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Apple to Launch Foldable As Early As 2026 That Could Ultimately Replace iPad Mini

I am more wondering what Apple could come up with to keep me interested in staying in the ecosystem if they won’t launch something foldable for another 2-3 years. I can get a foldable Android phone today that blows my 15 PM out of the water with everything except the OS and ecosystem.

But if we keep seeing the same thing as the last 6 years being released over and over again even the ecosystem aspect will start feeling stale before 2026-2027 and all devices might have to go Android/Windows instead. Right now everything from the Apple TV to the iPad Mini I have is kinda boring and is more or less the same as they have been for quite some time now.
 
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It would not replace the iPad Mini. It would be an iPhone that folds out to the size of an iPad Mini more or less.

The iPad Mini would remain in the lineup.

Common sense says this thing isn't coming in 2025 sadly. So at this point I'll assume it is 2026 or 2027 when it is released. Hopefully 2026.
 
ofarlig said:
I am more wondering what Apple could come up with to keep me interested in staying in the ecosystem if they won’t launch something foldable for another 2-3 years. I can get a foldable Android phone today that blows my 15 PM out of the water with everything except the OS and ecosystem.

But if we keep seeing the same thing as the last 6 years being released over and over again even the ecosystem aspect will start feeling stale before 2026-2027 and all devices might have to go Android/Windows instead. Right now everything from the Apple TV to the iPad Mini I have is kinda boring and is more or less the same as they have been for quite some time now.
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You wrote a post that came right out of my head

I agree 1000%

Other than buying my 13 Mini preowned (had no choice as the SE1 was getting too out of date on some Apps), I have nothing new from Apple in years. After decades as a customer, they've left me teetering on just quitting everything of theirs.

Tim's run as CEO, IMO, other than purely as a financial play, has been one long downhill slide
 
turbineseaplane said:
You wrote a post that came right out of my head

I agree 1000%

Other than buying my 13 Mini preowned (had no choice as the SE1 was getting too out of date on some Apps), I have nothing new from Apple in years. After decades as a customer, they've left me teetering on just quitting everything of theirs.

Tim's run as CEO, IMO, other than purely as a financial play, has been one long downhill slide
Click to expand...

Yeah, I‘ve always kept buying too much tech because it is fun to try stuff out but Apple have really killed my excitement about buying new tech lately…
 
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ofarlig said:
I can get a foldable Android phone today that blows my 15 PM out of the water with everything except the OS and ecosystem.
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I’m fairly agnostic when it comes to OS and ecosystem as I have both iOS and Android, but even I have to say those are two pretty large exceptions to “everything”.

IMG_4323.gif
 
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turbineseaplane said:
You wrote a post that came right out of my head

I agree 1000%

Other than buying my 13 Mini preowned (had no choice as the SE1 was getting too out of date on some Apps), I have nothing new from Apple in years. After decades as a customer, they've left me teetering on just quitting everything of theirs.

Tim's run as CEO, IMO, other than purely as a financial play, has been one long downhill slide
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Interesting. Coincidentally, I went SE1 to iPhone 13 mini, too, but I have found Apple Silicon impressive enough to get me to start buying Macs again after just sticking to my two 2011 models for a decade after they stopped being easily upgradeable.
 
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bgillander said:
but I have found Apple Silicon impressive enough to get me to start buying Macs again after just sticking to my two 2011 models for a decade after they stopped being easily upgradeable.
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ASI products are fine, no question.

Honestly speaking though, they don't allow me to do anything I'm not able to do very adequately with a variety of other machines (mac or PC). I'm primarily a desktop user, so their efficiency in particular is only of limited interest anyhow.

By chance right now, I have a relatives M2 MBA 15" next to me (updating some stuff for them), and it's honestly not meaningfully faster at anything I'm doing day to day than my Hack desktop (several years old now)

I also am still on this machine as I dual boot for Windows gaming every single night (just one particular game)

I don't know what I'd do if I had to replace this Hack desktop today. I've grown really fond of the flexibility it affords on component swapping and internal storage mix and match, among other benefits.
 
turbineseaplane said:
iPad Mini Users: "Can we please just have a better screen?"

