Open: the cassette door
flat, 180°
Your albums stand in a rack as tapes. Drag one into the deck, hold one to read its card, write its label, or put it on the bench and wind it by hand.
Close the lid.Press play.
Foldman turns a book-style foldable into a pocket cassette player. Open the phone to pick a tape from your own music. Shut it, and the cover screen becomes the deck.
Download for AndroidFree. Foldman 1.0, APK, 3.7 MBNeeds Android 8.0 or newer on a book-style foldable, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 8. The official version is coming to Google Play later; for now, install it by hand.
TALK
The hinge is the switch
How far the phone is open decides what you're holding. Like a real Walkman, the tape only runs with the door shut.
Half open: the service hatch
propped, about 90°
Pick music folders, wind speed, tape character and tape wear. The tape holds while the hatch is up, or switch to bench mode to keep listening with the phone open.
Closed: the deck
shut, 0°
The cover screen is the player: piano keys on a silver rail, a tape counter, a volume wheel. Press STOP once to stop and again to eject.
Liner notes
What's on this tape.
SIDE A
- 1.Every album is a tape
From all the music on your phone, or only the folders you choose. Foldman reads tags and cover art.
- 2.Write the label
Set the artist and album on each cassette, in handwriting or typewriter, Thai included.
- 3.Tapes keep their place
Pull one out halfway through side B and it's still there next time.
- 4.Auto reverse
Let side A roll into side B, or flip the tape yourself.
SIDE B
- 5.Tapes wear in
Turn on tape wear and favourites yellow, pick up scratches and gather dirt you can rub off.
- 6.Wind it by hand
Put a finger in a hub and turn, or flick it and let it spin until the tape goes tight.
- 7.Chill a stretched tape
Played one too often? Give it a rest on the bench.
- 8.Keys that clack
Every key has its own mechanical sound and a bump of haptics. Turn them off in the hatch.
Install it by hand
Foldman isn't on Google Play yet, so Android asks a few extra questions the first time. Do this on the foldable itself; it takes about two minutes.
Download the APK
Open this page on the phone and tap Download. If Chrome or Samsung Internet warns that the file might be harmful, choose Download anyway. Any APK gets that warning.
Open the file
Tap the finished download in the notification, or open My Files, then Downloads, and tap foldman-1.0.apk.
Let your browser install apps
Android says it isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source. Tap Settings, turn on Allow from this source, then go back.
You only do this once for each app you install from, like Chrome or My Files.
Tap Install
If Play Protect says it doesn't recognise the app, tap More details, then Install anyway. It hasn't seen Foldman before because Foldman isn't on Google Play.
Open Foldman and allow music access
Allow access to music and audio so your albums can fill the rack, and allow notifications so the playing tape shows on the lock screen.
Let it continue on the cover screen
So the deck appears when you close the phone: on a Galaxy, open Settings › Display › Continue apps on cover screen and turn on Foldman. On a Pixel, set the same option to Always. Foldman offers to take you there the first time.
If something goes wrong
Galaxy says the app was blocked by Auto Blocker
Auto Blocker only allows apps from Galaxy Store and Google Play. Turn it off in Settings › Security and privacy › Auto Blocker, install Foldman, then turn it back on. Foldman keeps working with Auto Blocker on.
“App not installed”
Most often an older Foldman signed with a different key, such as a test build, is already on the phone. Uninstall it and install again. It can also mean the phone is out of storage.
“There was a problem parsing the package”
The download didn't finish. Delete the file from Downloads and download it again on a steady connection.
Closing the phone doesn't bring up the deck
Continue apps on cover screen is off for Foldman. Turn it on as in step 6. Without it, Android locks the phone when you close it instead of handing Foldman to the cover screen.
Should I turn Allow from this source back off?
You can. It only matters while installing, and Foldman keeps running either way. You'll be asked again when you install an update.
Thank you for your interest
We're going to release the official version of Foldman on the Google Play Store later. Until then, this page is where to get it.
Foldman is free. If you were going to pay for it, please donate that money to people who need help instead.
Smiles are what this world needs more of.
From all of us who made Foldman