I'm not sure if I'd get behind that take, but folding screen phones are horribly impractical if you are even a little hard on your phone. The screens and hinges are fragile, I've yet to see one that feels like it'd last more than a year at least for me.

I actually have a first gen Surface Duo and it's held up, though its been relegated to the second device role since it stopped getting updates. Anything with an actual folding display has seemed weak IMO, I'd be afraid of breaking it or finding weird distortions in the screen after a bit of use.

Your intuition about screen fragility is right. I recently switched from a Samsung Flip 4 to a non-folding Pixel 8. While I liked the idea of it, in practice it was pretty chunky (twice the thickness of a normal phone when folded, too tall for my pockets when unfolded), and I damaged the screen twice in a year via normal use.

I used to own a Fold 4 and it's a wonderful device, I really loved it (mostly the multitasking, stylus support, small outer screen for one-handed use). Unfortunately, the design is truly fragile and I sold mine after I got it back from the repair shop for the second time (and got a boring iPhone). I truly hope newer generations will be better and I can purchase one that will last at least 3-4 years.

From second hand experience (I’ve never owned one but my cousin loves foldables), they’re probably more reliable than an unadorned iphone. Folding means the screen isn’t fully exposed.

The major advantage of the iPhone is that its ecosystem of cases means you can get some pretty high quality cases that can make it actually protected.

I really like my Surface Duo for exactly that reason, folding it hides the screens. The device dimensions definitely aren't for everyone, but having the option for a larger device and the usability of two screens really is pretty handy.

The Duo has its own faults though, the body around the charging port is particularly fragile due to how thin they made the device.