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Foldable iPad Now in 'Intensive Development,' Could Be Announced as Soon as Next Year
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Maybe the rumours stating that the next iPad Pro will be much costlier may be referring to the foldable iPad. Looking forward to seeing Apple's first foldable.
Yep, and it really needs a couple of years to see how it wears to assess the damage from multiple folds in the real world.
Why? Because the idea was impossible 10 years ago? Because the quality was bad 5 years ago? Or because you are just stubborn?
Maybe a combination of all three. It just seems like a terrible idea. Is the fold to make something smaller, or to make something small bigger? Do I want something twice as thick? Why not make circular tablets, that can fold into a pizza slice format?
I detest the large phones of today, so maaaybe if there was a foldable iPhone that really became tiny upon folding, it could be interesting, but that crease, oh that crease. And the thought of scratchy particles on that foldable screen…
Yeah, maybe stubborn.
Well we need to be on the same subject, you were specifically calling a folding phone "awful." While I can't disagree with an opinion, and you are entitled to yours of course, I just get frustrated when it's not clear that some consumers, such as myself, find a folding phone extremely useful.
Now onto your comments, yes I agree that a folding large iPad is much less useful. A smaller footprint would be useful, that means you carry around a smaller bag, can fit it into smaller places etc., but that's not exactly earth shattering, agreed. I specifically said a "large" iPad, but if they used the iPad mini then they could make that fit into your pocket and it would indeed have the extremely useful advantages of portability.
To your last point on using iPadOS as a phone, that is certainly an issue but that issue is 1000% of Apple's making and easily resolved by adding phone capabilities, they already have a SIM. Of course Apple will NEVER do this because it means they couldn't convince you that you needed to purchase 2 or more devices from them. Personally I would have gone to an iPad mini as my phone AND tablet a long long time ago if it was an option, and I've played around with doing that using VOIP for years. Being out of the Apple ecosystem it's amazing the freedom you have to do things your own way.
And lastly, I'm not trying to make you see the utility for YOU, just to understand that because you don't find any utility in the paradigm doesn't mean other consumers don't.
Right, because people never flip-flop on their opinions of Apple products (rumored or released) on this site! 🙄
Yes, it is true. They are a solution in search of a problem, and that's exactly why Apple hasn't made a foldable phone, and isn't going to anytime soon either.
You seem consistently one step behind in folding phone capabilities, but it's a very fast moving paradigm so can't blame you. The crease has become increasingly smaller and smaller, but I don't disagree that it is still an issue for some. Personally I don't even see the crease anymore and can't really fathom why anyone would care, but again I respect that it's an issue for some. I just have this feeling that many, if not most, crease naysayers haven't personally even seen/felt one in person, and haven't used a folding phone for a few weeks.
The scratchy particles thing has been resolved, the Fold 5 folds completely flat so no particles can get into it. There are a few YouTube videos showing even previous generation Folds being quite sturdy even when they dunked them into sand and tried folding/unfolding them. Everyone keeps harping on the durability, but this is a non-issue, as much of a non-issue as any other glass screen with a glass backing. They've been rated at 200k + folds, which is going to be way more than anyone would use in a typical 3-5 year lifecycle, and arguably much longer than that. There are YouTube videos showing the Fold 5 easily surviving a fall where an iPhone and Pixel both easily crack. If there was an issue with reliability the media would have jumped on it a long time ago, just as they did with the Fold 1. Lastly the durability IMO is even higher because the screen is closed when in your pocket, providing much more protection than an exposed screen.
But on the idea of making a "large" iPad fold smaller, yeah I don't necessarily disagree and don't think it's anything particularly earth shattering. I think the paradigm is much much more valuable for making something fit into your pants pocket comfortably like a small tablet.
I won't have any interest in any single screen foldable device until the screen tech reaches a level of maturity that is as durable as a non-folding screen.
But in the meantime, I'd love a foldable iPad with two individual screens. Something like the Surface Neo, Surface Duo, or the Lenovo Yoga Book C930.
