Pro max owner. I get the new pro max every year. I don’t know if I would want to go back to not having telephoto.
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Gurman: iPhone Ultra Wows Early Testers, Except for Its Camera
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Pretty amazing to me how many people are wanting to buy this inferior product. Apple can and has removed features and specs on their devices and people are like take my money. Makes absolutely no sense. For a device costing $2k or more it better have top tier specs and not cameras and Face ID removed. Ridiculous.
teaneedz
macrumors regular
oh yes, the speaker could be a real issue, though the camera buds might help there lol
AlBDamned
macrumors 68030
Easy to understand really. People choose to buy a product based on their alignment with the decisions/compromises made in the design process and the overall experience it promises.... not everyone's priority of importance on certain 'specs' is the same, as witnessed in this thread.
Physical limitations are always going to make it hard for a phone of this nature to have a camera as good as a thicc phone
I'd actually prefer to have a thicker foldable than to lose out on the camera.
I'd actually prefer to have a thicker foldable than to lose out on the camera.
I tried the Samsung Fold 8 and hated taking photos with it …
What kind of self-respecting commenter imposes their own limited use cases on the entire population. How was I supposed to capture the eagle sitting up in a tree a few months back -- get closer or use portrait mode?
Highly doubt it. Have you noticed that all this stuff is getting wildly more expensive these days? I can't see the price going down to those levels until 2030, if ever.
urnotl33t
macrumors 6502a
Actually… it might be. Touch ID? Yes please. 5.5” it’s too far from my 2016 SE’s 5.125” diagonal shell. That could be a viable replacement. Will this thing have a camera wart, too, tho? Remains to be seen. Squared edges? I don’t recall what the rumors say about that.
I have zero faith and confidence that Apple’s design team can actually make anything practical and pretty anymore, so I’m site they will F this up, too.
It the folded depth isn’t something the size of an actual clay brick, this might work…
I am a value guy and probably cheaper to get Pro Max and iPad Mini bring both with
These people getting early access are essentially Apple’s internal testers or people closely involved with Apple. When they evaluate the Fold, they probably aren’t looking at it in the same way a normal consumer would.
They don’t necessarily have to sit there and think about whether the device is actually worth $2,500 compared to a Pro Max. A regular consumer does. We have to think whether the Fold is actually useful enough to justify the price.
The Fold sounds impressive as piece of tech, but the real test isn’t whether it’s useful. It’s whether it’s $1,500 more useful than slab iPhone?
A slab iPhone fits in your pocket too you know.
The biggest slab iPhone, the Pro Max, has a 6.9-inch display, which is only 0.9 inches smaller than the Fold when it’s opened.
Yes, you get a bigger screen with the Fold, and the aspect ratio is much more tablet-like, which can make that extra screen space more useful.
Yes, the Fold is also easier to fit into a pocket when it’s closed compared to a Pro Max.
But there are compromises too, like the cameras, durability and probably a few other things that come with having a foldable design.
So the real question is whether those extra benefits are actually worth it. And on the other hand, are the compromises something you’re willing to accept when you’re also paying another $1,500 compared to a regular slab phone?
They don’t necessarily have to sit there and think about whether the device is actually worth $2,500 compared to a Pro Max. A regular consumer does. We have to think whether the Fold is actually useful enough to justify the price.
The Fold sounds impressive as piece of tech, but the real test isn’t whether it’s useful. It’s whether it’s $1,500 more useful than slab iPhone?
A slab iPhone fits in your pocket too you know.
The biggest slab iPhone, the Pro Max, has a 6.9-inch display, which is only 0.9 inches smaller than the Fold when it’s opened.
Yes, you get a bigger screen with the Fold, and the aspect ratio is much more tablet-like, which can make that extra screen space more useful.
Yes, the Fold is also easier to fit into a pocket when it’s closed compared to a Pro Max.
But there are compromises too, like the cameras, durability and probably a few other things that come with having a foldable design.
So the real question is whether those extra benefits are actually worth it. And on the other hand, are the compromises something you’re willing to accept when you’re also paying another $1,500 compared to a regular slab phone?
