For quite a while, the world has been talking about how smartphones have become this commonplace slab of metal sandwiched between two pieces of glass, and how there has been essentially no innovation whatsoever in the few recent years. Then, in CES 2018, a Chinese company named Royole unveiled Flexpai, claiming it to be the world’s first flexible phone. And for all the valid reasons, it gained much coverage.

The unveiled phone was imperfect to say the least, with an unmanageable chunky body, an unfinished looking plastic screen, and a far from perfect software. The tech world was still skeptical of the possibility of a phone that can fold, rightfully so. The technology just wasn’t ready yet. It was very clear that the company only wanted to be the claimants to be the pioneers of a folding phone which, arguably, is the future of smartphones.

The future, as one would imagine, is a seamless integration between every device that we use. This led us to the point we are at now- folding phones. Since the inception of the Flexpai, a handful other companies pitched their own versions of folding devices. Samsung unveiled their galaxy fold, followed shortly by Huawei’s Mate X, the former folding folding inwards with a secondary screen when folded and the latter folding outwards. Later last year, Motorolla re emerged in the market with the remake of their famous flip phone- The moto razr, only this time, the screen folded into half and made the device more pocketable. Shortly after, Samsung launched their Z flip, with the similar concept of the razr, but this time they brought something entirely new on their plate- A glass screen.

The main concern in folding phones have always been the durability of the screen. The phone screens have been plastic, in fact, softer plastic, which can fold. The first batch of Samsung’s galaxy fold already had been the proof of the susceptibility. Huawei’s Mate X was a reason for a bigger concern, for it folded outwards, making it more susceptible to scratches and even deadlier damages. In came, the super thin glass technology in the Z flip, things started to look a bit different. Glass being significantly more durable than plastic, was aimed at gaining the confidence of the consumers to some extent.

To everyone’s surprise, Microsoft announced its Surface Duo, a dual screen android device that looks like a notebook but has a 360 degrees hinge. The device can fold and put into any position, thanks to the remarkable engineering. This device doesn’t have a third screen to use it when it’s closed, and doesn’t have the folding screen technology like the Samsung and the Motorollas of the world. It is just a simple, lightweight productivity machine that can run two and more applications all at once conveniently.

As it stands now, the world of folding phones can really be segmented into three categories- the phones that can fold into more compact forms from the regular sized smartphones according to modern standards, the slightly hefty inward or outward bleeding edge all in folding phones, that can be used both as a regular smartphone when folded and as a tablet when unfolded, and the productivity powerhouse, the surface, which does not blow all the bells and whistles of a modern smartphones, but can surely get the job done for an overly productive person.

All said and done, what really does get in between you and your next shiny new folding phone? Well there are a couple of things. Firstly, the price. Folding phones of today start for as much as 1400 dollars, which, in Bangladesh, adjusting for taxes can exceed even 1.5 lacs. For this much money, you can get a very good windows convertible, or an entry level macbook, or even an ipad, all of which can do a lot on a productivity standpoint. Moreover, these are more likely to be more durable than the folding counterparts.

Secondly, the folding technology is not there yet. Sure, you can buy one of those and use them, but they are so sensitive that even a light scuff mark or a fatal drop can render your thousand- dollar device completely useless and you would require a fortune to repair the damage. The screen technology still has a long way to go. The scientists are yet to invent a material that incorporates durability with malleability.

Lastly, companies like Apple are pushing on AI technology on their products. Their recent inclusion of LiDAR sensor in their 2020 iPad Pro is the proof that they have the intention to work further with Augmented Reality. It is rumored that the future iPhones will implement the same technology. The future is probably an uninterrupted continuity in the usage of our devices. So much that we would not have to use multiple devices in the first place. AR could be a perfect step forward towards this dream of continuum.

Or just maybe, folding phones really are the future. Nobody can tell, because technology moves at an exponential rate. Even 20 years back, mobile phones were a chunky and expensive piece of tech that only elites could own. We probably are standing in the same point in the history now. But at this moment, foldables might be the commodity of the rich and those who wish to live on the cutting edge of technological advancement, but it is yet to become the future for the masses.

If you are a music enthusiast, its pretty obvious that you often had the gimmick to buy a musical instrument. Probably a violin if you enjoy playing classical music or possibly a beginner electric guitar if you are into alternative rock. Well, if you have bought that or you are in a plan of doing so, congratulations! You are increasing the chances to live a healthier life.

Benefits:
It brings both physical and mental assistance to a particular entity. Although through most researches, mental health benefits have been more exclusively glorified.

Physical Benefits:
There are a lot of musical instruments. One of the most popular one is guitar. Guitar seems to bring various physical benefits. Practicing guitar chords and scales more can help you to strengthen your wrists and hands. Stage performances can help you to lose weight, because of the frequent energetic bodily movement. Researches show, playing guitar can also help to improvise and sustain proper blood pressure.

Other instruments such as playing piano, violin etc can help an individual to develop accuracy. It helps to prevent nerves from being sore. Warning: Excessive practice with musical instruments like guitar can often cause harm to your wrists. So it’s better to limit your practice with an accurate goal so that you don’t end up harming yourself.

