You’re right, in US may not mean status anymore. The thing is that I live in Mexico City, so I’m sharing what I see of how acts middle class people, that keeps showing its status by owning the most expensive iPhone. And I know that this is the same in other countries (may be not USA).
The upcoming Oppo folding phone looks set to be* thinner and lighter than the 16 Pro max, with a screen as good and a Snapdragon Elite processor which is comparable, and arguably better than the 16 Pro Max.
Probably shareholders that don’t know crap about tech and just follow buzzwords.
I originally didn't think there was a market for foldable either because of some of the reasons you mention. But judging by the just announced Oppo One (not sure about name), thickness doesn't appear to be an issue anymore - that phone is thinner when folded than the current iPhone 16 Pro Max. If Apple manages to have its foldable screen on the *outside* (or an additional one on the outside - but that, again, would increase thickness), then that would eliminate the only reason why I wouldn't want a foldable: the extra time/inconvenience of unfolding every time I want to waste some time on my phone - which is hundreds of times during the day.
As a mini owner, it's not about pocket space, but the ability of (mostly) using it with one hand. A flip phone folding out to be bigger than a normal iphone is worse than a normal iphone in this regard. Easy pass.
Foldable ultra-thin glass does exist. I'm hoping your post isn't serious.
If Apple gives me a device that's a 6" phone at most, but preferably smaller, that folds out to the size of a small tablet with 4:3 screen ratio, has pencil support, and costs less than an iphone se + ipad mini cellular combined, then I'm in. But I guess I'll have to wait for this like forever.
I think we are still quite a ways away from the majority of people wanting a folding phone. You need to make them as durable and waterproof as block phones (maybe more so as block phones continue to become more durable). They cost more and cost more to repair. The screens generally are not as good and have much shorter life spans. They are heavier and more unwieldy than block phones. All just to increase the screen size. Maybe if they can fix all that, they might have more appeal but until then, yeah they are just for enthusiasts.
This is one of the top comments here.
Yes, the current foldable displays are made of ultra-thin glass.
Cost is still a huge barrier to the foldable phones like the Z Fold 6 and Pixel Fold.
