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Foldable watch?

taliz said:
There will always be doubters but mark my words in a few years it's going to be here.
(There are already Chinese concepts of course...)
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Apple Watch is not a Samsung product. Absolutely no way in hell it'll get a foldable display.

There are no ambitions to ever make Watch a standalone device, a all-in-one iPhone substitute, or any plans to drastically overhaul the design.

Apple Watch is the iPhone of smartwatches -Expect new features and design changes to follow the same iterative rollout:

No changes to the core use cases and functionality, besides upgrades to internals and more/better health sensors. Then every 3-4 years, the chassis/body/display will see a noticeable change/refinement.

I have to assume you're just trolling?
 
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taliz said:
There will always be doubters but mark my words in a few years it's going to be here.
(There are already Chinese concepts of course...)
Click to expand...
No.
Make a proper case for this if you feel like it’s the future. Address the mentioned downsides and real world benefits.
What do we gain from this?
 
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Reggaenald said:
How can we make the Apple Watch more expensive, less water and not dust resistant, with less battery line 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?
Click to expand...
Plus, the whole typing/dictation issues are easily solved with better microphones and the AI-level of voice recognition and language processing that's already been a reality for the last couple of years.

A bigger display to type would be a terrible solution when there's much more high tech ones that could be even better/faster than typing on a regular iPhone.

Apple Watch with a foldable display ain't it.

I'd actually expect Apple to go in the opposite direction for Watch, and let Watch use AI to intelligently determine when talking to AI-Siri is sufficient and then conserve battery by keeping the display off or dimmed more often.

Perhaps a new ultra low power mode where the display is completely off but you can do a lot of things only using AI-Siri? If the AI happens on-device then it would certainly conserve more battery than having you interact with Watch using the display.
 
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taliz said:
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.
Click to expand...
It’s a neat thought, what’s with all the haters shooting this down? Motorola made that wrist bracelet phone concept, there are a lot of ways to be innovative with form factor. Make some sketches and share them? It’s a lot easier to be a critic than it is to put ideas out there.
 
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taliz said:
There's a lot of talk about a foldable iPhone or iPad. To me that doesn't really make practical sense.
Click to expand...
Foldable iPhones makes great sense. A key inconvenience with the current iPhones (indeed, with most smartphones) is you can't comfortably put them in your front pocket. But fold them in half, and you have something that weighs no more (or maybe slightly more, because of the hinge), yet is less than wallet-sized, in every dimension. For instance, a foldable iPhone 15 Pro would be about 2.9" x 2.8" x 0.64". A foldable iPhone 15 Pro Max would be about 3.2" x 3.0" x 0.64".
 
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Hey, let’s all give this OP some credit. You have to be willing to think outside the box and fail to have better ideas down the line…there are plenty worse ideas than this— foldable HomePod anyone?
 
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Sendeky said:
Damn, the pessimism on Macrumours is crazy. It’s an interesting thought OP, I think it would be pretty neat if the dimensions and weight were reasonable
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It's not as much pessimism as it is considering the entire timeline of Apple products:

There's one solid device for each use case. And exactly none of them overlap each other in significant ways.

A Watch with a big display, foldable or otherwise, competes with iPhone and therefore doesn't fit into Apple's business model.

It's technically possible to do a foldable display on a smartwatch, sure. But it wouldn't be Apple putting it out, never in a million years.
 
Hard pass. This world have tons of drawbacks and very little benefit. I’d go so far as to say the Apple Watch might be one of the worst cases for a folding display in the Apple lineup (at least using current foldable tech).
 
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I would rather have electro-optical HUD implants in my eyes. Ok, so the foldable watch is on my wrist. Unfolding it while moving is problematic. Biking or in a motorcycle/driving in a car - distracted driving. I suppose it could be voice avtivated to open/expand - but then it would be motorized. Power draw? Breakability when expanded/unfolded?

In order for me to use my Apple Pencil on this monstrosity I would have to wear the watch on my right hand (which I do not like doing) b/c I’m left handed.

Just. No.

I will clarify. For me it is a useless idea/concept. I would not want nor would I purchase such a watch. Having my real world iPad Pro 12.9 allows me to ise my Apple Pencil on something approximating a normal size letter sheet of paper.

Tom
 
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It all depends on how it's implemented.

If it can be done in a way that makes the watch more functional and easier for me to leave my phone at home, then I'm all for it and I'd take a bit more mass on my wrist to achieve it. If it's just two watches stacked, then no.

spinal-tap-clever-and-stupid.gif
 
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taliz said:
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.
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So you want the screen that is looked at / used 99% of the time to be the ****** screen?

Nah, all these ideas are horrible. The watch already found its niche. Trying to make it a workhorse by making it bigger and heavier and even less ergonomic to use is a recipe for disaster.

I suggest if you want to go out without having to carry a phone then embrace the simplicity of a more limited device instead of wishing for an iPhone on your wrist.
 
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What do you do with the apple watch that would justify the expense, for me it's a glorified beeper, so the appeal is lost on me.
 
a wrist worn device that has an expandable physical display?
no.

but possibly a wrist worn mobile device that projects an image like the recently launched ai pin by humane.
this would be plausible.
 
zdan1337 said:
It’s a neat thought, what’s with all the haters shooting this down? Motorola made that wrist bracelet phone concept, there are a lot of ways to be innovative with form factor. Make some sketches and share them? It’s a lot easier to be a critic than it is to put ideas out there.
Click to expand...
Making something „innovative“ is far away from making something useful…
 
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Foldable watch 😂

Im sorry, no thanks. A watch is meant to be a watch lol. Just look at the time, track your fitness, I don't need a folding gimmick on it.
 
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Just for fun, here's a mockup by Greek design firm Liquid Silicone. It does make sense to have it unfold to the left if it's intended to be worn on the left wrist. I'm very active and thus favor very light watches, so it's probably not my cup of tea.

1703630148132.png

source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/110163633/Apple-Watch-Series-X

Here's an alternate concept from Motorola. Rather than making a foldable watch, they made a smartphone that bends into a circle and can thus be worn like a bangle. Doesn't look comfortable to me, but it might be tolerated by women used to wearing heavy jewelry, or large muscular guys who also tend to move more slowly.

1703630229408.png

source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/motor...ne-like-a-watch-and-im-all-types-of-confused/

Finally, IBM patented a foldable watch in 2016; here's a mockup based on that patent:

1703630406339.png


source: https://www.designboom.com/technology/ibm-folding-smartwatch-patent-07-10-2019/
 
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theorist9 said:
Just for fun, here's a mockup by Greek design firm Liquid Silicone. It does make sense to have it unfold to the left if it's intended to be worn on the left wrist. I'm very active and thus favor very light watches, so it's probably not my cup of tea.

View attachment 2329334
Click to expand...

So, left wrist only? What about left-haded people? Doesn't really matter, as I still think it's a really bad idea.
 
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