A series of "folding smartphones (smartphones)", which can be folded directly on the display, have been announced one after another, in line with the MWC2019 Barcelona, a comprehensive exhibition of mobile phones in Barcelona, Spain from February 25 to 28, 2019.I would like to think about its charm, usability, and prospects for spread.
Samsung and Huawei announced folding smartphones
One is "Galaxy Fold" released by Samsung Electronics on February 20, US time.7 inside the main unit.Equipped with a 3 -inch display, and open the main unit, a large screen display appears.4 to the outside.Equipped with a 6 -inch display, it is possible to operate it in the same way as a normal smartphone when folded.
サムスン電子の折り畳みスマホ「Galaxy Fold」。7.3インチのディスプレーが内側に備わっており、本体を開くと大画面ディスプレーが使える仕組みだThe other is the Huawei Mate X of the Chinese Hua Technology (Huawei), announced on February 24, Spanish time.Contrary to Galaxy Fold, it has a 8 -inch display outside the main unit, not only can it be used as a large display with the main unit open, but also fold the main unit so that it "fold"., Front 6.6 inches, back 6.It can be used as a 38 -inch both screen smartphone.
I actually checked both models on "MWC2019 Barcelona".Unfortunately, Galaxy Fold could not be touched only in the glass case, but Huawei Mate X had the opportunity to actually touch it in a short time.
What I felt above it was surprisingly compact and easy to use.The weight of HUAWEI MATE X is 295g, which is heavy when viewed as a smartphone, but the folded state is 11 mm, a slightly thicker smartphone, and it was an impression that one hand could operate without discomfort.
HUAWEI Mate Xを実際に折り曲げてみたところ。ディスプレーを折り曲げられるというのは非常に新鮮な感覚だAbove all, I felt that being able to bend the display with my own hands was an unprecedented new experience.It is a good idea that many people are very interested in the appearance of folding smartphones.
"Organic EL" and "Hinge" contributed to realization
The idea of a folding smartphone itself, which realizes a normal size smartphone when closed, and a large -screen display like a tablet when opened, has long been the idea itself.In Japan, NTT DOCOMO sells smartphones that can be folded using two displays, such as "MediaS W" and "M" in the past.
これまでにもNTTドコモが2017年に投入した「M」など、2つのディスプレーを組み合わせた折り畳みスマホは存在したが、開いた時に継ぎ目が生じる弱点があった
However, they used two displays as one display, so there was a weak point that a seam was generated between the two displays.On the other hand, Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X realize a true folding smartphone by directly bending a single display.
So why have it been possible to bend the common sense that it was unable to bend it so far?When I talked to the stakeholders of each company, it seems that there are two reasons: "OLED" and "Hinge".
Both Samsung Electronics and Huawei use "organic EL", which has recently been adopted on TV and smartphones instead of liquid crystals in the display material.OLED EL emits light, so it is one of the major features that it is not necessary to have a backlight to shine the screen like a liquid crystal.For example, many of the Samsung Electronics "Galaxy" series, which have long been adopted for smartphone displays, adopt a displayed display on the side by making use of its characteristics.
However, it is not easy to realize a mechanism that can be folded while maintaining the strength of the display and has a smart design.For example, Chinese venture companies Royole announced a folding smartphone ahead of two companies, but was impressed by the lack of smartness because the hinge was closed with the main unit closed.
2機種に先んじて発表された折り畳みスマホ「FlexPai」。閉じた状態ではヒンジ部分に隙間ができるため、スマートさでは他機種に譲る印象だTo realize a smart design folding smartphone, the development of hinges, which can fold without generating gaps, is a very important point.Huawei has spent three years in the development of Huawei Mate X hinge.
At the moment it is very expensive, the lack of content is also weak
Although it is a folding smartphone between the two companies that showed the future image of the smartphone, it is still too early to see if all smartphones will become folded style in the future.
One of the reasons is the price, Galaxy Fold is $ 1980 (about 220,000 yen) and Huawei Mate X is 2299 euros (about 290,000 yen).The reason for the incorporation of the most advanced technology, but the number of people who can buy it will be quite limited.
Nevertheless, the MWC2019 Barcelona exhibition gave me the impression that folding smartphones were also low -priced.This is because more and more manufacturers, such as Chinese display manufacturers, chinasters (CSOTs), are increasingly provided folding displays.We hope that the competition between the manufacturers will increase in the future, so that folding smartphones will be affordable.
チャイナスターが展示していた折り畳みスマホ用ディスプレー。こうしたディスプレーを提供するメーカーが増えれば低廉化が進む可能性は高いAnother reason is the lack of content and services that make use of folding displays.Both folding smartphones are a screen ratio that is close to square, so it is very convenient for using websites and maps, but if you play a video content with a high ratio, the black band will be noticeable up and down.
折り畳みスマホは開いた状態では正方形に近い画面比率のため、映画などの動画コンテンツ視聴時は黒帯の部分が目立ってしまうIt is certain that content that matches the screen ratio will be required to make use of the potential of folding smartphones.Not only the terminal price, but also the enhancement of services and content seems to be an important point in occupying the spread.
佐野正弘福島県出身、東北工業大学卒。エンジニアとしてデジタルコンテンツの開発を手がけた後、携帯電話・モバイル専門のライターに転身。現在では業界動向からカルチャーに至るまで、携帯電話に関連した幅広い分野の執筆を手がける。* Click here for the article list of "Digital Flash"
あわせて読みたいFinally, a narrow depreciation of "mobile PC" with a 17 -inch screen
All mobile phones have swept the latter half of Heisei in the smartphone
今週の人気記事 by MONO TRENDY1パソコン買い替え インテル最新CPU、性能が大幅向上デジタル・フラッシュ2ソニーの「穴あき」イヤホン 自然な音、快適な装着感デジタル・フラッシュ3Windows 10 どうする？記憶容量やUSB端子が足りない！デジタルライフ4Windows10ハードウエア増強 ストレージはSSDに交換デジタルライフ5Windows 10の面倒な操作 わずかな設定変更で快適にデジタルライフ
