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Foldable watch?

T

taliz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 10, 2006
196
274
There's a lot of talk about a foldable iPhone or iPad. To me that doesn't really make practical sense.
A foldable watch though... imagine a display a bit wider than todays watch, that you could unfold to make it twice as tall. Now you have a quite usable display on your wrist.
For me I wouldn't even need an iPhone anymore.
Use the watch when you're out, and the iPad at home. One less thing to carry around.
Since its literally wrapped around your wrist it won't get lost or misplaced as easily as a phone either.

Downside? Well I guess if you do a lot of typing it's gonna be a PITA.
 
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dwfaust said:
Can you imagine how freaking thick and heavy that thing would be? No thanks... IMO, stupid idea.
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Depends on how large you make it. To me say a 4" screen size unfolded would be enough. That should weigh less than 100g.
 
Iwavvns said:
Downsides:
Increase in weight
Increase in thickness
Foldable device screens can be damaged by a fingernail
Would need to charge more often, or a larger battery.. adding to the weight
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Sure, but the same is true for a foldable iPhone.
Makes more sense in a smaller scale, such as a watch, IMO.
You simply can't wear a large(ish) screen on your wrist unless it's folded.
 
dwfaust said:
So, you want a foldable watch face that when closed is 2x thickness... and a total of 3 watch faces? Thick, heavy and extra battery power to feed three screens... it's getting more and more bizarre.
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The screen on the outside doesn't have to be a high def one, some really low power/passive thing should be optimal.
The ones "on the inside" are obviously not powered unless unfolded.
 
taliz said:
Sure, but the same is true for a foldable iPhone.
Click to expand...
Yes, but a foldable phone isn’t strapped around your wrist putting pressure on your carpal tunnel and the radial and unlar arteries. More pressure on your ulnar and radial bones runs the risk of developing pressure sores. More weight in bulk equals more pressure in those areas.

I realize you like this idea, but you have to take into consideration your health, common sense and logic.
 
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Mark my words, in a few years time it's going to be done.
Iwavvns said:
Yes, but a foldable phone isn’t strapped around your wrist putting pressure on your carpal tunnel and radial artery. More pressure on your ulnar and radial bones runs the risk of developing pressure sores. More weight in bulk equals more pressure in that area.
Click to expand...
I'm not suggesting it's built to anywhere near the size of an iPhone.
I'm pretty sure the average wrist could handle 100g.
Some high end Swiss watches are 2-300g(there are even some over 400g...)
 
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Iwavvns said:
I realize you like this idea, but you have to take into consideration your health, common sense and logic.
Click to expand...
So you're saying the thousands(if not hundreds of thousands) wearing 200g+ Swiss watches are what exactly?
 
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Iwavvns said:
So go ahead and build one, I would be interested to see what the medical community thinks about it.
Click to expand...

taliz said:
So have you ever heard of any medical complications from people wearing 200g+Swiss watches? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Go present your idea to Apple, Google, Samsung, et al and see (1) how many are interested; (2) how many actually build it; and (3) how well it sells. Prepare to be disappointed. Just isn't practical nor is it feasible.
 
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dwfaust said:
Go present your idea to Apple, Google, Samsung, et al and see (1) how many are interested; (2) how many actually build it; and (3) how well it sells.
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Excellent idea! This could also prompt someone to come up with something no one has ever thought about.. in a way that doesn’t negatively impact human health. The iPhone turned the cell phone industry upside down.. perhaps some new foldable watch idea/design may do the same.
 
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I think it’s more likely that we’ll see an Apple Vision Lite that projects a plus-sized virtual phone in front of you long before we see a physical watch that unfolds to the size of a credit card.

Too many moving parts, too many stress points, much too easy to break when it gets banged on a doorknob. Plus, the ergonomics. Tape a credit card to your wrist and see if you can find a position where you’re comfortable reading it. Maybe if you wear the watch on the inside of your wrist … but the angle and position are still less than ideal.

b&
 
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How can we make the Apple Watch more expensive, less water and not dust resistant, with less battery life and incredibly easily breakable?
And to say this would make more sense than a smartphone that folds?…
I agree with Faust, this is a really stupid idea.
What would the real benefits be if you still can’t type on it properly, make private phone calls or consume media without your arm up all the time? What are the use cases? ~1x2 screen you can only use with one hand.
How would you do that in the first place? Flip open the outer screen and have 2 inside?
 
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