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Foldable iPhone Development Allegedly Paused Due to Failing Screens
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Batteries that could last 7 days powering a modern smartphone and camera lenses that perform like those on modern smartphones but without the physical dimensions required for those optics.
Ah yes, Apple should simply innovate those. Simple as.
I was thinking the same, the latest foldables from Samsung proved to be very durable time and time again, so I do not really understand what is going on here
The issue with concepts like those is that they aren't based on any technology. They say 5-10 years in the description. And we are almost 9 years since it was uploaded. It's not feasible.
Like I've always said: this is a stupid idea from a mechanical, electrical and chemical perspective. The whole idea is completely doomed and if anyone is holding onto any hope of a rugged folding display they are probably not engineers. The only reason this got as far as it did is because a large section of engineers don't want to say no to management and marketing who have unhinged levels of death march ability on stupid ideas because shareholders are not holding them to account.
Glad to see Apple are at least putting quality gates on the insanity!
Glad to see Apple are at least putting quality gates on the insanity!
I wish they would release one since they seem to be pushing out small upgrades to the iPhone each year.
increasing battery density safely is a hard problem, it's one of the biggest research targets today across dozens of industries, if Apple dedicated their entire R&D budget to it the amount of money spent globally on that particular problem wouldnt appreciably rise, that's how much money is already being poured into it. Apple can't just innovate their way to 7x denser batteries quickly because you want them to.
Under display cameras done without making compromises with the screen above is hard too, it's not an easy problem to solve, you think Apple hasnt been working on it along with their display manufacturers?
If you think it's so easy go get your PhD in material sciences or battery chemistry and go do it, until then just whining about Apple not magically solving incredibly difficult technical limitations makes you seem petulant.
That is art, not engineering.
"we design in poetry, we engineer it in prose"
I’d buy the left one instantly if it was more or less a normal phone when folded (even if it’s thicker). Why can’t we have nice things from Apple anymore? I like the ecosystem but these days Apple really seems to tell people that want progress to go to Android instead.
Buying the same old slab phone every year that is only useful for texting, calling and Spotify is getting old quickly if you like technology. I want to be able to read my ebooks at the office without bringing my iPad Mini and so on.
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The trick is just to engineer a foldable display that can fold enough times to last the expected lifetime of the device. People don't pass these things down to their heirs. They're disposable consumer devices.
I figured that might be why they haven’t updated the mini lately, because they are working on a foldable that opens to around that size.
Personally I’d rather have a more useful unit that lasts a year than the current slab phones that last much longer but aren’t that useful.
Samsung TV & other appliances are blacklisted in our home because they kept failing within 5 years.
These are our brand preference for home appliances
- LG OLED for TV
- LG, Daikin or Panasonic for inverter AC
- LG or Panasonic for inverter fridge freezer
- LG for inverter front loading washing machine
A survey conducted in 2020 of more than thirteen thousand people in the UK revealed how long appliance owners had their appliances before needing to replace them due to a fault, deteriorating performance, or the age of the appliance.
| Appliance | Longest average estimated lifespan | Shortest average estimated lifespan |
|---|---|---|
| Washing machine | 21 years | 13 years |
| Tumble dryer | 24 years | 17 years |
| Dishwasher | 22 years | 13 years |
| Built-in oven | 29 years | 23 years |
| Fridge freezer | 24 years | 14 years |
| Fridge | 29 years | 18 years |
So it appears that with manufacturer's prescribed maintenance schedule our home appliances should be useful for 2-3 decades.
I'd only replace a functioning home appliance or other electronics for improved performance per watt and indoor/outdoor operating noise.
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That's a silly conspiracy theory. Samsung would LOVE to supply a billion foldable displays to a partner (even Apple) over the next decade. It's more likely that different testing methods lead to different results. And selling a 50 million janky failure prone devices is simply a bigger problem than selling 5 million of them.
Any engineer will tell you the moving parts are the parts that are likely to wear out and fail first... this is not a surprise at all.
Certain companies highlight the lack of moving parts in certain products.. passive cooling for longevity, redesigned strain relief for cables in display hinges... and then folding screens come along 😂
Certain companies highlight the lack of moving parts in certain products.. passive cooling for longevity, redesigned strain relief for cables in display hinges... and then folding screens come along 😂
Because the “where is the innovation from Apple!” crowd.
I agree. I will buy my last iPhone when it becomes foldable. We don’t need something groundbreaking.
I don’t see the engineering ever working out, to be honest. The other option is two physical halves connected by hinges like the Surface Duo phones, but I really doubt Apple would go such an “unappealing” route.
Foldable phone sales growth was 23% last year.
What was iPhone growth?
Foldable smartphone sales break record in Q3, Samsung to lose significant share in Q4
A new comprehensive report has been released on the state of foldables - past as well as future (estimated) sales numbers.
This is a sales feature, to notify the user that your phone is old and you really need a new phone.
No but hopefully Apple provides the option of one soon so we don’t have to choose between innovative useful phones or iOS. I’d like to have a phone that isn’t just for calling, texting and Spotify that runs iOS, but it seems to be years away.
Apple’s design conundrum is making phones that “do everything for everyone.”
The company needs to recognize that there is a large market for smaller phones that are simply phones, and that slip into your pocket. The iPhone 5 was the pinnacle of this design form. I use a MB or one of two iPads for everything non-phone related, and have despised the larger form factor since the iPhone 6.
The company needs to recognize that there is a large market for smaller phones that are simply phones, and that slip into your pocket. The iPhone 5 was the pinnacle of this design form. I use a MB or one of two iPads for everything non-phone related, and have despised the larger form factor since the iPhone 6.