hi and welcome to Tech Talk where we take a look at what's going on in
technology news and offer some insights it should be useful I'm here with
Michael Simon from PC world I'm Ken Mingis executive editor computer world
Michael's just back from Mobile World Congress 2019 someone to pick his brain
about what's going what happened there and we might even get in a rant about
folding phones stick around okay so Mike welcome back you survived back in the
States yeah welcome back stateside a lot of announcements out of MWC as usual
yeah and I wanted to see you know we talked about a month ago about things
that might be coming up was there any kind of theme I mean obviously foldable
phones is a big topic out there there was a lot of that 5g5 G is the thing the
the thing well but it's not a thing yet right I could isn't that the point
well yeah it's going to be it's right it will be a thing I mean I couldn't walk
two feet with that seeing a 5g something okay what everywhere device a prototype
microcell banner chip whatever what have you it was it was all over the place
they even had these little 5g pins that I guess Qualcomm made or somebody and it
would say like 5g Samsung fine g1 plus and this is you know just for the record
this is real 5g not the fake o5g that it see it's real funky but it's also but
it's not any easier because we don't there's no networks that can it wasn't
even anything real on the trade show floor like a couple of Samsung wasn't
showing off as long as Dennis on phone it's gorgeous and I want one you know I
want the LTE version okay I don't want a 5g one I don't wanna spend $250 more or
whatever it is for 5g when I'm lucky if I get it this time next year I don't
even think it'll be and I don't like that even if you're looking at 2022 yes
for for wide widespread adoption yeah even if let's say I'm lucky to live in
one of the cities like Dallas or something as soon as I travel outside
those I'm back to 4G and my battery life is taking a hit as it keeps looking for
the 5g network yet I can't can't turn that off well you can but I don't want
it to okay yeah okay I don't want to go into my mobile settings and switch
things I want I don't think about my work it should it
should smartly turn off and it will and all of that stuff is gonna happen I just
that Qualcomm is the major and they're pushed by the carriers it's cool it's
cool Qualcomm has the x50 chip right which is in the s10 5g it's in the LGV
55 G or five LG v 50 which is 5g and it's gonna be a handful of other phones
including the huawei mate yes which is folding that's the foldable so that
that's the chip we have that's the modem we have now attached to the 855 chip and
it's a good modem speeds of up to two and a half gigabits per second which is
the standard set I mean this is maybe a dumb question but the 5g standard is set
and so the chips that are being produced now we're not doing sort of dancing it
well this is my next my next point so they already announced the X 55 chip
okay which is gonna be part of I assume the the 865 and a wider role that maybe
a couple of smattered 855 phones the snapdragon I'm talking about 55 is
what's in the case the top-of-the-line Snapdragon now so the 855 modem and I'm
sorry the X I'm confusing myself okay the X 55 modem yeah has theoretical
speeds up to seven gigabit to say I like that one
yeah I want that one so if you buy one of these phones you know not this one
yeah I'm just holding a table not an iPhone only for God do you get 5g that
you can't use right when you can use it it's gonna be slower than the one that
yes that's on the market when you get so what why would you why would anyone buy
any of these things and I'll tell you why they would buy and because they're
being duped yep they're being pushed and because people don't know people don't
do this for a living I mean I'm well they'll see they'll see
if I be it's interesting because I had a conversation with Dan Rosenbaum a couple
weeks ago when the s10 rolled out and we were talking about that and he was
saying specifically you know if you're looking to buy the new Samsung s10 don't
get the 5g version you know you're better off getting this year's
technology the latest greatest now waiting a couple of years you know two
or three years maybe when it's time to upgrade and then jump into in fact when
I I had a hands-on with the s10 5g at mobile or Congress and I wrote about
saying this is this is the phone I want it has a six point seven inch screen a
better camera yep but I have to get the 5g version so not
only are these companies pushing out 5g before it's ready I really I really do
want to use air quotes around 5g right now I know you know cuz it's okay go
ahead yeah I mean they're putting in in their most desirable their most
desirable products like that like the Huawei made 10 you're folding the one
that everyone wants that's 5g you know there's not a it is not a 4G I have a
minimal cost of what 26 yeah you know for 2600 damn thing should be able to
reach the middle 2600 I mean there was like like audible Snickers when they
show our future rim hang on okay yeah I had seen it the night before and we were
kind of speculating me and my photographer that was there with me
Samsung's is 1980 maybe like 20 when they showed up man
yeah right anyway yeah we'll get to that yeah but you know 5g it's it's
super-important absolutely what's really funny about it is so like all these
companies have these little video montages of what it's done how fast you
can tell it's all like yeah that's all it is three seconds to download a movie
I don't care I haven't done one in a movie in five years right I don't look
at movies on my phone I'm sure you can you can play games on the go I can do
