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I dont really know what problem they are solving which is alway really where the buck stops...My iPhone X is already a stretch to the corner for me and I have huge hands.

I suppose if Apple can give me a phone with my current screen space on the front then flip it open and its double the size then Gee Thanks Mr Cook but I suspect being a normal user I won't want the huge price and I will want all the functions of the phone to work without opening it as thats too much hassle. I also dont want any extra weight or thickness and want every single app and game I use to have dual functionality.... keeping working Cooksy :)
 
I quite like the concept:
1) Screen is protected while folded, a lot less likely to crack the screen when dropping it.
2) They messed up the design by making it square. It could have the golden ratio both folded and unfolded.
3) Some people are saying it won't fit in pockets. Really? I think the opposite, it will fit in pockets much better than a huge non-folding phone. How thin are your pockets? Did you buy your jeans from Apple?
4) Longevity of the screen fold will be the key to this idea's survival. If the screen starts messing up at the fold, it will die as a idea.
 
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All these comments calling this useless or impractical. Cut to a few years from now when Apple does it - the same people will be calling it revolutionary.

The original iPhone was significantly better and more revolutionary than the Motorola MicroTAC that came out long before it. Generally the way technology works is designs and concepts are improved upon over time. If Apple releases a future folding phone, I expect them to do as they have always done - wait till the tech is mature, then create one of the best implementations thereof.

Samsung are so concerned with doing something first that they are not doing it particularly well. It’s why they had to delay and reengineer so much already.
 
What makes phones uncomfortable in pockets is mostly thickness...

Thickness and Size. The problem is that all manufacturers want to make bigger phones with a small physical footprint but physics gets in the way along with durability with present tech.

I believe Samsung and others are approaching this with the wrong path, by using the present design and trying to make it smaller by folding it. Instead these companies should focus on making the phone wearable or rollable or both. The tech has been available but there are battery limitations.

There is a workable solution but I prefer not to disclose.
 
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Folding phones fall into the same category as other new technology that was create "just because they could" not because it was needed or was necessarily a good thing.
There's tech history where what seemed like an obvious winner turned out not to be.
3D TV and films being one good example.
Who would have imagined that mobile phones would end up being more commonly used to send short message of a hundred or so characters instead of phone calls?
They did, just before the advent of the iPhone that heralded in the smart phone era.
Does a large enough segment of the market want a phone, that costs significantly more, just because it can fold? Doesn't change its weight and makes it thicker.
Dan makes a good point at the start of his review of the galaxy fold. Smart phones are doing incremental updates now. The manufacturers, including Apple, are struggling to find product differentiation so they are willing to try anything.
 
Seems like this folding phone fad is targeted at skinny jean wearers. I don't wear skinny jeans and too OCD for ripples in flexible screens so there's no incentive to pay the extra premium. A better application for flexible display would be unfolding large screen display that fits in poster tube.
 
This is the form factor of the future, coming from the past.

All the benefits of the large screens that we are accustomed to, coupled with the benefit of a small device, something we have forgotten.

In a few years i think a big chunk of the market will be with this form factor.
 
This the most awkward thing I've ever seen.
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It’s a new concept. That’s the point.
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
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I don't see the point of this phone, it looks terrible.

Apple makes a folding iPhone

ohh its perfect.
People keep making this argument as if Apple has a history of jumping on useless gimmicks and users swooning over them.
 
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Very interesting. I love all the comments basically dismissing it, probably the same folk saying EV's won't be adapted.
I'd happily have a smaller phone in my pocket once again, it does need to slim down a little though.
 
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well, if you can't use the phone when it's folded, then there's really no point to it. Just adds a step to do anything useful with it, with added complexity of folding screen and all that.

I'm certainly not too keen on this, but a device that you have to open might not be a negative to some people. Among people who are trying to spend less time on their phones, needing to open the phone before they can interact with it could very well be a feature. It might mean they can take their phone out to check the time and not be tempted to dive down the digital rabbit hole for the next 15 minutes.

Plus the experience of how it feels when you open it could sway other people. I had one of those Hiptop/Sidekick PDA phones. I loved the way it snapped open. It was a garbage device for the most part, but it sure felt fun to use.
 
