Dust is a foldable phone's enemy, and Samsung says it's working on measures to make its foldable parts much more dust-resistant.
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| Image source: theverge |
Dust is a foldable phone's enemy, and Samsung says it's working on measures to make its foldable parts much more dust-resistant.
TM Roh, head of Samsung's mobile business, spoke about the foldable dustproof in a press conference after the company's Unpacked event earlier this week, as reported by Korea BizWatch and seen by Android Authority. Roh said: "We are well aware of consumer demand for dust isolation and are making various efforts to achieve this." He noted that Samsung added water resistance to its foldable line a few generations ago and asked Fold series fans to "wait a little longer" for the dust resistance rating.
That's a tough problem for phones with moving parts, but it's a hurdle Samsung needs to clear if it really wants to bring foldable products to the mainstream. The company's current foldable phones offer strong water resistance, but currently do not protect against dust. Flat-type flagships usually have an IP68 rating, which means they are certified to withstand a certain amount of dust and water. but Samsung's foldable devices only have an IPX8 rating - 8 means you can fully submerge them in water, but X is a big old no to any dust resistance. The moving parts of a foldable phone make this problem difficult to solve.
Samsung's rivals seem to be working on this too: the Motorola Razr Plus has a much lower water resistance, but its IP52 rating means limited dust protection. Samsung phones aren't completely immune to dust — the hinges have brushes to help keep dust at bay — but for whatever reason, the Flip and Fold phones don't have an IP rating to reflect any dust resistance.
A dustproof foldable phone is an exciting prospect and could be a big step in bringing foldable devices into the mainstream. Until then, our advice remains the same: don't bring your flip phone to the beach. The death of OLED is a terrible way for a phone.
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