Well, single-screen smartphones had their run, and I've been privileged to test out many of the very best phones that have hit the market over the past decade – but now it looks like my time with them is over for good.
The reason for this dramatic shift? A brand new leak from Samsung's leakster-in-chief Iceuniverse has just given us our best look yet at the South Korean firm's new adaptive UI, which is dubbed Split UI and seems destined to debut on the incoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 smartphone.
And, simply put, this is a game-changer for the best foldable phones and the thing I've been patiently waiting for to make the jump to a dual-screen phone. I've tested a few of the early folding phones we've seen over the past few years, such as the rebooted Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X, but have never been tempted to open my wallet and buy one up till now.
The reasons for that have been multiple fold, but one of the absolute biggest was that as impressive as these folding phones were technically, their user interfaces were just not up to scratch, falling uncomfortably between phone and tablet. It was very much that the UIs ended up being a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, just about proficient at being a phone and a tablet, but a master of none.
And when you then threw on top the fact that many of the apps that I like to use just weren't optimised for dual phone-tablet usage, and you were left with a compromised experience. And, well, if I'm going to spend thousands on a new phone, then I want to make sure I am not getting a compromised experience.
2 pic.twitter.com/Tnt4rvLKMmMay 23, 2021
But taking one look at the demos posted by Ice has shown me what that compromise-free Split UI experience will likely look like. Iceuniverse has a bullet proof history of accurately calling future Samsung hardware and software in leaks, so I fully believe that this is what the adaptive UI will look and work like when released – which now seems destined to be on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.
And if the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 does come with this Split UI, then that will likely be the catalyst for me jumping ship from single-screen phones and buying one. I've been entranced with the idea of having not just one device but two in your pocket with a folding phone, both one of the best Android phones and best tablets, and finally I'll be able to get the experience I desire.
Now, of course, there are still factors that could affect my decision, and foremost among those is price. After all, I've really not got an unlimited budget to buy my next phone and tablet (even combining budgets for both devices), so if the Galaxy Z fold 3 is crazy money then I'll have to put my plan on hold. And I'll also be doing plenty of research into how third-party apps work UI wise on the new foldable, but if both those things don't raise problems, then I think I'll be moving on.
And, as I wrote about previously, if the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 can also come with S Pen digital stylus support, I truly will be in smartphone, phablet and tablet heaven. Come on Samsung, don't let me down now! Roll on Samsung Unpacked in August this year.
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