that now yeah you can shop well I can do that now like she'll give me some reason
to look forward to there's technology other than what you do now will be a
little bit faster because that's not what 5g well this is it doesn't this go
back to the point we were making I think when we last chatted that we're getting
to an end when it comes to innovation I mean all right so it's it's this year's
great phone but a little faster yes 5g is that's what they're smarter I know
it's a smart it's smarter but it's also like you'll be able to take like let's
say you're working on I don't know some kind of a CAD project it's like it's a
big on my road well you can bring whatever it is anywhere you know
beginning these you know these video download transfer speeds that you get on
your Wi-Fi faster than your wife I don't know anyway everywhere yeah and in that
sense it's a big deal because that will power AI that will power machine
learning that will power block chain or vehicle to view all that other stuff
having a hold of the story on blockchain I can explain but all that stuff like
you won't have to worry about how fast is my network now because five the 5g
infrastructure will enable the those those networks you know and those
systems to work everywhere emphasis on will yes we're nowhere near it right you
know and I also do see a use for it in I'm thinking here in the states at least
in rural areas bringing broadband to areas do not have it they still don't
have it they don't have it but once this is in place you should you know you'll
have real broadband but B that's not I mean they'll have what we have right
right I mean it's still gonna be five g's still gonna be if you can afford it
just like four G's it's like broadband is just like gigabit
is all that stuff you know it's all great if you have the money for a
hundred and fifty dollar monthly bill I do have to ask since President Trump was
talking up six Jake's t any decision all right so five G that was clearly the the
message everywhere everywhere at MWC you know some devices were rolling out with
a version of it you know or modems will work none of them are later this year
and our advice you personally is don't do it unless you have a ton of
disposable income unless you were away money will speak but if you're looking
to get value for your purchase which is what we're in the business of guiding
you guys on businesses are not gonna be not now it's not worth it cuz it's not
there okay speaking of money to blow yeah foldable phones oh yeah now here's
something that I'm excited well then see I think we're gonna have a little bit of
a dinner of opinion here I I'm excited I think the technology is cool as a
technology proof of concept I'm not convinced and a little more than
approver cuts okay it's close but you know you can convince me but I'm not
sure what the use case is for foldable phones so tell me that I'm wrong and why
well you're not wrong based on what I could what I've seen good answer the
galaxy fold yeah the one that I don't know if you saw the photos but they had
it in this ridiculous like reflective box at mob org yeah like I could barely
make out that there was a phone there was lights everywhere and mirrors
it was in Python it makes you wonder why there do you they're doing it because
there's clear flaws with the screen you mean I mean enjoy a little screen the
problem a quick a crease yeah yeah I mean that was that was apparent when
they were doing the demo and there was an article today from I think Business
Insider that says you know they're they're aware and they're working out
and I'm sure they will listen there's gonna be a lot of issues right
form-factor not what's standing with this phone you
know in price and all that other stuff however what's the use case the use case
is that thing right there yeah my I'm folding into something like this this
and this in fitting in my pocket but you know what this is not gonna fold in half
and nine and a half times something big then why are we stopping at half fold in
two thirds we can I mean dry fold phones we have one double the
notice there's - it's not about hinges I don't think right now we have to yeah
you have two of these things when you look at a laptop so we have a laptop
yeah like here's all the guts and this is the screen correct like the early
laptops were insane yeah no I remember and we and we've gotten to this no so I
think the technology it is remarked physically play with the may 10 yes all
right well I have matter what they're calling I will admit that I have not
actually laid hands on it so tell me it's weird because the display is in
glass yeah it's plastic it's it's like a polymer of some sort yeah yeah and it
feels like I could you know dent it you know at the least okay if I press too
hard on it and there's some resistance when you fold in and it feels like it's
gonna break and it's weird and but the fact that we're at a point in this this
this this industrial revolution that we're on that where we can take a screen
and literally fold in and haven't blown thrown in our pocket it's amazing you
know and down the road three years from now fibers and at once Apple first of
all I saw I read your piece that Apple needs to get on the stick and that's a
politically get the form factor right that's your think and I do think that
this technology is where we're gonna how long are we gonna have these rectangular
slabs 5 to 10 years yeah yeah so five years from now okay I want to see
every company every major company have their version of what a folding phone
someone's gonna get it right as probably going to be Apple let's be realistic
here people do you think they'll always be kind of slighty kind of thing fold in
