Mobile World Congress 2019, the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry, ended March 1 this year. The event provides a platform for phone makers to showcase both their ambition and their novel, advanced technology for next-generation mobile phones. Last year, we witnessed the usage of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality on mobile phones, and the establishment of 5G networks. Though 5G is still topical, foldable phones were the hot topic this year.

As a person born in the digital era, I have experienced the sheer speed of technological development: I saw the rise and tragic fall of Nokia, and witnessed the birth of the Apple empire. I’ve used various kinds of mobile phones – flip phones, slider phones, side slider phones and swivel phones. Until recently, I have been ‘loyal’ to smartphones with large touch screens as they monopolized the market until, this year, Samsung and Huawei developed a new form of smartphone – foldable phones.

Foldable phones, which in my eyes are a combination of a phone and a tablet, seem revolutionary. From the era of bar phones to current smartphones with full screens, the design and development of phones seems to be focused on achieving one thing: a larger screen in a portable size. Foldable screens are an attempt by the industry to achieve a larger display. They break through the limits of a phone’s screen size but can still easily be put in the pocket.

What do we normally do with phones? We text friends and family, make (video) calls, read news, take photos, upload them on social media, watch videos, and play games. We mostly entertain ourselves with phones. With a larger screen, it is possible for us to improve the quality of these entertainment experiences; the shift from multi-task switch to multitasking is the most obvious experience people could get with foldable phones. In the past, we could only use one application at a time. Though split screen mode was available, it was not efficient. But with foldable phones which have a larger screen, multiple apps running at the same time is both possible and efficient.

The first generation of foldable phones also function as signs of differentiation between companies. With the Galaxy Fold, Samsung is proving its place as a leader of vertical integration. Galaxy Fold uses Samsung’s own AMOLED screen which has been developed over 8 years, and it folds from outside to inside with a larger curvature of infolding screen. As for Huawei, they are trying to prove to the public that they can do what other companies are doing, but even better: advertising themselves as the “World’s fastest foldable 5G phone”.

But are these developments in vain? Since last year, the mobile phone industry has been confronted with an ice-cold winter. Throughout 2018, the global smartphone market experienced negative growth for five consecutive quarters. Nowadays, people do not change their mobile phones as frequently as before. On average, it takes a consumer 32 months to update their phone.