Early foldable smartphones were fragile experiments plagued by creased screens and dust ruining the hinges. Five generations later, the hardware is remarkably mature, yet sales remain niche.
The durability problem solved
Hinges are tight, flexible screens can survive hundreds of thousands of folds, and water resistance is now standard. The existential fear of breaking a two-thousand-dollar device by closing it too hard is gone.
The software catch-up
Operating systems have finally learned how to handle flexible aspect ratios. Handing off an app seamlessly from the narrow outer screen to the large inner canvas works flawlessly in most major applications.
The price ceiling
Manufacturing complex flexible displays keeps them priced at double the cost of excellent traditional flagships. Until a reliable foldable hits the price point of a standard iPhone or Galaxy model, it remains an executive toy.
The form factor debate
Book-style foldables are heavy and bulky in the pocket. Flip-style foldables are much cheaper and solve a pocketability problem, but they require you to open the phone for every minor interaction, adding friction to daily use.