Apple: "Foldable iPad Mini replacement coming in two more years!"

😠😣
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Whatever they end up naming it, it won't be an iPad Mini replacement as the iPad Mini is an affordable ($400ish) mini iPad, an iPad Fold whatever its size won't be as affordable I'm sure. It will be at least as expensive as an iPad Pro.

I think the rumors point out at foldable iPad sizes Apple has been testing, not that Apple will be actually replacing the Mini with it.
 
At this point I'll believe it when I see it. But it would be an ultimate device, still may be worth holding if 2 or 3 versions before buying, only as long as it's a phone too. Will Apple go that route though? Or will they just make a foldable iPad Mini without phone functions?
 
Do people really want more and more things on their phones?

I'm with David Lewis in thinking about these phones:





A foldable phone will do nothing for me.
 
Still a long time away. Eagerly waiting to see Apple's first foldable.
 
turbineseaplane said:
By chance right now, I have a relatives M2 MBA 15" next to me (updating some stuff for them), and it's honestly not meaningfully faster at anything I'm doing day to day than my Hack desktop (several years old now)
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Out of curiosity, what is the CPU in your Hack?

The thing I like about my MBA is the lack of a fan and the ability to actually use it on battery and not even think about performance or battery life, or whether I accidentally left it turned on, sitting on the bed with its vents obstructed. The possibility that, despite being the slowest Mac, it might actually be even little a bit faster than a desktop, even several years old, is just a bonus to me.
 
picpicmac said:
Do people really want more and more things on their phones?

I'm with David Lewis in thinking about these phones:





A foldable phone will do nothing for me.
Click to expand...
Well, based on your posting of that video, I think a foldable phone could actually do something for you. It sounds like you want to simplify…


IMG_4324.jpeg

😀
 
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truthsteve said:
foldable phones are stupid and never made sense to me.

foldable tablets however, I can see it.
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Alpha God Vonn said:
Because you never had one .
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truthsteve said:
wrong. bought a galaxy fold and returned it in AT&T's return window.
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Wait... so you bought a phone that you thought was stupid and never made sense to you, just so you could return it?

Speaking of not making sense! That just sounds like the plot of some ecology movie about someone trying to destroy the environment. Are you an influencer?
 
apparatchik said:
Yep, sorry if it sounded disconnected in any way, anecdotical because yes I'm not a girl but I've seen women taking more issue with clothing brands for designing too small (and fake) pockets on women's cloth and at the same time I also see more women choosing larger phone sizes (maybe cause they end up carrying them on their purses anyways?). I have no statistics, I have large hands and I loved the iPhone mini size while I've seen ladies sporting the larger phones in existence. I really don't see a foldable phone ala Galaxy Flip making much of a difference but I could be wrong of course.
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IMO I think it's a status/social standing thing. It's really odd, because of all things...phones? But I think women generally are more socialized to pay attention to appearances, and iphones are seen as status symbols everywhere. In my experience I see more men with androids too, or dumber phones, in fact the android contrarian type almost exclusively seem to be men. I think it's deemed more acceptable for men to go against the grain.
 
bgillander said:
Wait... so you bought a phone that you thought was stupid and never made sense to you, just so you could return it?

Speaking of not making sense! That just sounds like the plot of some ecology movie about someone trying to destroy the environment. Are you an influencer?
Click to expand...

LOL

So not using it would make my opinion more valid? Talk about making sense!

Just FYI: I thought wireless charging was stupid before using one. Now I use it all the time because it's convenient. I'm happy to be wrong so I give things a try with an open mind before having a final say. That's what normal/reasonable people do.

I've thought folding phones were stupid, I then tried one with an open mind, and my earlier stance holds up. That's what's great about the 14 day return period. I get to try things risk free. Not hard to understand.

It sounds like you would be much happier had I never used one which is ridiculously stupid.
 
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