Few Smartphone Owners Care About Foldables or AI, Survey Suggests

[Greenmeenie]

Don’t get me wrong, I think foldable tech is cool. But the premium price coupled with worse battery life & less cameras than the iPhone Pros does give people pause. Seems that COOL Foldability < Long Battery Life & Better Cameras. 🤔 I think until prices come down or battery life & Cameras on foldables = those on the iPhone Pros, a foldable iPhone will always be a niche product. That’s not bad perse. Just reality. Currently foldable android smartphones are niche too. As an artist, I MIGHT think about a foldable iPhone IF it worked with the Apple Pencil Pro. But no rumors suggest that it will. Plus I enjoy photography, so having the best cameras on a smartphone is important to me. I don’t think the cameras on a super thin foldable iphone will ever match those in the chunkier iphone pro. It’s just physics.

 

[jsavvy]

It’s almost 7 years now. We are at the iPhone 6 era of folds and they still are niche and the market share is small.

Notice the italics on might. I think all the previous fold phones were pretty bad. If they can be improved in both price and function there might be room for growth. Growth doesn’t necessarily mean major market share though.

 

[Abazigal]

For most people, "AI" is typing a prompt into the chatGPT or Gemini app and copying / pasting the response. Many other features can probably be replicated via an app as well. This is one of the reasons why the Macbook Neo is selling so well despite having "only" 8 gb of ram - the majority of users are not looking to run local LLMs on their laptop, and they can readily access common AI services through the browser.

So at the end of the day, Apple wins by virtue of having great hardware for users to access AI services from. There is no need for Apple to flush billions down the toilet in pursuit of having the best AI model when they have numerous companies willing to do so for them.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

"If they actually purchased"...that's the clincher. Once they see the north-of-$2000 price tag, more than half of that 14% are going to walk away.

Considering that according to recent reports over 60% of Americans purchased their phones on payment plans or through carrier subsidies, I don’t necessarily think that will be the case either.
Most people will never actually see the real retail price, they will see that the iPhone Pro Max is $25 a month over three years and the Fold is $30 a month over four years and go from there.

At this point carriers with payment plans are so locked in and the iPhone is such a well-known product that it isn’t the price or the features that stop people from being interested in an upgrade.
It’s the fact that literally any iPhone released this decade still works flawlessly. An iPhone 12 released almost 6 years ago is still a very well speced phone, still has one of the best screens on the market, still has a processor that can get everything done.

 

[iMac The Knife]

I don't think the price is going to be as big of a factor as some think, for current iPhone Pro Max buyers anyway. It will be a factor of course, but when you can finance a new phone over 2-3 years at 0% interest, some people aren't going to worry about adding $0-33 to their monthly payment (for those who normally buy an iPhone Pro Max) when it comes to getting their hands on a shiny new Apple foldable. If the Apple foldable starts at $1999, that would end up being the same monthly payment as the iPhone Pro Max 2TB, if bought through Apple. Now, for the people who buy the standard iPhone or the iPhone Pro, price will be more of a factor without a doubt.

Or, if you consider the iPhone Pro Max 512GB monthly payment, which is $58.29, the iPhone foldable at $1999 would only be $25 more per month at $83.29 over 24 months if purchased through Apple. I don't think $25 is going to be a deal breaker for anyone who wants to have the first truly new iPhone design in many years. I think the Apple foldable will have strong sales numbers for a 1st gen foldable phone. Time will tell though.

 

[ayephoner]

I still have faith that when Apple releases an AI integrated Siri, it will push forward digital personal assistant functionality a significant amount. I think there is a lot of room to improve the basic functionality of maps, calendar, notes, and other similar apps by talking to Siri and having Siri actually do what you want it to do.

I think that the next few years will really impress most users and they have no idea what is coming.

 

[turbineseaplane]

From the mockups we can see that it's nowhere close to an iPhone mini in terms of screen size, making it very hard to use with one hand, even whilst closed.

Yeah. It's a bummer.

I was listening to the ATP podcast and Marco apparently did a 3d print of the rumored dimensions and the width when folded is even worse (wider) than existing iPhones.

That makes me have zero interest.

Device width is a really under appreciated key metric in terms of hand holdability and using it one handed.

 

[DeftwillP]

I don't know that I could care any less about a foldable phone. I'm extremely leary of them for daily use. I know apple will do it better but I still don't know that I would buy year 1.

AI is a different story. I don't think we're afforded the choice to not end up being impacted by AI.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I’ve not looked at the iPhone folding thing…the difference between the unfolded screen area and mini is substantial?

Much larger difference on other existing foldables vs the rumored Apple one.

I'm sort of waiting on worrying about this particular metric until we see what Apple actually releases.

 

[rensuchan]

Its almost 7 years now. We are at the iPhone 6 era of folds and they still are niche and the market share is small.

I don't think it's quite fair to say it's iPhone 6 era since Apple hasn't even been in the foldable market yet.

I'm not going to be a buyer but I am interested to see how an Apple entry affects the market.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I honestly think the dagger on this thing, besides price, could be the feature gimping.