Sosab123
macrumors 6502
I mean that's reasonable to say for something that's appreciated I'm gambling on the ultra to not be appreciated, it's missing certain features that would make it ultra valuable imho, face ID is a big one for me, I know the cost will be higher as the warnings have been around for awhile now but once again it's not gonna appreciate like perse a RTX 5090.
It's like, the ultra for me is half of what I want in a device, cause it has no face id, so because it's half of what I want I intend to pay half of what it's worth.
I'll likely cave and buy the mini 8 tho but I can wait on the ultra cause I plan to use it at home anyways just to give my other stuff a break.
You do realize it’s FOLDABLE? In fact, that is the whole point. Perhaps the name confuses you? You don’t have to unfold to take pictures.
transpo1
macrumors 68000
How about an iPad mini that you can fold into a smaller phone? Oh, wait...
transpo1
macrumors 68000
You're essentially arguing an individual use case— everyone has their own. Some people don't care about telephoto cameras, FaceID— I do, but I understand that someone may place more importance on having the biggest possible screen in the smallest form factor, too.
BigDO
macrumors 68000
ITT: people declaring how much they don’t intend to buy the foldable
IRL: delivery dates slip to November 30min after preorders go live
IRL: delivery dates slip to November 30min after preorders go live
Gumbeaux
macrumors newbie
I will likely stick with my 17 Pro Max for now. I’m very interested in this product, but I likely won’t even consider touching it until the third or fourth generation.
Too many compromises at too high of a price right now, with a 2K or better starting price point for something that’s going to be obsolete 10-12 months. It needs to have top of the line specs. No FaceID, telephoto, Apple Pencil support, etc are non-starters for me.
I’ll let YouTubers and early adopters be the beta testers for it.
I think there is definitely a market for this though and it’s has a chance to be a very popular product line in a few years if Apple does it right.
Too many compromises at too high of a price right now, with a 2K or better starting price point for something that’s going to be obsolete 10-12 months. It needs to have top of the line specs. No FaceID, telephoto, Apple Pencil support, etc are non-starters for me.
I’ll let YouTubers and early adopters be the beta testers for it.
I think there is definitely a market for this though and it’s has a chance to be a very popular product line in a few years if Apple does it right.
JOHNGAETANO
macrumors 6502
If I could get iMessage to work on the Z Fold I’d probably go that route. But literally 80% of people have I phones and iMessage.
Avenged110
macrumors 6502a
It may be software-related in the others, but all iPhones produce ugly images, so what difference does it make if it's just implemented in hardware this time? Now if they would just take that nicely-sized outer display and TouchID and put it in a regular phone, foregoing the folding monstrosity, I might be interested.
macduke
macrumors G5
Price and lack of telephoto are dealbreakers for many. I’d be tempted to get one if they offered a three year Apple Upgrade for it and it had telephoto.
However, I might get one for a tax write off, because I’m working on an app for it, but it’s dependent on the SDK allowing the outer and inner display to be powered simultaneously. I’ve got it mostly built and running on my iPhone and iPad to approximate it. Though I have a feeling, knowing Apple, they won’t allow it. Opening it probably disables the outer display for battery life and UX (accidental touch) reasons. I just hope the SDK can override that for specific reasons within apps.
However, I might get one for a tax write off, because I’m working on an app for it, but it’s dependent on the SDK allowing the outer and inner display to be powered simultaneously. I’ve got it mostly built and running on my iPhone and iPad to approximate it. Though I have a feeling, knowing Apple, they won’t allow it. Opening it probably disables the outer display for battery life and UX (accidental touch) reasons. I just hope the SDK can override that for specific reasons within apps.
joefrank64k
macrumors 6502a
The Fold 8 allows you to use the main cameras for high resolution selfies.
You open the phone, open the camera app, and there’s a mode that turns on the front display so to can frame the shot. The inner screen stays powered on and says “flip the phone around to use the high resolution camera” or words to that effect. The inner display stays on while you use the outer display.