I understand where this perspective is coming from - I could have thought the same thing when I first heard about it - but in this case it's definitely not vapourware.

I have designed, cut, and built foldscopes, and I can confirm that they work incredibly well and are cheap and quick to make. (I knew the professor involved from my time at MIT, and worked with the group on alternate designs, as I had some previous background in folding of various sorts.)