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The story
A survey by MM Research Institute found that about half of people with no experience using a foldable smartphone clearly said they “don’t want to buy one.” On 5ch, users voiced practical concerns — the durability of the fold crease, the weight, whether the battery can even be replaced — while others predicted that “once it comes from iPhone, it’ll take off overnight.” Opinions were split.
MM Research Institute, which conducts research and analysis in the IT sector, released survey results on awareness, usage, and purchase intent regarding foldable smartphones, shedding light on domestic attitudes toward the devices.
Of the respondents, 544 had experience using a foldable smartphone, while 540 had none.
Plenty of people say they’d “like to try buying one” — but what’s the number one reason among those who flatly say they won’t?
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
And the resale value's probably garbage too
The screen protector film lasts six months, tops
It's seriously done for after that
Most people only replace their phone once every 5 years
No way that happens in just 2, lol
Then again, if nothing's fallen apart after 2 years, it might actually catch on
Like being able to check LINE (a chat app) or 5ch while you play, maybe
And if you're carrying it around daily, you don't need it folded either
Unfolded, it's way lighter than a regular tablet, so it's actually great for reading manga or watching videos while lying down
Apparently the Pro and Pro Max models are still coming
They probably just want people to buy the 18 Pro this fall
Question is how many actually will
Feature-wise it's basically been plateaued since the 14 anyway
Even Samsung's models are over 200g, so that's probably a no-go
If it were razor-thin — under 9mm and up to 140g — I'd actually feel like buying one
Thanks to this dumb, totally un-"smart" design, we're stuck needing these things called portable battery packs.
Not happening unless they drop the waterproofing-and-thinness arms race
Starting in February, EU regulations will require phones to have replaceable batteries
Flip phones weren't touchscreens
And there was no crease running through the display
The selling points are pretty different, so comparing the two doesn't mean much. Sure, they both let you get a bigger screen, but flip phones folded the keypad and screen inward — a big plus for preventing accidental taps and screen damage. Foldable smartphones, on the other hand, still give you a usable phone-sized screen when folded, so the benefit is getting a phone and a tablet in one device. In exchange, you lose most of that accidental-input and damage protection.
You won't even be able to tap the X to close ads anymore, lol
Opening up to 4-inch size actually makes sense.
I've got rheumatoid arthritis, so even 160g is too much for me — needs to be under 140g
You'd need three panels for that, really
Once it comes from iPhone, young people will jump on it instantly
Chinese and Korean makers don't have the clout to move the global market
No one's jumping on it
Android still has the bigger market share anyway
Background and Key Points
Foldable phones sit at the intersection of two shifting arms races: display engineering and battery regulation. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold has led the category since 2019, but foldables remain a small niche of the global smartphone market — dominated by Chinese and Korean makers, none of whom carry Apple’s cultural weight in Japan. That matters because Apple’s iPhone share in Japan runs roughly 50%, far above its global average, making Japanese consumer sentiment unusually Apple-dependent; a folding iPhone, rumored for as early as fall 2026, would be the first real test of whether Japanese buyers embrace the form factor rather than merely tolerate it from Samsung.
The thread’s real fault line wasn’t fold-versus-slab, it was trust in durability versus faith in Apple’s gravitational pull: skeptics cited crease wear, six-month screen protectors, and battery replacement as concrete, testable failures, while optimists offered no mechanism beyond “Apple will make it cool,” betting on brand rather than engineering improving in two years.
What the thread never engages with is the regulatory backdrop: the EU’s mandate for user-replaceable batteries takes effect in February, which foldables’ thin, hinge-heavy design makes especially hard to satisfy — the poster who raised it got a one-line reply and no real follow-up. Readers outside Japan should also know MM Research Institute is a domestic IT market-research firm, so this data reflects Japanese buying psychology specifically, not global demand — replacement cycles here already run close to five years, which alone explains much of the “won’t buy” figure without needing to invoke the foldable format’s flaws at all.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Foldable Phones: About Half Clearly Say “I Don’t Want to Buy One”… Whether the “Foldable iPhone,” Expected Fall 2026, Succeeds Will Be the Litmus Test for the Category’s Future.”
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