There’s a WORLD of difference between showing how a phone SHOULD work out in the field and actively trying to break that phone. If you try to break a phone, you will eventually succeed.

Torture tests are dramatic and fun to watch, but they don’t deliver much practical information to consumers. We should try to help inform consumers on what the expected “range of durability” might be for a product, not just show a dramatic failure clip.

Nowhere is this more precious right now than on folding phones.

Looking at the view counts on the videos and articles from top reviewers, we can be pretty sure those discussions are only reaching a tiny fraction of the overall smartphone buying population. Consumers are not turning to techies like they used to for education on current tech trends.

It seems more people are “taught” what to think about consumer electronics by the ads they consume from the marketing departments of the manufacturers making these products.

As companies work to make hinged phones more exciting, we should be concerned about how those phones are portrayed in advertisements. We need a “sweet spot” of lifestyle footage to help prime the correct expectations for customers. Showcasing the products in appropriate situations helps inform how those products should be used.

Manufacturer ads are a necessary resource for consumer education.

Almost every folding phone manufacturer is “doing this wrong”.

Continue reading “Folding Phone Durability: Educating Consumers and Setting Expectations?”