No, they didn't. Perhaps large screens, maybe, but even then I'd argue that the vast majority of iPhone users aren't using the Pro Max.
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Hands-On With Samsung's Latest Foldable Smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip
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Maybe this will help put things in perspective. https://9to5mac.com/2021/10/18/iphone-13-sales-cirp-data/
Unfortunately, you'll never get through to a know-it-all that really doesn't seem to know much at all.
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It's funny, I've been an Apple user since 1991. I remember the old days when we embraced and envied new and interesting tech. Nowadays, it's just turned into tribalism. It's really too bad that instead of the mind becoming more open with the passage of time, they are becoming more closed.
I dunno, the Z Fold’s aspect ratio looks weird. Holding a square in your hand reminds me too much of the Microsoft Kin One, which had a bizarre form factor (at least when the keyboard wasn’t slid out). We don’t use squares for the most part, most displays are notably taller or wider, eg visibly longer along one axis or the other, and that seems partially due to how our field of vision is notably wider than it is tall. So square displays seem almost alien, at least uncanny valley-ish. Even paper itself generally isn’t square shaped. Pocket squares and origami paper (pretty much the only paper I can think of that is square) are usually folded in some way to make them not square. Oh sure, it’s not square shaped in your pocket, but it is square shaped in your hand.
The Z Flip? Eh, it’s okay I guess. It’s not really for me, I’m not chomping at the bit for a new flip phone. I never have any problem fitting my phone in my pocket, maybe it’s for people who wear skinny jeans or other form fitting clothing? Edit: I’m also not a fan of that half open look they use in some of the promotional material. It reminds me of like a makeup compact, but that’s not why I don’t like it. It just doesn’t subjectively feel open to me, it’s like a door that’s part way open, neither shut nor open, so it’s not ready for use. It folds out all the way to a full phone and I have no real complaint with that form factor, but the other one just feels weird, like a bizarre palm sized laptop. But, unlike a laptop, you can’t actually use the controls on that surface without bringing the “display” closer to you and distorting the on-screen visual, at least if it’s actually at a right angle as the picture suggests. There’s a reason why laptops usually open up past 90° and why the keyboards are often at something of an angle (and why keyboards are generally placed below your field of vision and not at eye level).
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It did put things into perspective, for sure. 73% of phones sold were not the Pro Max.
Or in other words, not the vast majority of users.
It's funny, I've been an Apple user since the 1995. I remember the old days when the vast majority of tech was new and interesting. Nowadays it's gimmicks and novelty. It's really too bad that instead of the mind being keen enough to pick up on this, people become bored so quickly, that they'll take anything new, and defend bad ideas, instead of demanding smarter ideas instead.
I’d imagine some not small percentage of those were people who wanted “the top of the line”, even if the screen size isn’t why they bought it. So I’d agree that most iPhone users aren’t buying the largest screen. And, for what it’s worth, that covers a period where the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 were both on sale (during the launch window of the iPhone 13). If we were to count iPhone 13 sales as iPhone 12 sales, I wonder how that would compare to the 12 Pro Max. I suspect it wouldn’t be the top selling model if we looked at it from that perspective. What I’m getting at is that the “current model medium sized phone” segment is getting split between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 in this data, not the best data to use when trying to establish the popularity of large phones.
You could not be further wrong with your gross assumptions
You simply ignore the history and trends of all when it comes to personal goods and actually discourage consumer choice with your negativity and stifle unisex devices
Whilst it's true some popular trends are fads and the market adopts to feed these over the shorter terms these are few and far between and largely trivial or cosmetic in terms of functionality
You really need to look at popular culture from a wider perspective and how HFE (Human Factor Engineering) adapts and shapes our lives
Popular culture (Fashion) over the last 70 years has swung away from the slab type format being convenient and only heaven knows what would be on the cards if hats were ever to comeback to the masses LOL
You wish to deny the largest set of the population (Females) the equality of pocket-ability that has been dictated by popular culture
Large slab phones only existed as there was no viable technology solution until recently, thanks to Samsung
Folding slabs are only hindered by price point currently. Folding tablets are a natural progression for those that desire it ie consumer choice especially for those with visual impairments
I do not see anything admirable in Apple policy of deliberately stinting devices to encourage multiple sales but we all have choices to avoid this practise based on our personal preferences.
