Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Foldable iPhone's Crease-Free Display Tech Spotted at CES 2026

I7guy said:
The AVP was objectively successful. It accomplished exactly what Apple wanted and now Apple is on to AVP 2.
Click to expand...
No, it was not objectively successful and no, it did not accomplish exactly what Apple wanted. It failed to capture sustained market penetration and failed to meet Apple’s meagre sales expectations.

“Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has scaled back manufacturing and marketing activity around its Vision Pro headset after consumer demand fell short of early expectations, according to multiple industry data points cited by the Financial Times. International Data Corporation said Apple's Chinese manufacturing partner Luxshare halted production at the start of last year (2025), after the company shipped about 390,000 units during the device's 2024 launch. Sensor Tower data also showed Apple cut digital advertising spending for Vision Pro by more than 95 per cent year to date in markets including the US and UK, suggesting a reassessment of near-term commercial momentum for the product.”


However, this year [2024] Apple is now anticipating selling only around 450,000 Vision Pros, far short of their first-year target of 800,000. Compare that to the 73 million Apple iPads that sold in their first year.

www.forbes.com

Apple’s Vision Pro Is Amazing But Nobody Wants One

The market failed to embrace the Vision Pro. What happened to Apple’s dream for mass adoption of spatial computing and what can we learn from it?
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
 
Pbwallstreet said:
You’re saying how it should be in theory, I’m talking about what foldables are in reality.

1) Scratching is a thing.

Not “only if someone tries to damage it.” That’s just not true. Inner displays use soft polymer layers + screen protectors. Even Samsung tells you not to press too much and to avoid debris. Dust, fingernails, pockets, even small particles trapped when folded can cause micro-scratches. Your personal experience is very unlikely
Click to expand...

Actually no my experience is the norm for all foldable users. It's obvious you have never used a foldable a day in your life. If you did you would realise scratching the display is simply a myth or people trying to break the device. Can scratches happen? of course. It has happened on many slab phones. No phones can't get them but they aren't easily done and in fact my ipad screens have had more prone to scratch than any foldable i've had in the past 5-6 years

All current foldables who have screen protectors on both screens anyway so they are protected out the gate and if there is a scratch thats on the screen protector which everybody knows are more prone to scratches than normally on displays.

Pbwallstreet said:
Thickness isn’t debated, it’s physics.

Yes, Fold 7 is “thin” for a foldable, but it’s still thicker than a normal flagship phone, especially in the pocket. And yes, it’s a compromise. Every foldable pays that tax
Click to expand...

Point is it's thin enough to be used easily in your pocket. using the fold 7 feels very little difference from a pro max due to how it's made. When you open up the fold 7 you will not be complaining about the thickness. Foldables are super thin and light these days and apple's foldable should be very similar in this regard
Pbwallstreet said:
Aspect ratio is still a compromise.

You’re saying “Apple’s ratio will be good” like it’s a confirmed product, not a rumor. Every foldable claims it’ll be “best of both worlds.” Then you open it and realize:
  • a lot of apps don’t scale properly
  • you get weird UI layouts
  • typing and one-handed use suffers
  • videos don’t magically fill the screen; you still get black bars depending on the content
You cannot have a standard smartphone aspect ratio on a bifold without it’s unfolded ratio being boxy. So then a boxy aspect ratio as a smartphone folded is what results potentially in Apple’s case.

Even the best foldables still have this issue. Saying Apple “won’t have that” is nonsense
Click to expand...

It's not nonsense as the aspect ratio is supposed to basically be what the ipad mini. there will be challenges with certain apps at the start but generally if they are going to be using code for ipad apps this will basically transition into those apps when opened. a wider display when folded will be more of an judgement than when the display is opened like it was with the iphone mini when it first launched.

foldables and apps have been an issue on android due to the optimisation issue but this won't be the same on IOS

Regarding black bars on current foldables so this is an issue but on the aspect ratio of the iphone fold it's supposed to be far better and fit the display like the ipad mini is. time will tell but thats why they are going a completly different route for the form factor.
Pbwallstreet said:
“Basically an iPad mini” is exactly the problem.

