I don't need this.

 

[Omega Kirby]

Looks like two samsung galaxys taped together

 

[Spaced Harrier]

How many Gamecubes taped together is it?

 

[Redd]

No. That looks terrible.

 

[Abhor]

Looks stupid and pointless.

 

[Inukage]

Dam, was hoping it to be more like the Samsung concept a few years back!

 

[tkscz]

Looks like a bootleg DS.

Actually looks like the N2DSXL

 

[Zyae]

Intriguing. Interested where they could go with bendable screens.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

I'm sure the 10 people who buy it will like it just fine.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

This looks like the dumbest fucking thing. Why even make this. Why spend the money. Baffling stuff all-around. People are calling it an experiment and while that's true to some degree, they're still releasing it internationally and in the USA.

 

[Sinfamy]

Hideous.
Kyocera and Sony did this years ago and it was awful.

 

[Jeffrey]

This looks like the dumbest fucking thing. Why even make this. Why spend the money. Baffling stuff all-around. People are calling it an experiment and while that's true to some degree, they're still releasing it internationally and in the USA.

People been making concept phones in R&D for years, but xiaomi realized you can get ppl to pay money for them, and apple is following suit with iphone x.

ZTE is following the trend!

Samsung will later too with the foldy screen.

 

[reKon]

No.

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

Its just a beefed up version of the kyocera echo

Like that one no one will buy this one.

 

[Fuchsdh]

That looks like shit. But they gotta start somewhere I guess.

Yep. I'm pretty sure flexible thin "all display" phones are the future, at least for consumer devices, but we're rapidly approaching ugly weird transitional territory right now.

 

[Izuna]

Uh, looks garbage... What is even the point.

 

[badcrumble]

I think flexible OLED displays are fascinating and they'll enable some cool stuff we haven't thought of yet, but this isn't it. The engineering advantages to keeping phones and tablets as one solid block are too high to outweigh whatever benefits this might confer.

 

[NeOak]

It's so weird.

I think I'm getting one

 

[Radec]

Not the foldable i was expecting..

Only oled/samsung can do it right.. Some time in the future

 

[demon]

We've got smartphones with actual bendable screens right around the corner and these fuckos just glued two smartphones together at the seams. 'the fuck outta here.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

zte: "how do we get rid of our old stock twice as fast?"