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Apple Testing Multiple Foldable iPhone Prototypes, But Has Concerns Over Display Technology and Market

Have no idea why anyone would doubt the folding phone future market. Go handle a Flip or Fold from Samsung and it’s pretty obvious how much potential this category has. My guess is that Apple will release their own versions in 2024.
 
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I want to hold a phone in one hand so maybe slightly larger than the Pro Max unfolded would still work, but if I have to use 2 hands to hold it like an iPad, definitely a NO for me. So, I’m not sure what a foldable phone would bring but options are a good thing.
 
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Apple won’t jump the hype waggon. Instead they will bring out AR/VR glasses to provide _significantly_ more screen real estate. Foldable phones are a side note in tech history for a questionable market niche, trying to utilize available tech not being up to the task (and perhaps never will be).
 
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mannyvel said:
If the market for the iPhone Mini is small, the market for foldable iPhones is even smaller.
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Is Apple really trying to captivate the mass market with a device like this? Or is it more about diversifying with another segment in the tech industry that starts small and to grow? I don’t think anyone here expects Apple to make this a primary device, but more of the secondary option in the iPhone lineup.
 
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MisterK said:
Folding iPads make far more sense than folding iPhones. Folding an iPad would make it pocketable. The iPhone, on the other hand, is already pocketable and people look at it a couple hundred times a day. Unfolding there adds a LOT of friction.
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I look at my iPhone maybe six times a day. My iPhone essentially a data manager. Any real need for doing anything, iPad used. To your point, a foldable iPad (device) would make more sense. Could completely render the iPhone/iPad combination not needed.
 
I feel like that’s the right approach. Right now, the value is just not there with foldable devices and it usually results in a crappy experience. These devices don’t seem to sell so it makes sense not to buy in.
 
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MisterK said:
Folding iPads make far more sense than folding iPhones. Folding an iPad would make it pocketable. The iPhone, on the other hand, is already pocketable and people look at it a couple hundred times a day. Unfolding there adds a LOT of friction.
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I am so dumb. Why didn’t I think of this! I don’t see the appeal of the folding phone, but ipad? Now I’m listening
 
They will wait until the tech is perfected by someone else, then put it on an iPhone, after which thousands of PR articles, that they pay for and write behind the scenes, laud them for being innovative.

And the general public, now barely literate, will believe it. This is our world now.

I miss the exciting times before all tech progress was slowed to essentially zero by the duopoly.
 
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I’ve seen a bunch of Zflips at work due to steep discounts during the holidays.

I played around with one and for me the crease is very noticeable and the phone is not really that small when closed. It’s ok but not my cup of tea… yet.
 
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I would love a foldable phone. But, I don't want one if it is going to be double the thickness of today's phones. If Apple had a foldable iPhone today that has the same form factor when closed as, say, the current iPhone 13 Pro Max, then I'll consider it if the screen tech is good. Unfortunately, what I would like to have isn't possible today given the battery and screen tech, but let's see what the future holds.
 
blairh said:
Have no idea why anyone would doubt the folding phone future market. Go handle a Flip or Fold from Samsung and it’s pretty obvious how much potential this category has. My guess is that Apple will release their own versions in 2024.
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For those of us who lived through the age of cell phones that had either a folding case design or a plastic covered screen, these are the two reasons why you would doubt the future being folding devices. A mechanical hinge is a failure point, not an if it fails issue, but when it fails, because it will.

And even with advancements in foldable glass, which really aren’t advancements, but just using ultra-thin glass, the longevity of it is another failure point. Add in the fact that in both cases, smart phones / devices today get used far more every day than cell phones did back in the ’90’s, means the potential for dust, sand, scratches, drops, etc. are so great that Apple would be risking brand value to release a device that can’t survive long-term.
 
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Thats because Apple could never release a screen/hinge as delicate as the first Fold and not receive endless grief over it. Apple knows it doesn't have the same luxury Samsung does where fold-gate and hinge-gate aren't a thing.
 
I rather have Apple actually convince wireless telecoms that a petite ProMotion cellular tablet running iPadOS is more viable than the fragility of a iOS based folding phone in the hands of consumers. 😎
 
I'm ready for this fad to die out. Apple doesn't need to enter a market segment (or "innovate") if that segment is stupid af to begin with.

You either have a a too large phone, or a too small tablet. It's the worst of both worlds.

Like, I certainly understand the novelty of the idea, but just because something sounds neat doesn't mean it actually has any practical functionality.
 
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darngooddesign said:
Laptop owners disagree with you.
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What? No they don't - I think it's pretty much an expectation now that at some point, the hinge/ribbon is gonna fail, and your display is going to be rendered useless. If you honestly don't expect that, you're living in a fantasy world. It's just all a big game hoping that you're ready to upgrade to another device long in advance of the display on your current laptop failing.
 
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