This might be insane but - I might be in on this, if only for TouchID. I’m so over the FaceID era on phones 🙄
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2026 Foldable iPhone: All the Leaks So Far
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That is if they still are somehow are doing that
Latest rumors are suggesting that they are going to throw in the towel of what they had planned for Apple Intelligence and instead just go whole hog on integrating others' models
Okay, please answer this question: what is that space where you can’t fit a slim “traditional” smartphone, but you can fit a “half” of a smartphone that’s more than twice as thick?
Edit. To clarify I’m asking about flip specifically.
That makes sense. However...
One of the quality demands Steve Jobs made of the original 2007 iPhone was that it needed a glass screen, because he was disappointed at how easily the plastic screen of the prototype was scratched. It was acceptable that a $199 iPod Nano had a plastic screen that could easily scratch, but it was unacceptable that a $499 iPhone might receive a screen scratch within minutes of the customer opening its box.
The irony of foldable smartphones is that they're $2,000, and yet they have the most damageable screens out of all the smartphones. Imagine paying $55/month added to your bill, meaning in addition to your costly monthly cellphone bill (are we talking $150/month or more, now?) for 36 months, and yet by the time your 36 installments of ~$150 have been paid, your foldable smartphone's plastic inner screen is so damaged from dust, debris, and scratches that you'll want a new foldable as soon as you pay off your current one.
Now you're stuck in an "upgrade/replace" loop worth $2,000 every 3 years! Expensive computers should last longer than 3 years, for otherwise you're contributing to e-waste in addition to burning a hole in your pocket.
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Aside from people who want/need a very large display in their pocket, an iPhone Fold might also appeal to some of the people who love the iPhone 12/13 minis - going by the sizes given for the screen, folded in half (so, very rough estimates), compared to an iPhone 13 mini, an iPhone fold when folded could be roughly 5/8" wider (16.67mm), but roughly 11/16" less tall (17.05mm). If their controlling factor is "longest dimension", it would be a win there.
the display size and ratio is horrible, i wont get this at all. if i wanted a gimmick, i'd get a clamshell.
For smaller people, especially females, large slab phones stick out of small front pockets or don’t fit at all. Same is true of small fanny packs, purses/clutches, etc.
Fitting an ~8” tablet in your front pocket is just one specific instance of the benefit of folding—there are many others because pockets come in all shapes and sizes as do devices (there is no difference between a phone and a tablet except an arbitrary size boundary).
But it’s not just about fitting where it couldn’t fit before, it’s also simply about fitting better in situations where surface area is more precious than depth (thickness). This can be in a pocket, or it can be on a surface with limited space (small desk, tray table, arm rest, etc).
“Fold” and “flip” are just labels, but they’re fundamentally the same thing—taking up less surface area space—simply to different varying degrees.
Really? I like the size and ratio, it’s very natural feeling, like the days of old. Remember, the original iPhone had a similar 3:2 ratio and it was only in search of ever bigger and bigger screens (while still being holdable and pocketable) that phone screens got so abnormally long and skinny over the years. And iPads are even more square at almost 4:3. Between 3:2 and 4:3 is a comfortable ratio for the widest range of uses. This just wasn’t a feasible aspect ratio for phones (because we wanted them large but pocketable) until folding tech came along.
I hadn't seen this mock up before. While I was skeptical of the reported 5.5" outer display size, I can definitely behind this sort of passport book style with a wider design that result in a more usable unfolded layout, especially for side by side multitasking or video consumption.
Both are the internet in your pocket, but an iPad in your pocket is more impressive than an iPhone in your pocket.