Heres A Peek At Samsungs Relentless Robotic Foldable Smartphone Testing

Most smartphone enthusiasts are probably well aware that today Samsung is officially introducing several new folding technologies, including the retro-styled Fold4 and Flip4 phablets.

Perhaps we're all a little less aware of what goes into rigorous testing of foldable microcomputers before they're shipped to eager buyers. Yesterday on YouTube, Samsung unveiled what can only be described as an army of crazed robot scientists responsible for making sure every mobile device it makes leaves the factory with all the ratings.

I remember the first breakfast scene in Tim Burton's Big Pee Wee Adventure:

It starts with the back cover and then moves on to functional tests that check if things like the S Pen and the proximity sensor work. Also, we're talking about networking, cameras, wireless charging, and flex testing. After that, he went to a folding table where a lot of robotic arms folded and opened the phone many times, and it was quite funny to watch. I believe they are trying to get close to Samsung's 200,000 times limit.

After that, the little fingers of the robot repeatedly click on all the inputs. The video concludes with a detailed IPX8 waterproof test, in which the Fold4 and Flip4 are sprayed and submerged as if they were in a Disney typhoon lagoon. Or better yet, the test track at Disney's EPCOT. It's all pretty funny.

It's good that Samsung bothered to test this device, and they should, especially given the astronomical price of the Fold4. Considering launch day, it's still too early to tell how this phone will hold up to real-life daily use.

So far, the hinges on my test unit look pretty solid, but we'll have to give them a few months of shameless daily driving to see real results. Now I need to look inside the PlayStation factory to see how the machine assembles the DualSense controller.