It won’t be an iPad mini, because the iPad mini has:
  • better durability (no hinge, no crease, no soft inner display)
  • better thermals
  • better sustained performance
  • a more stable software experience for that form factor[/QUOTE[
Click to expand...

Better thermals? based on what? foldable iphone is expected to have a cooling system inside. The ipad mini certainly doesn't and never will. why would an ipad mini have more sustained performance when it will have a worse chip, worse efficiency and no cooling system. It simply won't be better in any of these areas IF apple fit it with a cooling system.

Afterall it will be on a 2nm processor.

Until it's out we dunno know how stable it all will be but given apple are focusing more on fixing stability for IOS 27 neither should be an issue.
Pbwallstreet said:
A foldable tries to be two devices and ends up as a compromised version of both.

5) Power/thermals/battery compromises are real — not optional.

That’s not me dunking, it’s engineering:
  • split battery layout
  • thin chassis + hinge space
  • less room for cooling
  • more internal complexity
    That impacts sustained performance, charging design flexibility, and long-term wear. “It will feel like a normal pro device” is only true until heat, battery, and long duration workloads show up. This is already demonstrated on foldables.
6) “Only compromise is cameras” is just wrong.

Cameras are one compromise. Others include:
  • durability risk and cost
  • crease + reflections
  • inner screen softness
  • hinge failure risk over time
  • reduced water/dust tolerance (even when rated)
  • weight distribution
  • lack of accessories that work well (cases, stands, keyboards, mounts)…
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Again there are no compromises when it comes to thermals and battery if it's done right. If there is poor battery sizes and no cooling system yes without a doubt this is a major issue. HOWEVER apple have thought about this and why they are testing a 5400-5800 battery in the foldable and why a cooling system is expected. all top foldables these days have big batteries and a cooling system for a reason to avoid these issues.

So no current foldables do not suffer here at all. Maybe you are looking at select foldables but most don't have any issue at all.

Sure durability is more of a concern than a slab phone but that's why it will be important to have apple care for piece of mind more than anything else.

You are within your rights not to like foldables or think slab phones are better and for most they likely will be but for others who want a 2 in 1 this will be ideal and it's good that this tech exists to keep people choice. Just like those who want the air at least it exists.
 
The Game 161 said:
Actually no my experience is the norm for all foldable users. It's obvious you have never used a foldable a day in your life. If you did you would realise scratching the display is simply a myth or people trying to break the device. Can scratches happen? of course. It has happened on many slab phones. No phones can't get them but they aren't easily done and in fact my ipad screens have had more prone to scratch than any foldable i've had in the past 5-6 years

All current foldables who have screen protectors on both screens anyway so they are protected out the gate and if there is a scratch thats on the screen protector which everybody knows are more prone to scratches than normally on displays.



Point is it's thin enough to be used easily in your pocket. using the fold 7 feels very little difference from a pro max due to how it's made. When you open up the fold 7 you will not be complaining about the thickness. Foldables are super thin and light these days and apple's foldable should be very similar in this regard


It's not nonsense as the aspect ratio is supposed to basically be what the ipad mini. there will be challenges with certain apps at the start but generally if they are going to be using code for ipad apps this will basically transition into those apps when opened. a wider display when folded will be more of an judgement than when the display is opened like it was with the iphone mini when it first launched.

foldables and apps have been an issue on android due to the optimisation issue but this won't be the same on IOS

Regarding black bars on current foldables so this is an issue but on the aspect ratio of the iphone fold it's supposed to be far better and fit the display like the ipad mini is. time will tell but thats why they are going a completly different route for the form factor.


Better thermals? based on what? foldable iphone is expected to have a cooling system inside. The ipad mini certainly doesn't and never will. why would an ipad mini have more sustained performance when it will have a worse chip, worse efficiency and no cooling system. It simply won't be better in any of these areas IF apple fit it with a cooling system.

Afterall it will be on a 2nm processor.

Until it's out we dunno know how stable it all will be but given apple are focusing more on fixing stability for IOS 27 neither should be an issue.

