Zack Nelson’s Christmas present to his 9.7 million YouTube subscribers was a durability test of the Samsung TriFold smartphone.
“Every now and then a piece of technology lands on my desk that almost makes me feel bad about what’s about to happen…almost,” says the guy behind JerryRigEverything at the start of the test, leaving a strong feeling that it’s about to happen not A happy ending for Samsung’s first ever phone to have not one, but two hinges.
Anyone who has ever experienced one of Nelson’s durability tests knows that there is a lot of scratching and scratching involved. Phones are also showered with a handful of sand and an open flame is held up to their display.
Nelson begins the video with the list of warnings that appear on the phone’s display when it is first turned on. Don’t remove the protective film on the main display, says one, while another points out that the phone is unable to handle small particles such as sand. It also clarifies that when folding the device, you should “always start with the panel that doesn’t have a camera” as “starting with the panel with cameras can damage your phone.”
Yes, it seems like a pretty tricky piece of equipment, and even before Nelson has released his first metal scraper, you get the strong feeling that you’re about to witness a horror show.
The TriFold’s soft, flexible interior display, which opens to a massive 10 inches, doesn’t exactly handle pressure from a hard, sharp object well, but that’s the case with all foldable screens. They are simply too soft to avoid damage if treated harshly.
Then the sand comes into play. A lot of it. Nelson admits it’s a ridiculous amount, but it’s still awful listening to the crunching since the phone’s hinges can’t handle all that dirt.
“I would be very nervous if I ever placed the TriFold on a less than pristine surface,” comments Nelson.
And then to the infamous bending test, where the YouTuber bends the phone with his bare hands to learn more about its structural integrity. Within a second or two of feeling the force, the TriFold’s screen fizzles out, although the device at least remains in one piece.
Nelson notes that the TriFold is “the first Samsung ever to ace my bend test,” before concluding, “If you treat the TriFold well, it’s probably the coolest phone on the planet. But if you’re the kind of person who’s casual and careless with your hardware, this probably isn’t the phone for you.”
