Other A Foldable iPhone will Flop

[apple2022]

A foldable iPhone will flop. Just like the Apple Vision Pro (AVP), it will be a niche product with limited appeal — not the next big thing. Yes, I know there will be a small brigade of you ready to jump in and tell me they want one, and therefore everyone must want one too. But personal desire doesn’t equal market demand.

When Apple announced the AVP, I made the case here on the forums that it would fail to gain general consumer interest. Not because it’s not impressive tech — it is. But because it lacks broad utility and solves no pressing problem for most people. The same logic applies to a foldable iPhone. Here’s why.

The main reasons I listed why the Apple Vision Pro would be a niche product right after it was announced:

• It’s an awkward form factor — wearing ski goggles on your face is not how most people want to interact with the world.
• It simulates reality poorly. The highest-fidelity version of reality is… reality.
• It doesn’t solve a widespread problem, and instead creates new ones: isolation, weight, cost, battery life, etc.
• It competes with — but doesn’t outperform — existing Apple devices like iPads, iPhones, and Macs.
• In short, it has no “reason to live” as a mainstream product other than niche applications.

Now apply the same logic to a foldable iPhone:

• Compromised form factor: it’s essentially two phones sandwiched together. Thicker. Heavier. Awkward. No matter how sleek Apple tries to make it, the ergonomics will suffer.
• Display trade-offs: to fold, the screen needs to be plastic — not glass and optics will be degraded. That means lower durability, more scratches, and likely a visible crease, even if faint.
• No clear productivity gain: it won’t be large enough to replace an iPad Pro for serious work or multitasking. It’s not going to make spreadsheets, document editing, or design work better.
• It solves nothing: nobody is asking for this. It doesn’t address a real consumer painpoint. It adds complexity to a form factor that’s already perfected: the slab phone.
• It’s outclassed by existing devices: iPhones are great at being phones. iPads are great at being tablets. Laptops are great at being computers. A foldable iPhone is a master of none.

Yes, I know some of you will say: “But I want one!”

Sure. And that’s fine. Enthusiasts like us often love cutting-edge technology. But if you look at the reasons above, this device has niche appeal at best. It will not capture mainstream consumer demand. Just like AVP, it’ll be a showcase product — a status symbol, a curiosity — not a mainstream device.

I suspect Apple is putting out controlled leaks to throw off the competition and has no intention of releasing a foldable iPhone. If they actually do release such a device, they will have lost the plot.

Have you held a Galaxy Z Fold 7 specifically? If not, I recommend it at a Best Buy. As someone that has held most of the Folds at stores, when I saw and picked up the Fold 7, I really got it. It's not thicker. It's not heavier. It's not narrower. It IS a flagship phone that also can double in size.

 

[Pbwallstreet]

Have you held a Galaxy Z Fold 7 specifically? If not, I recommend it at a Best Buy. As someone that has held most of the Folds at stores, when I saw and picked up the Fold 7, I really got it. It's not thicker. It's not heavier. It's not narrower. It IS a flagship phone that also can double in size.

I did hold it and toy with it at the Samsung store. It is thicker and heavier than what the current technology enables e.g, the iPhone Air. Folded, correct me if I’m wrong, the Fold 7 is 8.9 mm thick.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Apple has an established smartphone market. It’s hundreds of millions of users.

Yes, they aren't trying to sell hundreds of millions of iPhone Airs and they won't be trying to sell hundred of millions of iPhone Folds.

 

[Pbwallstreet]

That is their market. They are not going for a niche. However, Apple has too many products for sale in each category.

 

[kamikazeeMC]

Every PC gamer, let alone NVIDIA user must be rocking a 5090 then.

 

[apple2022]

I did hold it and toy with it at the Samsung store. It is thicker and heavier than what the current technology enables e.g, the iPhone Air. Folded, correct me if I’m wrong, the Fold 7 is 8.9 mm thick.

The Fold 7 is as thick as a flagship Samsung phone. It’s obviously thicker than the thin focused offerings from Samsung and Apple.

 

[serialtoon]

Mac Rumors has been around for a long time. Long enough for people to come onto the forums and post how something Apple is going to release will fail and provide reasonings for it. iPod, iPad etc. yet here we are. Years later and these posts get dug up and presented as artifacts of failed theories. This one will be no different. Apple will sell enough to command the #1 spot. Not more than their pro/max lineup mind you. But more than any other fold in history.

 

[boswald]

Most of the world (real people, not tech journalists) are keeping their eyes on Apple and I think a foldable iPhone will be a hit... assuming it doesn't cost more than a mortgage payment.

 

[Ethosik]

We need less screen time not more. In that view, I will never use a foldable phone. It will just lead to temptation or at best, half of it will not get used. I do not want a screen any bigger than the Pro Max sizes, it makes zero sense. Its a phone, not a work computer. Use the right tool for the job.

I barely use my phone for anything when I am out and about. I use that as micro digital detox. If I am waiting for an appointment, even for 30 minutes, I rarely pull out my phone. We need people to do more of this. I am constantly frustrated by my family when we have family dinner and everyone has their nose in their phone. Take these digital detox breaks, it is good for your health in many ways.

 

[Ethosik]

By OP's logic then Rolex as a brand is a total flop with only 0.002% of the total watch market share when put up against brand like Apple.

Rolex is not publicly traded which allows them to remain a niche brand. Apple is. They MUST ALWAYS....ALWAYS achieve infinite growth.

 

[Ethosik]

A larger tablet-sized display very obviously potentially facilitates:
• Better viewing of still photos.
• Better viewing of video.
• Better viewing of fields of text.
• Better viewing by the large percentage of the population with vision impairments.
• Better gaming.
* * * While still fitting into a pocket of course. * * *

I honestly don't know why people treat phones this way. How often are you driving or shopping to where you are browsing pictures, or watching videos, or playing games? In such cases where I do have time to do those things, taking a very small backpack with me (or just carrying it) for an iPad is the better experience. A 13" display is better for gaming/watching videos/reading text/etc than even a foldable phone would be.

 

[Ethosik]

A folable smartphone isn't only for watching videos. And as long as Apple implements split screen multitasking - which with 12GB of RAM should be easy look at all the iPadfs with only 8GB of RAM - on the new fodable iPhone, there will be countless reasons to get that over a regular iPhone.

Where is the line between using a PHONE for multi-tasking productivity work vs just using a iPad? If you are at a position where you unfold a phone to multi-task, just bringing an iPad will make the experience exponentially better.

 

[ofarlig]

Where is the line between using a PHONE for multi-tasking productivity work vs just using a iPad? If you are at a position where you unfold a phone to multi-task, just bringing an iPad will make the experience exponentially better.

Convenience, I always have my phone with me but rarely my iPads. Same reason as why people take photos on their phone when a DSLR would be much better.

 

[Neonblue]

Meh it’s all subjective.
I love video content so give me big screens anywhere to stream my stuff.
A bigger screen in a small form factor in my pocket…that’d a product for me! But maybe not for YOU!