Apple I want choice and not locked in - I am not a number LOL
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Could be a cost issue more than anything. Could be a supply issue. I know I had a harder time getting the Pro Max I wanted... It seemed like there were more of the regular iPhone 13's in stock.
Nope. Oppo has already released a prototype in 2021.
LG’s Rollable phone is real and launching in 2021
We still don’t know how big the screen is or how much the phone will cost
www.theverge.com
TCL is showing off more folding, bending, and extending screens
You could call it a weird flex
www.theverge.com
Aren't all of you doing that since 2017 when Apple started shipping gigantic phones only with the iPhone X?
The pockets that I need the Flip for are shorts. (not underwear, short pants). I live in a very warm climate so wear shorts when I'm not working, and guess what, a lot of those have shorter pockets for some reason. It's not form fitting stuff at all, in fact the folds would be bad for form fitting clothing.
Nobody I know uses it at a 90 degree fold, I open mine like a laptop if I have it partially folded.
Perhaps you are too young to remember Apple fans arguing that iBeacons were superior to NFC, LCD was superior to AMOLED and wireless charging was too slow to be useful.
look at Apples history, they will never give you what you want, you should consider another platform.
Those creases are awful, I couldn’t switch to anything with a crease 🤮Nope. Oppo has already released a prototype in 2021.
LG’s Rollable phone is real and launching in 2021
We still don’t know how big the screen is or how much the phone will cost
TCL is showing off more folding, bending, and extending screens
You could call it a weird flex
That’s the whole point, you don’t have to bring a bag with you everywhere to have a device with a screen large enough to be used for more than messaging.
Do you call laptops gimmicks as well? Just invest in a suitcase and you could have your desktop in that.
Sure, but I also remember all the millions of phones they had to eventually recall due to them spontaneously exploding.
Here's one thing to consider: For someone who's job or hobby or whatever "targeted activity" requires the biggest screen possible in the smallest traveling space, this technology could be fantastic!!!
But for the typical consumer using their own money to buy something they would like to see stay new looking as long as possible, yes I agree that crease is too much of a compromise. It would be for me. Crease = distraction, and a "moving part" that's too great a trade-off and only going to keep getting stressed and weaker and then possibly more noticeable until failure. However, if the larger screen afforded me some increased efficiency at my job or side-hustle or targeted activity, then those benefits might outweigh the negatives.
It's all about targeting the technology for the use. I for one wouldn't mind if Apple decreased their priority of treating iPhones as delicate fashion/art statements and instead injected a bit more durability-friendly features. Or maybe sell a decoy non-working iPhone option made from crystal & fake diamonds for the fashion-conscious to leave on the nightclub cocktail table for their influencer reels, but then inject more Sony Sports Walkman-esque features into the iPhone for real world use.
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Ehhhhh. The 1990s and 2000s were full of gimmicks and novelty. Just look at any 1990s' Sony catalog, or the 2000s' Nokia line-up. (Remember the N-Gage?)
But the Newton, Note 7, Mobile ME and iPhone 4 paved the way towards better smartphones. The Newton (and the Knowledge Navigator video before that) teased what a smartphone could be like, but was a decade ahead of its time. The Galaxy Note series showed that a lot of people wanted much bigger phones; at the time, a contemporary iPhone was 3.5 inches, when the Note was 5.3. By now, the general-purpose iPhone 13 is 6.1 inches. Mobile Me had some right ideas, but presumably launched prematurely. So they rebranded iTools, .mac, Mobile Me yet again, this time into iCloud. The iPhone 4 was a big leap, introducing among other things the Retina Display, which is now table stakes for any $150 Android smartphone.
Foldable phones… might show us a future as well, but I'm not so sure about that.