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

[farmboy]

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.

Riiight.

 

[Harvey Zoltan]

Or jump past folding screens altogether and use the phone with AR glasses to produce a virtual screen in whatever size when required.

 

[spinedoc77]

Only Samsung knows. That’s also why Samsung offers free replacements for Fold/Flip owners. They know it’s an issue. You can also find many youtubers wih their broken screens. The tech is still improving and in progress.

And lab test of durability may not say much. In real life, the screen will be faced with more particles and weathering that can affect durability.

It took how many years from the first gorilla glass to Victus? And that’s just a plain sheet of glass.

Ok just wanted to make sure you had zero evidence that was the case. Anecdotally I haven't had issues with the 3 Folds I've owned, so I'll go ahead and extrapolate my n=1 to all Fold phones.

 

[spinedoc77]

It's definitively not a good tablet size according to the entire history of the tablet market. Opinions on forums dedicated to the idea notwithstanding.

Sure it is, it just depends what your needs are. The iPad mini 5 seems to always have rave reviews, I don't recall much complaining about it. I get that movies get cut off, but on the other end the aspect ratio is better for documents and web browsing, so it really depends on the user. Personally I prefer the ipm5 screen versus the ipm6 screen.

 

[spinedoc77]

Foldable phones roughly double their thickness when folded. Rollable screen etc are a fantasy right now. If they or other things become technically feasible we can talk about them at that point but if we're talking about what Apple might do in the next 2-5 years, it's with current tech.

" if you could magically fold it" - we're not talking about magic, fantasy stuff. We're talking reality here and I don't want to have a phone that's significantly thicker for the very few occasions when I'm out and about and a larger screen would be nice.

If I'm out for work, I have a travel bag and can carry.. BOTH devices.

Thanks for the clarification, it seems you are specifically saying you don't want Samsung's foldable device because of its thickness, and not necessarily the paradigm of a folding phone. I was just a bit confused, it sounded like you didn't know why anyone would carry around a phone and a tablet. But I get it, the thickness of the Fold devices is certainly a negative and I don't blame you for factoring it in your decision.

 

[calstanford]

This is what happened when they grew big. Apple was an innovator and challenger with the original iPhone. Setting new standards and creating a whole new market.

Now that they own most of the revenue of the market they stopped innovating and are in protection mode, rolling competitor's features back into the Apple ecosystem many years after them (120Hz screens, 48+MP cameras etc etc have all been out for a while). This article hits the nail on the head. Rather than setting standards, Apple is willing to wait 5 years to see if the hype is real, money is to be made and the tech is mature enough so as not to create support headaches.

 

[ian87w]

Ok just wanted to make sure you had zero evidence that was the case. Anecdotally I haven't had issues with the 3 Folds I've owned, so I'll go ahead and extrapolate my n=1 to all Fold phones.

Looks like conversations is not what you want with this thread. Fine by me. Bye.

 

[Shirasaki]

This will be great for people who already carry both their iPhone and their iPad everywhere they go

I wish I can carry only iPad and replace my iPhone 100%, sadly, neither apple nor app developers want that to happen.

 

[ian87w]

This is what happened when they grew big. Apple was an innovator and challenger with the original iPhone. Setting new standards and creating a whole new market.

Now that they own most of the revenue of the market they stopped innovating and are in protection mode, rolling competitor's features back into the Apple ecosystem many years after them (120Hz screens, 48+MP cameras etc etc have all been out for a while). This article hits the nail on the head. Rather than setting standards, Apple is willing to wait 5 years to see if the hype is real, money is to be made and the tech is mature enough so as not to create support headaches.

True. The iPhone has evolved into the main cash cow. Obviously Apple won’t be “innovating” that much. The don’t want to risk major disruptions in their main cash cow. Thus we see the breakthroughs in the other less critical lineups, like macs and iPads. I’m willing to bet that we will se a foldable iPad first.

I mean look at how most of Apple lineup have moved to USB-C, except the iPhone ?

 

[Shirasaki]

Also apple, the market should be the LEAST thing you worry. There’s millions of die hard apple fans willing to pay $8000 top of the line folding phones regardless, as long as the product itself is not a total disaster. iSheep name exist for a reason.

 

[bushman4]

Don't hold your breath..................Not coming anytime soon

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I’m not an iPad guy, I use iPhone and a MBA in addition to my imac. My wife has an iPad mini and now an Air, I just prefer a laptop over an iPad for a variety of reasons.
I would really have to see the offering to determine if it would be useful or not. A foldable iPad mini that would also serve as a phone would be too big and bulky for me to replace a regular iPhone, but it would serve a market segment I’m sure.
I like the idea of foldable, just need to see it to determine if it’s for me.

Yeah, and when I think about it, even if it’s iPhone sized when unfolded, I don’t think I’d have much interest in a screen on the outside. If I need to quickly check notifications, I will always have a watch for that.

 

[19callum93]

I’m interested to know how big the market actually is for foldable phones? I’m yet to see one in public ?

 

[The Barron]

FORGET the fold-a-phone. The iPhone is fine as it is!

 

[Jim Lahey]

Don‘t personally see the appeal of a universal device that does everything worse than each individual device it’s meant to replace.

