I love foldable phones and can't wait for more manufacturers to hop on board. I have owned every iteration of the Samsung Z Fold series, Z Flip series, and Surface Duo series, and I am now rocking the Pixel Fold.

This form factor that Google adopted is the way to go. A shorter, wider aspect ratio on the outer display makes for an excellent phone experience while allowing you to unfold the device into a proper mini tablet in landscape orientation. I never enjoyed the narrow screen on the Z Fold lineup, so I opened the phone to do almost everything. With the Pixel Fold, I open the phone up only for specific things, such as showing someone else content on my phone, reading, or watching videos.

The biggest issue with foldables is that everyone seems to worry about the device's durability, which is understandable. I have never had an issue, and I don't baby foldable phones more than I would a standard slab. I also think the pricing of foldable is a massive turn-off for many folks. Last, many people either refuse to understand the "point" of foldable devices or simply don't. For example, with me saying that I use the Pixel Fold closed most of the time, some would say, "What's the point if you're not going to use the inner display?". The point with foldables is that you get options. You don't have to use the phone as a tablet 24/7. At that point, you might as well just get a small tablet. Foldables are supposed to give you a phone experience first while giving you instant access to a larger screen capable of light multitasking and better media consumption experiences than your traditional phone. The beauty of a folding device is that you get the best of both worlds all the time, and you decide how you want to divide your time between the outer and inner displays.

Long comment, but hey, I love foldables, and I will keep buying them. Unfortunately, I think it will take Apple releasing a foldable before they become mainstream :(

This is exactly why I sent my Zenphone 9 back. Shame because it was such a good little phone and one of the few flagships with a headphone jack.

Will it have the same Foldable phone optimization as the reddit version?

As a foldable user, one of the things I was most excited for Sync, is their ability to adapt to the foldable display both on the inner and outer display. For example, when you are using sync on the outer screen then open up your fold, it utilizes the "extra half" of the screen to work as another pane for viewing content without interrupting what you're doing on the left side. Do you have any plans to implement something similar?

Also DeArrow extension is really good for removing the clickbait thumbnails and replaces them with a simple still from the video itself. It also removes Emojis and special characters from the titles.

Other essential extensions for YouTube for me are (1) sponsorblock and (2) enhancer for YouTube.

There's an app I use called "Snip'd" which uses AI to detect different chapter segments of your podcasts. It doesn't automatically skip anything for you but it does a pretty good job of finding and pointing out where the ads are and breaking the entire episode up into different chapters.

I just have them all downloaded and bounce between them when they get a new update lol

Yes and no. For some apps, the developers have it set to scale to larger screens or have a certain layout when it detects that the DPI surpasses a certain threshold. This is really how they just get all of these apps to scale for traditional smartphones in general since there are many different screens sizes out there. What I'm referencing is that Sync is one of the few apps that goes from a traditional phone app when folded shut, to a dedicated tablet layout when the phone opens. Other apps such as Outlook, Gmail, Relay for Reddit, YouTube, Google Calendar, and some more apps do this as well.

Right now, Samsung's Foldables have the ability to force apps to expand to the aspect ratio of the inner display for any application. The Pixel Fold, however, doesn't include this feature so there are some apps that genuinely just stay in a traditional aspect ratio of a smartphone and doesn't expand to take advantage of the screen real estate on the bigger display (if the developers didn't build it in). The good thing about this is that for the Pixel Fold, because of the aspect ratio of the inside screen, you can have two regular sized apps splitting the screen side by side and it looks really good.

Google is doing this though to force app developers to start making tablet optimized apps and is even incentivizing developers by pushing their apps to the featured page of the Google Play Store once their app fully supports tablet displays. Apps that don't make the change however, will have a message displayed for us foldable or Android tablet users that will say something like, "This app may not be fully compatible with your display," when we go to install it.

A lot of information but yeah that's the current foldable situation. I've been using foldables since the first Galaxy Z Fold and am now on the Pixel Fold. Absolutely love folding devices and will never return to a traditional slab phone.

Yes, exactly that actually.

I saw that Google is pushing developers towards making tablet friendly UI and if they do, the app gets shown on the featured section of the Google Play Store.