Mental Benefits:
Every time musicians pick up their instruments, on the outside they may look calm and focused, reading the music and making precise and practiced movements required. But inside their brains, there are fireworks going on. That’s to say, multiple areas of their brains light up at once, because of the spiritual strength of music.

A lot of people think, music is processed in the right hemisphere of the brain, along with art and other creative activities. However recent researches prove, music process mechanism is distributed throughout the brain. Here are some mental benefits of playing musical instrument

Pleasure: Often people say, music is like a drug. It is because, your brain releases dopamine whenever you listen to a mind easing song. Playing your favorite song by yourself with a musical instrument can help you to feel pleasure and happiness through the release of Dopamine.

Memory: Science tells us, people who devoted time for learning music instruments at young age, happened to have long-term memory. According to a research conducted by University of Montreal, musicians tend to be more mentally alert. Even some people who have gone through brain damage and cannot read newspaper can still read music. This shows how connected music is with our brain nerves and how effective it can be for our mental well-being.

Depression and Sadness: Often time we get frustrated with life, we start feeling hopeless and some strange emptiness engulfs us from nowhere. Music can help you to come out of it. If you are a musician, this is plausibly the perfect time to start composing music of your own, turning your sorrow into art.

Playing music instruments can help you to refresh your mind, to make you feel a little better than before. Also, it helps to cut the boringness that we often can’t opt out of. Studies suggest music can even lower our anxiety.

Learning Process: Researches show children who went through different music training strengthened their brain’s executive function. Brain’s executive function is very significant because it helps one to properly process information and thus help one to learn more. The Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University also suggests this by saying music and reading processes are related via common neural and cognitive mechanism.

Other: We can understand music has a huge coherence with brain function. So it is pretty obvious that to gain mental satisfaction music instruments can come very handy. Forming a band can help to create bonding between different members. It’s because music composition and performance are only going to be prosperous if the orchestra is properly synced. Also musicians can process multiple things at once. So, there are plenty of advantages of being a musician. Conclusion: Music is sacred. To derive the majestic beauty of it, a lot of musicians try heart and soul. If you want to pursue music, I know it’s going to be a very tough road ahead. But I hope my article can at least assure you that you are doing something really beneficial for your health.

The world we live in today is becoming increasingly dependent on subscription services. Most of the digital media and product we consume is a subscription service of some type- from Microsoft Office to Adobe Creative Suite to Netflix. But these services are software based, and can be regulated and controlled via the internet. Can the same concept of regular service and constant upgrade be implemented in the case of a hardware?

A few days ago, Samsung quietly launched their smartphone subscription service- ‘Samsung Access.’ The users will have to pay monthly to upgrade their Galaxy flagships every 9 months, or spend an extra 100$ if they want an earlier upgrade or a cancellation. The subscription comes with its own perks- a terabyte of free cloud storage, extended warranty through Premium Care and free Office 365 subscription.

Apple has been improvising almost the same concept for quite a few years now, although they do not directly refer to it as a subscription service. They call it the ‘iPhone Upgrade Program’. The idea is to pay about 30$ monthly for 24 months to own an iPhone, or get a new iPhone after 12 months of payment if you wish for an upgrade.

Apple and Samsung’s take on this subscription-based service is a response to a rather new problem- Flagship Smartphone sales growth has recently stunted. People are keeping their phones for a longer than they did a few years ago, but at the same time the companies need the consumers to keep upgrading their current smartphones. According to data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel, an average US citizen in 2018 is likely to keep their smartphone for about two years, while a user from a European country is believed to keep his phone for even longer. From 2016 to 2018, people’s average usage of smartphones increased by three months, from 23 months to 26 months.

The Smartphone manufacturers are almost standing on a double-edged sword- they have to deliver on the quality and durability and the promise of a decent software support. But at the same time, they cannot afford for their sales figures to tank. To this problem, the subscription service might seem like a perfect plan, but it does come with some caveats.

Smartphone innovation in general has come to a standstill. Every passing year we see a slightly faster chipset, a larger battery, a slightly better camera, and/or a screen with a higher refresh rate. The upgrades are nothing revolutionary, but rather incremental per se. Every now and then, we see a dual screen smartphone, or a hefty foldable smartphone that can convert into a tablet or a bigger phone, or a smartphone with a fancy pop up camera, but smartphones mostly remain the same glass sandwiches. This means, if you buy a smartphone today, the smartphone market will not have gone through a radical change by the time your smartphone comes of age.

Moreover, smartphones are personal possessions where people store a lot of data locally over the course of time. Hence, transferring personal data to an entirely new device is a daunting task for many despite the availability of cloud services. Adding to all these, there are some humane factors to consider. The device can be lost, stolen, or accidentally broken beyond repair. While Samsung is yet to address these issues, which are beyond their Premium Care Service, Apple does provide their AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss protection, which, again, are sold separately and add to the cost for the subscriber.

While software subscription services can be ‘One size fits all’ as they can simply function off a cloud service, various factors come into play when we talk about applying the same for a smartphone. To say the least, our smartphones aren’t just there yet- they aren’t as fluid as a software can be, and the transition from one smartphone to another isn’t as seamless as it is required to be. As to the question who would avail to the subscription- Someone who really needs to live on the cutting edge of technology and probably has cash burning through his pockets, that too constantly.