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Very interesting. I love all the comments basically dismissing it, probably the same folk saying EV's won't be adapted.
I'd happily have a smaller phone in my pocket once again, it does need to slim down a little though.

I definitely agree, this is being dismissed out of hand, people should give it a chance. One day, something similar will have an Apple logo. Does need to slim down, as you say though.
 
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I definitely agree, this is being dismissed out of hand, people should give it a chance. One day, something similar will have an Apple logo. Does need to slim down, as you say though.

Not necessarily, I remember years back when OLED laptops started to appear, everyone was saying Apple will follow suit, but it hasn’t happened and most likely never will, if the rumours about Apple opting to go with Mini/Micro LED instead.
 
I thought flip phones were the absolute past? Folding is without a doubt not the future. So pointless.

If you have ever seen how people are getting all riled up about big chinky phones, you should praise the fact you can cut the size in half when putting in the pocket. So pointless? Quite the opposite.
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I'll gladly bookmark your post as this product is DOA!

Folding phones are just not happening (at least not in this form)

I'll stick around long enough to suck it up or taunt you :)
3 years? 5?
 
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That is quite the supposition. Apple are by no means perfect, but they are unlikely to release a prototype to market just so they can wow the easily impressionable.

They often don't need to do anything as dramatic as releasing a product to wow the easily impressionable. Often a good phrase does it, e.g. retina display; bionic, liquid retina etc.
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The original iPhone was significantly better and more revolutionary than the Motorola MicroTAC that came out long before it. Generally the way technology works is designs and concepts are improved upon over time. If Apple releases a future folding phone, I expect them to do as they have always done - wait till the tech is mature, then create one of the best implementations thereof.

Samsung are so concerned with doing something first that they are not doing it particularly well. It’s why they had to delay and reengineer so much already.

The thing is, for Apple to implement the best of anything, then others will always have it achieved it first, e.g. since Samsung, LG and others do it for Apple
 
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Looks like it's finally somewhat useable. Apple will jump on this once others have done the hard work for them.
 
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It's basically a first-gen product of a new type...Of course it's bulky and dumb looking...look at the first cell phones. If something like this didn't come out, it would never be refined. I imagine there are all kinds of applications they will consider in the future that will benefit from going through the process of builds like this.
 
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The thing is, for Apple to implement the best of anything, then others will always have it achieved it first, e.g. since Samsung, LG and others do it for Apple

Not sure if you say that as a criticism of Apple or not. Apple need not be a trailblazer to be a profitable business, clearly, nor are most companies because there can only one "first" in any category. They do have to spend on R&D because IP matters but "embrace and extend"/"embrace and enhance" is a fabulous business model if you are as good at it as Apple.
 
Not sure if you say that as a criticism of Apple or not. Apple need not be a trailblazer to be a profitable business, clearly, nor are most companies because there can only one "first" in any category. They do have to spend on R&D because IP matters but "embrace and extend"/"embrace and enhance" is a fabulous business model if you are as good at it as Apple.

It wasn't a criticism of Apple. just an obvious truth, that is they cannot perfect anything without someone else perfecting it first, since Apple do not manufacture anything. The point was Apple "wait and perfect" whereas I say "Apple wait until it has been perfected" by someone else. It's a good strategy if you have confidence in your partners.
 
Yuck. Not impressed at all. I do not see a need for flip (smart)phones. But that's just me.
 
It wasn't a criticism of Apple. just an obvious truth, that is they cannot perfect anything without someone else perfecting it first, since Apple do not manufacture anything. The point was Apple "wait and perfect" whereas I say "Apple wait until it has been perfected" by someone else. It's a good strategy if you have confidence in your partners.

I think Apple does both but I understand what you're saying. Many manufacturers have the ability to build something great but it takes vision and direction to use that skill to produce a great end product, something I feel Apple fares better at than many companies.
 
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I’ll all for slightly thicker phones for better battery life or better camera lenses. But double the thickness is not the right approach here. Besides that we lose the wonderful glass touchscreen for a plastic one. Not the right trade offs here.
 
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