Again there are no compromises when it comes to thermals and battery if it's done right. If there is poor battery sizes and no cooling system yes without a doubt this is a major issue. HOWEVER apple have thought about this and why they are testing a 5400-5800 battery in the foldable and why a cooling system is expected. all top foldables these days have big batteries and a cooling system for a reason to avoid these issues.

So no current foldables do not suffer here at all. Maybe you are looking at select foldables but most don't have any issue at all.

Sure durability is more of a concern than a slab phone but that's why it will be important to have apple care for piece of mind more than anything else.

You are within your rights not to like foldables or think slab phones are better and for most they likely will be but for others who want a 2 in 1 this will be ideal and it's good that this tech exists to keep people choice. Just like those who want the air at least it exists.
Click to expand...
1) “Scratching is a myth / you’ve never used one”

Your personal device babying isn’t “the norm,” it’s an anecdote. Foldables don’t defy materials science because you treat yours like a museum artifact.

Samsung warns users about debris, pressure, and other objects on the inner display. That’s not “people trying to break it.” That’s the manufacturer admitting the surface is softer.

Also: “It scratches like any slab phone”: no. Slab phones use specially designed glass designed to resist scratches and they do this because they are much harder, and particularly much harder than plastic. Fold inner displays are polymer layers with a permanent screen protector (e.g., Samsung warns that you should not try and remove it and replace it). You’re comparing glass to plastic...

2) “Scratches are just on the screen protector”

Congrats, you discovered the problem and called it a feature.

“Don’t worry, the inner screen doesn’t scratch: only the protective layer scratches” is the foldable equivalent of:

"My car doesn't rust, only the outer metal does."

A screen protector that scratches easily means you’re looking at a scratched screen. Normal phones don’t require a mandatory sacrificial layer to survive normal use.

3) “Thickness doesn’t matter — it’s like a Pro Max”

“It’s not thick, it’s just as thick as an already huge phone” isn’t true: it’s admitting foldables are a double-stacked device trying to pretend it isn’t.

iPhone 17 Pro Max: 8.75 mm
iPhone Air: 5.6 mm
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: 8.2 mm
Samsung Z Fold 7 folded (bifold): 8.9 mm
Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold folded: 12.9 mm

Also pocket feel isn’t only thickness, it’s weight distribution + hinge bulge + rigidity + creases. A flat slab disappears. A foldable sits like a brick with a spine.

4) “Apple will fix aspect ratio / iPad mini apps”

This is where foldable fans start doing religion. “Apple will fix it” is not an engineering argument, it’s a prayer.

Aspect ratio compromises are geometry:
  • If it’s normal-phone shaped closed, it becomes a boxy tablet open on a bifold.
  • If it’s decent tablet shaped open, it becomes an awkward phone closed on a bifold.
You don’t escape that with iOS. The OS can help layouts but it can’t change the fact that apps, videos, and typing are still stuck in weird frames.

And “it’ll run iPad apps” isn’t what you think it is:
  • iPad apps are designed for single rigid glass
  • not for fold states
  • not for two screens with different pixel densities and failure modes and off aspect ratios
5) “Better thermals? Based on what? It’ll have cooling”

Based on physics, again.

A foldable has:
  • two or three thin halves
  • hinge hardware stealing internal volume
  • split batteries
  • more layers
  • more failure points
  • tighter packaging
  • very thin panels
Even if Apple adds cooling, they’re cooling inside a more constrained and compromised chassis with less continuous heat spread. We see this on the iPhone Air and we see it on foldables.

Your argument is basically:

"I'll have cooling therefore it can't be worse."

That’s like saying a laptop and a desktop are the same because both have fans.

6) “2nm chip = sustained performance”

This is the funniest one.

Node size helps efficiency, yes, but it doesn’t erase:
  • surface area limits
  • heat saturation over time
  • battery constraints
  • chassis constraints
You’re acting like 2nm turns a foldable into a MacBook Pro. Sustained performance is thermal headroom, not marketing nanometers.

7) “Battery/thermal compromises aren’t real if done right”

“If done right” is doing a lot of lifting.