 

[metapunk2077fail]

A foldable iPhone will be great, much more screen real estate

Occupy too much real estate in your pocket and 100% will have a few points of failure that become apparent after a regular daily use. More moving parts and displays you have on this device category the more likely users will damage, break, scratch it.

 

[Marshall73]

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH the buzzer goes. The Fold doesn't have a plastic screen, and we don't yet know what Apples upcoming (if ever) foldable phone has.

It is a plastic screen, they say it has glass but it isn't hard like glass and is almost as easy to damage as the first gen fold. And it still has a massive dent in the middle when open. Samsung try to hide it with their choice of wallpaper but its hideous.

 

[Miha_v]

In theory foldable phone seem like a great idea, but in reality, at this point I still can't imagine a foldable solution that would work great. At least until they come up with some new magic material, that makes ugly crease disappear completely when device is unfolded even after prolonged use.

Apple will only make such a foldable device if they find something that works great (or not at all).

 

[krspkbl]

Don’t think they are the future. The biggest issue I have with them is how soft the screens are so they scratch easily. Ewww no thanks. Until we can get glass that can fold over and be durable enough to do it thousands of times then folding phones are no interest to me.

The future is AR/VR. They could be the next big thing. folding phones are just that….folding phones. headsets will completely change we interact with the world. put your headset on and get an augmented reality.

• walk into a restaurant and the menu pops up in front of you.
• go to a supermarket and prices appear beside whatever you’re looking at.
• shop online and see what the products would look like in your house.
• Maybe you’re in a foreign city and can’t read the language so now street signs will auto translate.
• Maybe you’re going somewhere new so will see large arrows pointing you were to go.
• Playing a game like Pokémon go will make it feel like Pokémon are real.
• You could have a virtual pet or even partner.
• Instead of buying things like wallpaper, posters, ornaments they will appear virtually Inside your house.
• If you’re at a sports match you can see live stats around the stadium

and that’s just a small list example. Virtual reality is a whole other situation. i Really do think this is our future. I don’t think smartphones will go anywhere for a long time but AR/VR feels like the next big step. the way we interact with the internet is through touching our phones and staring at a screen. AR/VR will take it to a whole other level and it will literally be right in front of our eyes all the time.

 

[M3gatron]

Foldable phones really don't make any sense,

They do. Bigger screen devices that can fit in normal pockets.

they are a terrible idea.

That's very subjective. Vast majority people that own one seem to love it and after 3 years interest for such devices seems to only grow. The latest generation Foldables from Samsung at the very least doubled the sales of the previous generation which in turn had much bigger sales than the first generation.

They are completely missing the point of technological progress: We're striving to get any mechanical failure points out of our electronic devices (e.g. SSDs), not get more delicate and super-complex mechanical parts into them.

Actually to me it feels like you are missing the point to technological progress and it's obvious by the example you gave. The nr 1 purpose of an SSD is to provide better performance, that's the main advantage. In terms of longevity a well made mechanic HDD can actually provide much higher longevity than an SSD.
There have been years since Samsung lanuched the first foldable and there are no widespread faliure reports, it's not really an issue.

Samsung and the likes only came up with this idea because they were desperate to prove some sort of innovation just for the sake of it, and foldable phones was the most obvious "next big thing" they could come up with.

This sounds like an excuse that doesn't make sense. I didn't hear somebody say that Samsung made foldable smartphones just to have attack points vs Apple which is absolutely ridiculous.

Give it a few years and the world will have realized that foldable phones are just as ****** an idea the second time around as they were the first time around.

It's already been a few years and this category of smartphone continues to grow, interest hasn't decreased at all.

 

[M3gatron]

It’s one thing to make the device and hinge dust resistant, but that still won’t solve the issue of a folding mechanism being more prone to failure than a non-hinged device. And another issue with dust, sand, change, keys, etc. that may be in your pocket when you put a folding phone in your pocket, is the screen will also be subjected to these items and face both surface damage and fracture. Folding screen phones, including the iPhone, are not inevitable. We’re more likely going to see movement away from large screened devices with AR glasses coming into play.

The funny thing is, AR Glasses will actually be more fragile than foldable phones, maybe also have lower longevity. But they are supposedly "the next big thing" and foldable smartphone are bad because they are fragile.

 

[danny842003]

Foldables just seem like a novelty to me.
I’m sure some people have a use for a larger phone than those currently available but I don’t see it being that many people really.

 

[downpour]

If a design really needs to fold, why not just have two separate screens with zero bezel between them? That would eliminate the durability and creasing issues. You are always going to have some kind of imperfection on the crease anyway, so why not have them completely flat and made of glass instead of plastic.

Personally Id rather just have zero-bezel wrap-around screens on a non-folding device.

 

[metapunk2077fail]

Or jump past folding screens altogether and use the phone with AR glasses to produce a virtual screen in whatever size when required.

Virtual screens with AR glasses would be low fidelity. Dark regions (black especially) aren't possible as light passes through, just like the holograms in Star Wars. It's good for notifications, directions and some table top games, as long as the table surface is dark.

 

[KindJamz]

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.

So your saying that apples laptops are all destined to have displays fail