Foldable fatigue: why manufacturers are obsessed with a crease that nobody wants

The relentless pursuit of a perfectly flat foldable screen is driving a strange, and frankly, frustrating, obsession within the smartphone industry. It’s a race against a reality that many consumers are perfectly happy to accept: a subtle crease remains.

The crease conundrum: a tech industry fixation

Samsung, Oppo, and Apple – the leading players in the foldable market – are reportedly pouring resources into eliminating the visible crease on their inner displays. But is this truly the biggest priority for users, or are manufacturers chasing a phantom?

Early foldables were, frankly, disasters. Fragile, with prominent, unsightly creases and questionable durability. Yet, they found an audience – primarily among those seeking a large screen for multitasking and those willing to compromise on the device itself. It wasn’t about perfection; it was about functionality and a bit of tech flexing.

Oppo’s Find N5 (and its predecessor, the Find N6), however, demonstrated a significant improvement. The crease is noticeably shallower, a tangible step forward. It suggests that the industry is learning, albeit slowly, to prioritize a more palatable user experience.

Beyond the crease: where are the real innovations?

Now, manufacturers face a critical crossroads. We've moved beyond the first-generation awkwardness. Foldables are getting thinner, stronger, and offering genuinely compelling features. But what’s next? The obsession with a flat screen risks diverting attention from areas where consumers actually want improvements – battery life (aiming for 8,000-9,000 mAh), camera systems (quadruple setups are increasingly common), display brightness, speaker quality, gaming performance, and thermal management.

Rumors swirl that Apple and Samsung are particularly fixated on this ‘completely flat inner screen’ goal. And that pursuit, frankly, comes at a cost. Every focus on eliminating the crease means resources are diverted elsewhere – like delaying upgrades to key components, such as the M13 OLED material used in Samsung's foldables.

Perhaps this is a case of chasing a technical ideal that doesn’t align with consumer desires. A truly creaseless foldable – likely to be prohibitively expensive – might remain a distant, and ultimately unnecessary, aspiration. Let’s be clear: the 2025-2026 models, with their improved, albeit present, creases, offer a far more practical and enjoyable experience for most users.

The bottom line? The industry is prioritizing a visual illusion over genuine progress. And that's a significant oversight.