Foldables inherently compromise battery design because the battery is split into two or three cells with hinge space and very thin panels. You can brute-force it with bigger capacity, but then you:
  • increase thickness
  • increase weight
  • increase cost
  • increase complexity
  • increase failure risk
So yes, you can band-aid it… and now it’s even more of a brick. Pick a lane.

8) “Current foldables don’t suffer here at all”

“They don’t suffer” according to who, the guy defending them on a forum?

Foldables already show:
  • worse durability outcomes
  • higher repair rates
  • inner screen wear
  • crease reflections
  • more expensive failures
This isn’t a “select foldables” thing. It’s a folding screen thing.

9) “AppleCare solves durability”

This is the most self-owning statement in the whole thread.

If your argument for durability is:

"Just buy insurance" …then you’ve admitted it’s fragile.

Normal phones don’t require you to budget an extra protection plan to feel safe using them like a normal person.

10) “It’s good tech for choice”

Sure, choice is great. Some people choose SUVs. Some people choose motorcycles. And some people choose a phone that costs more, breaks easier, and compromises geometry… because it unfolds into a slightly bigger screen.

Choice doesn’t make it good engineering. It just means the market includes people who enjoy paying more for compromises.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SuzyM70 and ScanTheNavian
Pbwallstreet said:
Aspect ratio is still a compromise...videos don’t magically fill the screen; you still get black bars depending on the content
Click to expand...
True, but that's no worse than with a smartphone held in landscape orientation. In fact, it's better in many cases, since most people use their smartphones in portrait orientation, but when we come across a video on a web page, if we want to watch the video at full size, we have to rotate our phone and then rotate it back to portrait orientation when done, which isn't a big deal, but it's an extra couple steps, and depending on the website, we often have to tap once or twice to get a video to expand from its initial tiny size to landscape. And when a web page's video is playing in full screen mode on a smartphone in landscape orientation, we can't look at anything else on the web page since it's not being displayed. None of those extra steps and issues arise when you're viewing a video on a foldable, since you immediately get the video's full width when you play it while using the foldable unfolded.

There's also the usefulness of the increased screen real estate for viewing the text and other items on those web pages, when not watching a video.
 
Pbwallstreet said:
People want there to be new paradigms in the tech industry. So many ideas and technologies never reach mainstream. What we have after some 50 years of personal computing is effectively the exact same paradigm for desktops that was invented in the 1970s at Xerox PARC and PDAs that have become multi-touch phones and portable computers in our pockets.

Foldable phones are like many other ideas: they compromise the core function of multiple converged devices, don’t solve problems for people and create a set of their own problems. The consequence is that they fail to capture a mainstream market. Everyone can come back here in 5 years and see if I’m right.

I said also prior to and after the Apple Vision Pro was launched that it would fail as well. Because it doesn’t solve problems for people and creates its own set of problems.
Click to expand...
You're completely discount the evolution of desktops and of PDAs/smartphones that makes this evolution to foldables sensible: screen size.

Desktops used to be on tiny screens (with different ratios no less). Now, it's only worth setting up a desktop if you have a bigger screen than a laptop, and probably a very big screen, or multiple screens, or an ultrawide screen.

PDAs and smartphones used to have very, very small screens. The original iphone had a 3.5" screen and nobody thought it was small at the time. The evolution of touch screen smartphones has been to increase screen size steadily. But, due to pocket/purse sizes, we have reached a plateau. People want bigger screens, as is shown by the constant increase of every screen size on nearly any product with a screen. ratios change, but size just grows. Foldables solve the problem of allowing for a bigger screen on a device that still fits in your pocket.
 
johnsawyercjs said:
True, but that's no worse than with a smartphone held in landscape orientation. In fact, it's better in many cases, since most people use their smartphones in portrait orientation, but when we come across a video on a web page, if we want to watch the video at full size, we have to rotate our phone and then rotate it back to portrait orientation when done, which isn't a big deal, but it's an extra couple steps, and depending on the website, we often have to tap once or twice to get a video to expand from its initial tiny size to landscape. And when a web page's video is playing in full screen mode on a smartphone in landscape orientation, we can't look at anything else on the web page since it's not being displayed. None of those extra steps and issues arise when you're viewing a video on a foldable, since you immediately get the video's full width when you play it while using the foldable unfolded.

