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[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 89 points 8 hours ago

AI is about to join the list of "stupid technologies that people should really wait and see before investing on", which includes

  • 3D TVs - complete dud
  • Blockchain - useless for real world problems already solved by typical computing
  • Metaverse - still one of the best jokes around
  • Folding screen phones - overpriced junk
  • Fully autonomous self driving cars - "Just around the corner" for the past 10 years
[-] Goodtoknow@lemmy.ca 50 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Folding Phones Sales Continue To Increase since 2019, showing people seem to like them

[-] glarf@lemmy.world 27 points 6 hours ago

Two time buyer, can confirm. They're legitimately useful and durable enough for me.

[-] morto@piefed.social 4 points 3 hours ago

Two time buyer as in you liked it so much and bought another, or two time buyer as in the first is already inoperative and got another?

[-] cass80@programming.dev 1 points 1 hour ago

Not the same guy. But I've been using foldables since 2019 as my primary phone. Samsung fold 1 -> 3 -> 5. No case, no protectors, keys with phone in same pocket. Never had an issue.

[-] glarf@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

My fold4 lasted 3 years, and still works. I'll concede it was only able to unfold to about 85% open at the end when I decided to upgrade. I was happy to upgrade to the fold 7 which has a redesigned hinge and better dust protection. I acknowledged the risk of mechanical failure as a possibility compared to a slab phone and after using it for years I decided I was still very impressed with the flexibility of having a tablet in my pocket. The fact that my 7th generation is significantly thinner and has a 200MP camera compared to the 4th is what sealed the deal.

It's not perfect for everyone, but I wouldn't go back to using a slab, there's too much functionality I'd be pissed giving up.

Granted, I tend to upgrade my phone every 2 years or so anyway.

[-] Jiral@lemmy.world 13 points 4 hours ago

I don't think they are for me but I honestly would not include them in that list above. First of all, there is no investment bubble around them and secondly some people seem to like them and are ready to pay for them. They also do have legitimate benefits (but also downsides)

[-] Chronographs@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 hours ago

Yeah I didn’t dislike the 3d monitors/tvs they just had too many caveats at the time and VR kind of ate its lunch.

[-] Jiral@lemmy.world 5 points 3 hours ago

3D stuff has the fundamental issue that VR and 3D views are just incredibly straining on the human user. Folding phones have no such issue and their durability is also good enough to be competitive (yet clearly worse than regular smart phones). They are really not comparable to 3D monitors and VR.

[-] Chronographs@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 hour ago

I think the strain is really dependent on the person as it never really bothered me, it definitely is a problem for some people though. Either way I don’t think it belongs in the same category as blockchain bullshit

[-] Jiral@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

It is straining for everyone but yes, some can handle the strain better than others. It just takes so much more mental energy to handle. Most can't handle it well though, which is why those technologies never manage to break out of their niche.

I do agree however that it is quite different from NFT and other scams. It is a really fascinating technology with real use cases but just some foundational issues that prevent it from leaving their niche.

[-] AmyAye@nord.pub 2 points 3 hours ago

If it lasts 5 years, maybe its durable enough.

[-] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 5 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

This could also be explained by the entire rest of the market being different flavors of the exact same thing. A little over a decade ago, we actually had choices in what type of phone we wanted. Now, if you want anything other than an identical slab, foldables are your only choice.

[-] yucandu@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago

Disco Stu says disco record sales have trended upwards for the entire decade of 1970's. If this trend continues... eyyyyyyyyy!

[-] Blackfeathr@lemmy.world 55 points 7 hours ago

Don't forget NFTs... though I guess that can fall under blockchain.

[-] crazycraw@crazypeople.online 38 points 7 hours ago

yeah but NFTs were so stupid that they deserve their own dishonorable mention here.

[-] brognak@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

NFTs are so fucking stupid the satirical yearly award for this shit should probably be the NonFungible Trophy cus it's a literal fucking physical trophy.

[-] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 6 points 6 hours ago

It's just the same as crypto

[-] zurohki@aussie.zone 3 points 3 hours ago

Some of these turned out to be useless, some just haven't been adequately delivered yet.

In 2040 folding phones and autonomous cars might be great, but blockchain will still be a solution in search of a problem.

[-] yakko@feddit.uk 13 points 7 hours ago

Cold fusion. Green hydrogen. Hyper loop. Just off the top of my head.

[-] FirmDistribution@lemmy.world 23 points 7 hours ago

Hyper Loop was an insane idea (in a bad way).

Motherfucker wanted to invent subway, but for cars, making cities even more dependent of cars.

[-] flyingSock@feddit.org 12 points 6 hours ago

hyperloop was very low air pressure subway tubes for high speed trains. Works for research tesring tracks impractical to infeasible for real world applications. But it apparently what killed high speed rail in california (because wait this will be better)

The cars in tubes thing was a seperate stupid idea.

[-] officermike@lemmy.world 6 points 6 hours ago

I don't know that he really wanted to fully execute on Hyperloop so much as build hype (and Tesla stock price) around the idea while sabotaging funding for California's high speed rail project. But yes, end goal to keep people buying his cars.

[-] yakko@feddit.uk 5 points 7 hours ago

Average massively shitty car CEO idea

[-] encelado748@feddit.org 9 points 6 hours ago

Cold fusion is a scam, not a bad idea. There is no scientific basis for that. Is as bad as “infinite energy engine”.

[-] yakko@feddit.uk 4 points 6 hours ago

All of the things I mentioned are scams lol

[-] encelado748@feddit.org 4 points 5 hours ago

Green hydrogen is water electrolysis with solar power, not scam, it works, it is just a question of making it economically viable. Hyperloop is just stupid, but within the realm of possible. Cold fusion is the only scam here.

[-] yakko@feddit.uk 1 points 3 hours ago

The scam isn't always "fake tech" so much as "distracting from better alternatives for monetary reasons". Even if hyperloop worked perfectly, they're not going to build it, because not building high speed rail was always the point.

[-] encelado748@feddit.org 2 points 3 hours ago

Your definition of “scam” is not what other human being use. Causes unnecessary back and forth.

[-] yakko@feddit.uk 1 points 3 hours ago

Oh, put a sock on it.

[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 5 points 6 hours ago

Metaverse - still one of the best jokes around

This one I slightly disagree with. I got my headset on a black friday and it was super cheap, but VR documentaries are friggin' amazing and I hope museums will invest heavily in it in the coming years.

Fully autonomous self driving cars - “Just around the corner” for the past 10 years

Definitely. Makes me feel good for people who make their living driving trucks.

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

The metaverse isn't VR in general, it was meant to be a virtual space in VR where users could be advertised to and buy/rent things and space like in a physical city.

It failed because those were the intended starting points, and it didn't solve any problem other than a shitty attempt at a "I want to live in a ready player one world" and didn't have any compelling reasons to actually use it, let alone use it and pay ridiculous amounts to do interesting things there. They always just wanted to be the middlemen, offering space for others to pay for and do something interesting in. The most interesting thing they came up with is having a meeting with avatars instead of faces on a screen (and most people don't even want to turn on their video and just do a voice conversation instead).

this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2026
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