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25 days agoThese are pumped hydro, but with extra steps, more expense, and less mass stored (read: less energy storage). ThunderFoot did a video going through this in detail, he even used the crane-based one in his examples.
This is the question you always need to ask: is this new mass-based storage better than pumped hydro?
If the screens were as durable as the non-foldables, foldable phones would be the obvious choice. They protect the screen by putting it on the inside and are pretty satisfying to close.
With that said, I don’t forsee a technology that lets them get the screens nearly as durable as non-foldable screens. So, like you said, will almost certainly remain a niche feature.