There's also the usefulness of the increased screen real estate for viewing the text and other items on those web pages, when not watching a video.
Click to expand...
Rotating your phone is “extra steps”… but unfolding a $2K brick, babying a fragile inner screen, and living with a crease isn’t?

Foldables don’t fix aspect ratio: they just give you bigger black bars. If you want “more screen,” that’s called an iPad.
 
ayephoner said:
You're completely discount the evolution of desktops and of PDAs/smartphones that makes this evolution to foldables sensible: screen size.

Desktops used to be on tiny screens (with different ratios no less). Now, it's only worth setting up a desktop if you have a bigger screen than a laptop, and probably a very big screen, or multiple screens, or an ultrawide screen.

PDAs and smartphones used to have very, very small screens. The original iphone had a 3.5" screen and nobody thought it was small at the time. The evolution of touch screen smartphones has been to increase screen size steadily. But, due to pocket/purse sizes, we have reached a plateau. People want bigger screens, as is shown by the constant increase of every screen size on nearly any product with a screen. ratios change, but size just grows. Foldables solve the problem of allowing for a bigger screen on a device that still fits in your pocket.
Click to expand...
Doesn’t seem like OP is in the target market for a foldable. Neither am I but Apple (Samsung) think there is a market for these types of phones. No matter the arguments made against it.
 
ayephoner said:
You're completely discount the evolution of desktops and of PDAs/smartphones that makes this evolution to foldables sensible: screen size.

Desktops used to be on tiny screens (with different ratios no less). Now, it's only worth setting up a desktop if you have a bigger screen than a laptop, and probably a very big screen, or multiple screens, or an ultrawide screen.

PDAs and smartphones used to have very, very small screens. The original iphone had a 3.5" screen and nobody thought it was small at the time. The evolution of touch screen smartphones has been to increase screen size steadily. But, due to pocket/purse sizes, we have reached a plateau. People want bigger screens, as is shown by the constant increase of every screen size on nearly any product with a screen. ratios change, but size just grows. Foldables solve the problem of allowing for a bigger screen on a device that still fits in your pocket.
Click to expand...
You basically wrote a manifesto to say “bigger screen good,” but that’s not evolution: it’s ignoring the right tool for the job: phones win because they’re fast, durable, portable and one-hand usable 95% of the time, while tablets/laptops exist for big-screen work; foldables try to be both and end up being neither. Foldables are thicker, more fragile, have worse ergonomics, and you still can’t comfortably use the “big screen” one-handed, so the “solution” is just paying extra to add hinges and failure points to a problem that already has better tools.
 
I7guy said:
Doesn’t seem like OP is in the target market for a foldable. Neither am I but Apple (Samsung) think there is a market for these types of phones. No matter the arguments made against it.
Click to expand...
There is no Apple foldable product so as of right now, you don’t know if Apple thinks there is a viable market or not.
 
Pbwallstreet said:
You basically wrote a manifesto to say “bigger screen good,” but that’s not evolution: it’s ignoring the right tool for the job: phones win because they’re fast, durable, portable and one-hand usable 95% of the time, while tablets/laptops exist for big-screen work; foldables try to be both and end up being neither. Foldables are thicker, more fragile, have worse ergonomics, and you still can’t comfortably use the “big screen” one-handed, so the “solution” is just paying extra to add hinges and failure points to a problem that already has better tools.
Click to expand...
Ahh. So, just more of the same out of you? Basically "new product bad"?

good talk.
 
darngooddesign said:
If all you do is watch videos, then two-panel foldables aren’t for you.
Click to expand...
There's a trend in cinema to put most action/dialogue in the center of the screen. The claim is that this makes it better for people to take clips for tik tok or reels. Free advertisement is a big deal. I've had phones in the past that had strange ratios and you could choose to zoom in order to get rid of the black bars or to watch at the native resolution with black bars. I'm not sure if apple would include something like this in their software, but I don't see why they couldn't.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back