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Foldable iPhone Engineering Delays Could Push Launch Into 2027
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TheColtr
macrumors 6502a
If Apple does not release a foldable this year, and their AI implementation in iOS 27 is weak I’m moving to a pixel fold. I don’t want to, but come on Apple.
code-m
macrumors 601
Engineers by nature are the ones who find solutions to problems. Engineering problem sounds like an oxymoron.
I moved to Android 2 years ago and haven't looked back. Currently using an Oppo Find N6 and love it.
Still love my Mac and other Apple products, but wanted a phone that wasn't the same thing for a decade in a row.
Naraxus
macrumors 68030
So what? I'd rather Apple take the time to get it as close to perfect as possible than do a Samsung and rush the product out the door with a **** ton of issues
FreakinEurekan
macrumors G3
Of course, in school - the answers were KNOWN (by the teachers) and you were just regurgitating them. Not the same thing at all.
My father always told me - "Best quality, quickest time, cheapest price. Pick any two."
Physics always has a say.
Luckily for all of us I’m no materials scientist but I just don’t see how they get rid of the crease.
I’m still holding out for a rollable display.
That would be a game changer, and would provide the opportunity to re-design the form factor of the phone. The current "slab" approach, dictated by the large display requirement, is bad for camera design, which needs thickness to get better image quality. A form factor with a rollable display could provide 20mm thickness for the camera.
We need some creativity to move forward.
PBG4 Dude
macrumors 603
ARS has an article on a roll up phone prototype if you’re interested.
Teardown of unreleased LG Rollable shows why rollable phones aren't a thing
LG almost released a rollable smartphone in 2021, and this is what it looked like inside.
arstechnica.com
Leading to even more fragmentation.
Sorry but this specific issue bothers me. They just decided to do this with no warning and it has left a lot of great apps and therefore developers in a weird middle ground. Just look into the situations with Carrot and PCalc for two prominent, well respected examples.
ARS has an article on a roll up phone prototype if you’re interested.
Teardown of unreleased LG Rollable shows why rollable phones aren't a thing
LG almost released a rollable smartphone in 2021, and this is what it looked like inside.
That’s what reminded me of it. Well not Ars specifically since I had to stop reading them when their reporting took a marked decline many years ago. But the phone.
Also, Earth: Final Conflict. Everyone wants a Star Trek Communicator but forgets about the other Roddenberry device.
ARS has an article on a roll up phone prototype if you’re interested.
Teardown of unreleased LG Rollable shows why rollable phones aren't a thing
LG almost released a rollable smartphone in 2021, and this is what it looked like inside.
Thanks for this link. I'm not an industrial designer, but I do know about camera design, and at the moment it is severely limited by the thickness (or should I say thinness) requirements. Those constraints are even greater in the iPhone Air and presumably in the foldable phone as currently rumoured.
Someone needs to get creative a re-think phone design. This is an industry where all the manufacturers copy each other and basically all make the "same" product ... a large, heavy slab of metal and glass ... with only relatively minor variations. The truth is, the slab, particularly the larger ones, just are not ergonomic and do not carry well, requiring large pockets.
The cell phone industry is very conservative, so we can't expect change soon, but it will happen, I'm sure. By the way, the same type of change is required to replace the light-loss-making (>50% light loss) Bayer filter on the cameras, and several non-lossy solutions exist, but again the cautiousness of the industry means this won't be implemented until one company takes the plunge .. and then expect all the others to fall in line pretty quickly.
Apple could still announce it in September. Either very few countries will be getting it during the first few months or the actual availability might be only sometime around January to March of 2027. Eagerly waiting to see the foldable however the rumored screen size, lack of FaceID and only two cameras are all setting up for a major disappointment. Besides the starting price of $1999 in the US will easily lead to much higher prices in other parts of the world, especially after considering high import duty.
iPhones in the EU are almost always a lot more expensive than in the US, over and above the VAT ("sales tax") charge of typically 20%, and this is not due to any additional import duty. Apple make a higher margin on its products outside the US. Why? Because it can!
PBG4 Dude
macrumors 603
EU has stronger consumer protection laws and minimum warranty requirements. This translates to increased prices in EU as Apple has to account for these extra costs somehow.
For example, Apple only gives one year warranty in US on laptops but are forced to provide 2 year or sometimes longer warranties in the EU. It’s an increased cost which leads to an increased price.
Not trying to be an Apple apologist here, just wearing my cost accountant hat.
Good point, yes we have a longer warranty period here. I'm not sure that accounts for all the extra price though.
Another issue is that (especially in smaller countries) there are fewer "deals" ... it's seems every week that buyers in the US can regularly get discounts from Amazon or Best Buy that are significantly better than those outside the US. I guess that's due to the huge (/same language) market in the US.