After nearly 4 years, my family has had enough of foldables

Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority

When the Galaxy Z Flip 4 was released in 2022, my wife, Millie, decided that flip phones were what she wanted. Aside from being gorgeous, especially in Bora Purple, the Flip 4’s form factor fixed problems Millie had with her Galaxy S20 FE. Since then, she’s been a devoted flip phone user, subsequently owning the Z Flip 5 and Z Flip 6. Last week, though, she ordered a Galaxy S26 Ultra. After three and a half years, she decided enough was enough, and I don’t blame her.

Have you had problems with your folding phones? 42 votes Yes 24 % No 26 % I don't have a foldable 50 %

Broken and frustrating

Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority

We all know that foldable phones are more fragile than traditional ones. It isn’t as bad as some say, but the truth is a flexible plastic display will always be more prone to damage than a slab of glass. It isn’t the hardware failures that have driven Millie away from foldables, though. Instead, it’s the way Samsung has treated these failures.

Her Galaxy Z Flip 5 (pictured) suffered a catastrophic display failure when it was only six months old. Was it dropped? Poked with a fingernail? No. The rubber gasket that sits on either side of the screen to protect the hinge had come loose, letting dust inside the device and killing the screen. You’d think this would be covered under warranty. A phone that was only a quarter of the way through its warranty period (we get two years in the UK) and is in otherwise immaculate condition shouldn’t fail like this.

It wasn’t covered. When we went to an official Samsung store, we were told that “Samsung has engineered this component (the rubber gasket) never to fail,” and therefore the needed repair wouldn’t be covered under warranty. If it weren’t for the fact that we had insurance, this is a repair that would have cost £304.

Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority

Now we reach the Z Flip 6. In only eighteen months of ownership, it’s needed its screen protector replaced twice. It’s annoying, but not a dealbreaker. In the UK, Samsung offers unlimited screen protector replacements during the warranty period. Heading to the nearest EE store, the phone carrier that is now Samsung’s repair partner in the UK, only takes half an hour, so it isn’t much of an inconvenience. The first replacement at our local store went smoothly. I put the phone in repair mode, handed over the phone, and we went back shortly after to pick it up. The last attempt did not go so smoothly, though.

... continue reading