Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple to Launch Foldable iPad in 2024, Analyst Claims
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
"Different folds for different strokes", I always say.
Or the new Dynamic Island. Anyway the notch just used some area that wasn’t much useful anyway and you could hide that with a dark wallpaper. The crease however is like wearing pink socks with a suit.
Looking forward to seeing Apple's first foldable. Will sure be super expensive though.
The problem with larger regular phones is that they become difficult to operate with one hand and for those of us with smaller hands, just plain uncomfortable to physically hold. Add a case on something like an iPhone 14 Pro Max and you have an even bigger phone.
The thickness is actually not as much of a problem. Because my Fold 4 is physically about the same width as an iPhone 12/13 Mini, it feels pretty good in hand despite its heavy weight and thickness. The Fold 4 fits my jeans front pocket just fine and I don't find it uncomfortable.
Then when I need more screen space folding it out behaves like a tablet in terms of view scaling instead of a phone that is just larger. An iPhone 14 Pro Max screen does not give you anything more than maybe a few more lines of text on screen at once compared to something like a 13 Mini because Apple does not scale the larger screen so that it could display e.g more icons or controls etc.
To me there was never any need to make phones thinner, the issue is more with the width of the device when holding it. We could have regular phones with a lot better battery just by making them thicker which of course does not look as nice in a store but could help eliminate for example camera bumps.
Until someone figures out how to make either the OLED, hinge or both so that no visible crease appears, there will be one. It might be very difficult to solve until we move to foldables that are more like a scroll that you unfurl where the bend to the screen is less extreme than the book style format. The scroll type on the other hand is probably tough to make physically thin as the scrolled part needs to go somewhere.
But at least on my Galaxy Fold 4 in actual usage the crease is only noticeable in two situations:
- Overhead lights reflecting off the screen. I tend to only see this in public areas and at home it's rarely a problem and usually can be solved by simply changing the angle a bit. When e.g watching a video you don't usually notice it.
- When drawing on the tablet. This is a more real issue as you can feel the creased area with the S Pen. It works fine but is obviously not ideal.
Fair. However, the article mentioned a foldable device on the order of a 20 inch screen. Considering the size folded, we’re likely not talking about something that fits in a pocket. But again, I am not suggesting no use cases exist, but that as you increase the size, you might be doing so for a much more limited use case.
the iPhone is 15 years old and they still haven’t developed a material that’s strong enough for the backside to withstand drops dmsmage-free 100% of the time, much less a material that can do that and also be a perfec multitouch input with 1000 nit brightness and Apple’ expected color accuracy.
that’s not tenable. And not my point. And you’re not getting it: in order to have screens on the externsl backside, they’d have to be as durable as today’s iPhones. obviously not possible.
and that’s before you consider camera placements and charging solutions,
External cameras on the "inside" (so only accessible when unfolded) and FaceTime cameras on "both" sides of the "outside" screen that wraps all the way around. Charge with a port at the bottom or just have MagSafe charging only. Magsafe charging through a screen might be challenge.
i have "how long it would it would last syndrome" but like way worse like 5-6 years out of a phone or i won't get it. that's the only reason i didn't buy a pixel 7 pro lol