Product Testing - Fold 6 - Part 6

[Piper123]

Good evening all

Here we go with the latest instalment of my journey product testing the Fold 6. But before I do, of course I need to add the obligatory mahoosive Thank You to @Lucy C and the Community Team for the opportunity. Thank you so much.

 So today I feed back on a question - could I replace my laptop with the Fold 6? 

Today's mobile devices, especially flagships, have come so far and are effectively mini computers in our hands. Specifications have arguably improved, screen sizes seem to keep getting bigger, folds seem to get thinner but is the laptop dead as a concept? Lets see......

 Fold 6 has a large (for mobile) screen which provides for multi-tasking with a huge 12gb of RAM. Some might say 16gb RAM is now needed on top end foldables but to date I have not found 12gb to be left wanting. AI is here of course and this will evolve rapidly, far quicker than most will appreciate.

 For the last couple of weeks, I have tried to complete a number of tasks using the Fold 6 instead of my laptop. There is room for improvement before I could honestly put hand to heart and say my laptop can retire. BUT that day could be coming in the not too distant future. 

 Firstly, you are going to need a keyboard & mouse connected to your Fold 6. I've used Logitech myself and have found the experience pretty good. If you've spent close to £2000 buying a Fold 6, another £100 or so for the keyboard & mouse feels relatively small change. I connected the Fold 6 to my Samsung Monitor for when a big screen is the go to for the tasks. 

 Secondly, you are going to need Samsung Dex for this. It is the closest thing I have found to a desktop operating system on a mobile device (from Samsung). The interface is not too dissimilar to Windows 11 which is very helpful given Windows 10 will soon be out of support. Dex also allows the use of multi screens across monitors and the Fold 6 screen itself so this is really helpful for work. Logging in to work and using some of the Company Portal apps was a breeze and I was able to perform most tasks relatively straightforward using the Fold 6 with Dex. But in truth this did need to monitor, I would not have wanted to perform these tasks via the Fold 6 screen. I may have needed binoculars to achieve this!!! 

 There were some challenges, not all of the Company Portal apps wanted to play nicely on the Fold 6. I believe this is more to do with my employers IT restrictions rather than the device itself. Adobe also wasnt too happy (I use Acrobat Pro to edit PDF's which the Fold 6 wasnt too happy with, again though this may have been more to do with IT controls than the Fold 6). 

 Overall, I found the Fold 6 worked much better than I expected on work tasks. Sure, it took a bit of setting up and there were compromises to be made. There were additional purchases required and using the Fold 6 for a full day's work may challenge the battery. But if I were working away and not wanting to carry a laptop etc, then as long as there is access to a monitor or screen that the Fold 6 could connect up to then working away is certainly possible.

 So my question was "Could I replace my laptop with the Fold 6?"

 Technically for much of what I do, the answer has to be yes as long as you can accept compromise. There is also the question of cost. My laptop is a HP Probook which performs exceptionally well and costs my employer something in the region of £500 to £600. The Fold 6 plus accessories is a little over £2k. Not sure the beancounters are going to buy the concept just yet. But the idea that you can use a mobile phone for work is getting closer and closer, far closer than many may think. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Yet another fantastic informative update. 

[JAMES4578]

yes interesting to conduct such an experiment,  the Z Fold 6 seems to perform well in such a scenario though obviously there are challenges.

[Piper123]

Thank you @BandOfBrothers

This was a challenge that pushed my knowledge and I borrowed a couple of IT colleagues for advice along the way.

The trajectory of the Fold series is, however, very good and may in the future offer people am interesting choice with far smaller devices.

[lminvti]

Really nicely put update, completely agree on DEX part, eventually the folding technology will get better and better and it will be cheaper then now(same as it was with curved edge displays) and I think it might replace your work laptop or you won't need a tablet no more. Few more improvements and I think it will be way to go, no need to carry your laptop in backpack and phone when you have all in 1 who fits in your pocket. Great job 👏

[UNKNOWNUSERNAME]

Fantastic Review mate. Really interesting about replacing your laptop with a mobile device.
Could you see yourself opting to purchase a fold device in future?

[Piper123]

Arrrggghhhhhh

@UNKNOWNUSERNAME you'll have to be patient and await a later Product Test Review post for that question to be answered 🫠👍🫠

[UNKNOWNUSERNAME]

I can wait😅😉

[Lucy C]

really interesting review! Can't wait to see what happens in the future with phones vs laptops 👀