If it has worse cameras or battery life (or both!), it's going to be a huge detractor, especially for anyone coming from a Pro/ProMax.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I suspect, like the AVP, it's going to come down to price. One of those products where people will think "It looks really cool, and I would buy it...but not for $2,000."

I think there is one big flaw in that thinking.
The smartphone market is significantly more developed than the headset market, and no matter what phone you have it’s pretty much a necessity.
Because of that, there is a complete structure built-in, carriers who offer payment plans and trade-ins to lower the prices, already needed features from day one and an entire ecosystem of accessories, applications and services around them.

The Apple Vision Pro was absolutely none of these, it was a completely unknown product, absolutely not a necessity and had absolutely no structure to support it whatsoever. If you wanted one, it was $3499 plus tax out the door, no trade-ins, no carrier offering you any deals, no payment plans, no subsidies, just nothing.
Thousands of dollars out the door or nothing.
The folding iPhone is coming from a completely different position.

 

[kemal]

I want a new Siri. So I guess I care about AI.

 

[rjp1]

Yeah. It's a bummer.

I was listening to the ATP podcast and Marco apparently did a 3d print of the rumored dimensions and the width when folded is even worse (wider) than existing iPhones.

That makes me have zero interest.

Device width is a really under appreciated key metric in terms of hand holdability and using it one handed.

The screen size rumors originally made it sound like an iPhone mini that unfolded to a larger screen. It sounded amazing - one hand use on the go and then unfold to get an iPad mini like experience with 2 hands. It’s a pretty simple concept. Instead it sounds like it will be 2 hand phone that unfolds to a 2 hand phone - why?

 

[turbineseaplane]

The screen size rumors originally made it sound like an iPhone mini that unfolded to a larger screen. It sounded amazing - one hand use on the go and then unfold to get an iPad mini like experience with 2 hands. It’s a pretty simple concept. Instead it sounds like it will be 2 hand phone that unfolds to a 2 hand phone - why?

Agreed.

Honestly, as an iPad Mini user, it makes me concerned they won't make anymore iPad Minis and will consider the Fold to be the device you need to get if you want an iPad mini sized device moving forward.

 

[iMac The Knife]

Agreed.

Honestly, as an iPad Mini user, it makes me concerned they won't make anymore iPad Minis and will consider the Fold to be the device you need to get if you want an iPad mini sized device moving forward.

I would hope this wouldn't happen unless the Apple foldable sells so well that Apple feels the iPad Mini is no longer relevant. Stranger things have happened though.

 

[gegy]

Because the alternative is an iPad in your pocket?

View attachment 2629680

Just use a bag.

 

[iDento]

By smartphone owners they mean the whole world, right? Even people in jail have smartphones in some parts of the world these days.

And for foldables, it’s not that I don’t care, but they’re very pricy and I think an iPhone and an iPad Mini is a better combination. AI is a different story, I can’t work without Claude anymore.

 

[S.B.G]

Count me as one of those who aren't interested in a foldable phone. The primary reason is the anticipated cost. When Samsung released theirs and I saw the price, I said no way. The secondary reason is that I have no real desire for a foldable phone. I'm quite content with the phone I have now.

As for AI, I do find it useful in certain use cases for work purposes, but I use it far less, close to not at all, for personal purposes. I'm not against AI as long as it's implemented in a smart way to assist me in certain things, but not be intrusive into my life, unless I specifically permit it.

 

[LionTeeth]

Because the alternative is an iPad in your pocket?

View attachment 2629680

lol why is that my alternative?

I am already currently using a phone with a size that is perfectly satisfactory. I don't need a bigger device. Ever. If I ever want bigger I pick up my iPad. And if I want bigger still I go to my desktop that is connected to a 4K TV.

 

[Gherkin]

Foldables seem cool but I'm not paying what they are currently charging. Maybe one day the tech will be so good that all phones will be foldable in some way.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

I care. I’m in for 5 upgrades. Can’t wait for bigger screen and dual apps etc

 

[HouseLannister]

Extra screen space is always nice. Actual browser tabs instead of separate windows. Side-by-side apps to copy/paste between them, read notes or research while writing, or just do picture-in-window stuff without the window. It is for productivity users. If you mostly use your iPad or Mac with fullscreen apps all the time then this isn't really a benefit for you.

I am ready to buy one. I don't care about the slight crease. I don't care about the cost. I don't care about the durability (AppleCare+). What might hold me off is the OS. Android has been doing split-screen on phones since 2016 and Apple still can't make up its mind on what multitasking should look like on an iPad, so I am definitely in a wait-and-see for how they tackle this first gen take. Also, the lack of existing hardware to beta test on this June means Apple will keep their cards close to their chest and the first gen experience this fall might be not ready for primetime.

 

[Macalway]

I think the fold is cool. Typical Apple cool.

The AI mania is just that. But oddly, it's not consumer mania.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Cmon people all those YouTube FB etc videos you absolutely love and want to show everyone will be so much better for everyone to see when you hold up that foldable big screen!