half kind of thing well that's what's old dad would that's that that's what
the brilliance will come into play whoever does it and again probably Apple
yeah will look at it and say why didn't we
think of it right just like the iPhone why didn't we think of this or this
people I have seen before set out that's been working on and of course they have
you know you know I'm sure they are the technology is remarkable and it holds
incredible promise the two thousand dollar phones now listen a couple people
will buy them say they have them there's gonna be a ton of issues and problems
and if the OS is gonna be weird apps all that others there's a ton of stuff to be
worked out right but I mean we have to company to
major companies that like created a phone that can fold I mean let's just
revel in that for how was it how was it when you folded it how did it feel like
extra thick you know when you put it when you close it up I mean it'll fit in
the pocket okay it's it's about 11 millimeters okay thick which it's
thicker than that's a different type of like the galaxy one that looks like it's
like sixteen cuz that's literally two phone right on top of you like that's
the one that I'm thinking yeah Huawei has like the screen kind of folds out
look kind of like a laptop right so it's very thin it's almost like that then
okay the one side of it and then there's like a it's like a bar with cameras and
the power button and the fingerprint sensor and all the other things kind of
crammed into this one little thing it's it's actually a pretty neat form factor
I don't know if that's like the most ideal I don't know I think what it was
it was it's a cool it's a different idea than just okay let's take this and do
this together I think what you know I was reading a piece about the issue is
gonna be the the screen the glass the polycarbonate Corning they just
announced that they're working on exactly and and and and that Apple had
been working with them I think on that and I do think that once you get that
toe shoe but I'm not sure that that issue I don't that issue hasn't been
solved yet no no not even close and that's that's major part of the battle
here material and how it feels and how or you know and
that's apples that's Apple stock and trade you know taking aluminum and
making it better aluminum right so they'll find a way to make glass better
unless it's the the Apple but I do think that I don't think folding phones are a
trend it's gonna go away okay what was the response or did you
get a sense for you know I mean I'm sure tech journalists like you like I if I
was picking one up and you know using it were fascinated by the technology did
you get any sense from other people at MWC that you know the masses are
clamoring I mean every time I walk by the they were encased in glass yeah for
normies right those people them okay I mean name was people there were people
taking pictures of it you know there was a crowd of people when I tell you when
after the Huawei event they had two or three on display in glass you know and I
had to tell you minute it was like a like a stampede okay
like people almost got hurt okay like I mean and those are all journalists and
was like shades of doors right it's like people just went like I'm thinking like
I read some it's a phone like you can't even touch oh and suddenly he's cynical
now I got a line somewhere I'm not losing my life over phone you might I
don't know you get between the crowd and this thing you might so okay all right
well I you know you make some good points that you know the concept is
what's important here the final result from these these manufacturers and Apple
and others down the road will will will be what we want I mean do
I care about a 4.6 inch screen opening up to a 7 inch screen but I do keep a
bad phone and going down the road okay getting something that's like it maybe
that's too big but maybe like it's like a 10 and a half inch screen and eyeballs
down to something that six or so it fits in my pocket yep that's something treats
me all right so 5g foldable phones any any
other technology you know cutting-edge edgy kinds of things that are coming
that you saw there will those two really the dubious that was the those are the
two that were that were everywhere I mean I had a lot of like folding type of
concepts that weren't really anything that's become and enjoy that had a cool
thing that was like a like a 20 millimeter thick phone that had like a
18 million that were battery in it that was awesome
was that last like six always like a week or so okay yeah but it was like it
was literally like this thick it was crazy yeah all right so now that was fun
you know a lot of those things that people write about to give to you know
cuz they're interesting but know what's gonna buy them okay good all right well
so that's it that's a great recap I mean that's why it's important to have
somebody on the grounds right because you can really you know you get a chance
to actually handle the hardware see how people are responding fold is coming out
that's no one's touch that you know Samsung hasn't let anyone even like look
at it really you know that's the 26th of April so that's what around the corner
we'll see if they have another event to show off that you know I want to get my
hands on one yeah I'm curious you know on bring it in so samsung definitely
they like the Apple of Android yep so they're either they're harder I like the
on lon yes very much so I'm curious to see you
know what they're but how it works how you know okay good all right well we'll
revisit then okay Michael I appreciate it thanks for the report from foldable
World Congress for now that's a wrap