I know that I'm perhaps the only one who would be interested in a foldable iPad with two Liquid Retina displays, but I have a lot personal use cases that would make this a "must-have" for me.
But in the meantime, I'd love a foldable iPad with two individual screens. Something like the Surface Neo, Surface Duo, or the Lenovo Yoga Book C930.
I know that I'm perhaps the only one who would be interested in a foldable iPad with two Liquid Retina displays, but I have a lot personal use cases that would make this a "must-have" for me.
I don't think some will understand basic geometry so I wouldn't worry too much. It's also interesting how some keep their heads in the sand even when rumors start to come around about Apple dabbling in foldables. With smartphones showing a decline, yet foldables showing a pretty huge incline in sales YOY (of course relative to their small percentage of the market), only a fool would think Apple wasn't experimenting with R&Ding foldables.
While adding phone capabilities to iPads would not be a stretch, I doubt it would impact sales of either devices much. An iPad, even a Mini, is too big to carry around all the time as your primary phone and people that want a larger screen will still buy an iPad. Even holding an Mini to your head to talk would make for an awkward positioning of spear and mike, as well as an uncomfortable grip; especially for smaller hands.
The question is "Would the demand be high enough to give Apple the desired ROI?"
If they did, people would then complain Apple has further confused the product lineup.
"An iPad, even a Mini, is too big to carry around all the time as your primary phone." BINGO, that's EXACTLY the point of a foldable phone. I think you mistook what I wrote, I wasn't advocating for an iPad mini phone in its current iteration (although note we've had bluetooth headphones for what decades?), but rather for an iPad mini that folded down to a phone size with phone capabilities. Think about that for a second from a sales perspective. The iPad mini is, from most 2nd hand accounts at least, the least selling iPad out of their lineup. Add phone capabilities to it, let it fold to a phone size, and you have an instant seller. Yes it will still be niche, but much less niche than the iPad mini, and if done right personally I wouldn't be surprised to see it be the next big thing.
I don't think I've ever wondered if Apple cared if they confuse their product lineup, have you looked at it the last few years? It's the opposite, Apple loves to confuse their product lineup with redundant products, many of which only have miniscule differences.
Edit: Just to add, from a ROI perspective it would make a lot of sense that Apple was R&Ding foldables. While tablet and smartphones continue to decline in sales YOY, foldables have demonstrated a remarkably high incline YOY since introduced. As mentioned, if Apple combined a low sales item like the iPad mini with a phone it could easily be its own category with increased ROI over the current iPad mini. Of course that's with the caveat of cannibalizing iPhone sales, but people only buy one iPhone and it seems to me they aren't buying an iPhone AND an iPad mini enough for Apple to not consider combining them. After all, they can still convince those same consumers to buy a full size iPad, laptop, desktop, and of course their services/subscriptions.
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I doubt that. The cost would rise, given the need for an external screen when the device is folded plus the costs of a folding screen. If it lacked a full featured external display it would have all the hassles of a Mini as a phone with no added benefit. In the end you have a device that is expensive and doesn't necessarily do anything better than current options.
I suspect it would be a very niche device that would get quickly abandoned.
I agree, I was referring to the response it would generate n forums such as this.
Of curse it makes sense; however large increases over small volumes do not mean growth will continue at that rate. Only time will tell if foldable become mainstream; so doing R&D, even without a product, makes sense.
IF Apple releases anything I suspect it would be an iPhone rather than an iPad. To me, it makes little sense to introduce a foldable Mini/phone combo rather than a foldable iPhone.
I doubt your doubt! Foldables are already coming down in price, the stuff from China is substantially cheaper, but for a more realistic option wait another month for the rumored OnePlus which is supposed to be around $1500. Even the Folds are much cheaper than advertised, between Samsung's incredible trade in deals to the various discounts they offer. Keep in mind an iPhone 15 pro max is already $1200-$1600. So yes pretty obviously a foldable would be more expensive, but I don't think consumers would balk at an extra $200 to even $400 for a foldable, especially if the prospect is that you get an iPad mini AND an iPhone. Yeah I really doubt your doubt on this one.