Not really. In fact, I did a little dumphone detox a few weeks ago and literally nothing changed other than not having access to apps like telegram until I could access my laptop. Oh, and no video calling. I think now that I'm in my late 20s, married, with my little circle of close friends, and work peers I don't really find a need for social media. Now when I was in high school and witnessed the birth of Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, it was a big deal to have an account and I didn't start purging those accounts until a few years ago...

I was trying to explain that some people will expect us to use the phone open 100% of the time. Like there's a reason they have a smaller screen on the front. I don't always have two hands free to keep the device open, so for those folk I say just get a small tablet since you think it HAS to be used opened 100% of the time or else, "there's no point in owning a foldable," as they say.

I agree with you.

I actually ended up sending mine back when I found out I couldn't root it. Such a shame.

Perhaps a shot in the dark, but does anyone know if this update does anything to change the sound issues on Samsung laptops? For example, I have a GalaxyBook3 Pro 360, and it doesn't matter what distro I use; I cannot get audio working. I spent 8 hours one day just going through forums and trying various fixes but could never get anything to work.

Indeed my friend.

I swear I tried all of that and uninstalled the existing firmware, and pulled the newer files. I might give it another go, but I saw on a thread that this is a specific issue with Galaxy Book devices. Someone had a detailed step-by-step guide to get the audio working; I tried it, but it didn't.

What phone are you using?

Currently have my SIM card in the S23 Plus. I go back and forth between that and my Pixel 7. I have an iPhone 8, Sony Xperia 5 II, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone SE 3rd Gen on reserve for testing.

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

Pretty happy for the most part. I upgrade and try new phones all the time, so honestly, only so many devices excite me anymore. The S23 Plus and the Pixel 7 have been much better experiencing for me than the S22 lineup and the Pixel 6 lineup in terms of overall software stability and battery life. Both devices are buttery smooth with a slight edge going to the Pixel in terms of smoothness. I like the Pixel because I'm in the US and I can root the Pixel and take advantage of a few things like Unlimited Google Photos backup. For the S23 Plus, I like that it pairs seamlessly with my laptop, but that's not a huge deal to me.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

I've had almost every phone you can think of that sells in the American market. I've owned all the Pixels since the Pixel 2. I've owned every iPhone since the 3gs. I've owned every Samsung S and Note device since the S3 and the Note 2. For OnePlus devices I've owned everything since the 7 Pro. I've also owned every Z Flip, Z Fold, Surface Duo 1 & 2, and the Nothing Phone (1). The only ASUS device I've owned is the Zenphone 9. Shit, I've even owned the RAZR (2019).

Regarding the best, my absolute favorite phones are the iPhone 5c and the Pixel 2. I used the shit out of both of those devices.

The worst would have to be the Surface Duo (1), Z Flip 3, and iPhone 12 Mini. I had high expectations for each of those 3 and was tremendously disappointed by each device. Honorable mention goes out to the iPhone 14 Pro. I regretted that purchase since the return period ended.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

Usually, every time a new phone comes out.

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

The only devices I have that are directly tied to the Android Ecosystem are my Pixel Watch and Galaxybook3 Pro 360. I have many other devices and headphones, but they aren't a part of the Android ecosystem.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

I like to keep a diverse ecosystem. I have an Apple Watch Series 7, AirPods Max, iPad Pro 12.9" M2, and MacBook Pro 14" M2. On the other hand, I have a Legion 7 Slim gaming laptop, Samsung Galaxybook3 Pro 360, ASUS ROG Ally, Surface Headphone II, Bose QC II, and Galaxy Tab S8.

I've been bouncing back and forth between Connect and Summit.

Connect has more features though that I want and is currently in my number 1 spot. I tried all the others too so if I had to choose a #3, it would be WefWef/Voyager.

Glad I could help!

When using 3 button navigation on my Pixel Fold running the latest Android 14 Beta, on light mode, the buttons are white, blending in with the background of the app... If that makes sense. Almost as if they are transparent.

Yeah, it's such a small percentage of users affected too. I have other laptops that run various distros of Linux without issues, but my Galaxy Book can't get any audio unless I plug in speakers or headphones.

Thank you for the advice.