Again most likely a niche product given the price, but you never know. 10 years ago would we EVER have thought consumers would be buying $1200-$1600 almost 7" screened phones?!? Don't forget that the 14 pro max was the best selling model of the iPhone lineup last year. Finally, you say a device which is more expensive but doesn't do anything better, again I'll wholeheartedly disagree here as someone who finds a folding phone extremely functional and highly superior to non folding phones (again just MY personal opinion and use case). The entire smartphone market is scaling up towards more expensive phones and Apple knows this, they can only squeeze so much out of the pro max before consumers feel they aren't getting value for their luxury money.
I also don't disagree that Apple would most likely release a folding iPhone first, I do agree that the more likely lower price point might be a good selling issue. I'm not refuting my above points, but still acknowledging that a $1399 iPhone flip might sell better than a $1600 iPhone capable iPad mini would. This is borne out by what I've read that the Flip 5 sold roughly twice what the Fold 5 sold. But at the end of the day it's pretty obvious that what consumers want are larger and larger screens, how to acheive this without adding to the footprint is the million dollar question that, at least for today, the foldable paradigm is answering.
And even for fitting it's folding the wrong direction. If it folded the other way, the length would be shorter when folded
I deleted my post as well. The OnePlus Fold that was just launched today weighs only 239g. So it is a foldable that only weighs 18g more than an iPhone 15 PM and weighs less than a 14 PM. Crazy!
Wow sooner than I expected. Look at that, no crease (at least according to The Verge), better form factor in my opinion, but bleh $1700. Going to have to check it out though!
Edit: Looks like $1500 direct from OnePlus with their $200 off if you trade in a phone, that's in ADDITION to the trades ins which are very generous ($750 for a 13pro max for example). Man I'm going to have a hard time not buying this.
Right now it is only $1500 if you pre-order it soon. I am not a fan of OnePlus but I am a fan of the direction foldables are going and it is great to have more competition.
It would be interesting to see how Apple executes the folding of their devices. I personally was not very keen on folding devices until I tried out my partner's Samsung Fold 3. I found that it could be useful to have a foldable phone even just for using the bottom half as a "tripod" stand when taking video calls or taking photos. I also see how just referring to the external screen for checking the time and some notifications could dramatically reduce battery consumption AND protect the internal screen while folded in case of sharp objects in pockets or drops.
Personally, I'm more inclined to use more devices rather than fewer BUT would like to have seamless transitions to all of them.
I hope we can eventually use our Apple Watches as our main "authentication" and personal data device and our AirPods as our main audio input device (including ability to filter out loud noises that could be damaging to hearing), and then be able to use ANY flat screen around us (including hotel TVs, nearby video screens in malls than you can maybe rent for some time, display panels in cars, etc) OR Vision Pro/Vision Air/Vision Mini to display content to whatever size we need with the added benefit of privacy in public places (not having to worry about someone looking over your shoulder at what you are working on.
With a folding iPad I can see how one side could be an on-screen keyboard (that is infinitely customizable for specific apps, etc, much like the Touch Bar) so you can use it like a laptop.
Maybe in time a sturdy folding iPhone can double as an action camera and mounted into smaller spaces like a GoPro. Being controlled from an Apple Watch.
Personally, I'm more inclined to use more devices rather than fewer BUT would like to have seamless transitions to all of them.
I hope we can eventually use our Apple Watches as our main "authentication" and personal data device and our AirPods as our main audio input device (including ability to filter out loud noises that could be damaging to hearing), and then be able to use ANY flat screen around us (including hotel TVs, nearby video screens in malls than you can maybe rent for some time, display panels in cars, etc) OR Vision Pro/Vision Air/Vision Mini to display content to whatever size we need with the added benefit of privacy in public places (not having to worry about someone looking over your shoulder at what you are working on.
With a folding iPad I can see how one side could be an on-screen keyboard (that is infinitely customizable for specific apps, etc, much like the Touch Bar) so you can use it like a laptop.
Maybe in time a sturdy folding iPhone can double as an action camera and mounted into smaller spaces like a GoPro. Being controlled from an Apple Watch.