Other I Want A Folding iPhone

[blairh]

I want a folding iPhone that is essentially the Huawei Mate X (6.6" screen folded, 8" unfolded). Perhaps one that folds in the opposite direction like the Galaxy Fold. I'm confident Apple can eventually figure out the best way to approach this. But I really would love such a device and I hope Apple offers one in the next 2 to 3 years. I think there would be a big market for it.

 

[noobinator]

Does the world really want a folding phone, even if they work out some of the issues?

I have no desire for one really. It's kinda like 3D TV to me.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I want a folding iPhone that is essentially the Huawei Mate X (6.6" screen folded, 8" unfolded). Perhaps one that folds in the opposite direction like the Galaxy Fold. I'm confident Apple can eventually figure out the best way to approach this. But I really would love such a device and I hope Apple offers one in the next 2 to 3 years. I think there would be a big market for it.

If you are willing to wait 2-3 years, you just might see an Apple folding phone!

Apple will be more than willing to take your $1600!

 

[blairh]

Does the world really want a folding phone, even if they work out some of the issues?

I have no desire for one really. It's kinda like 3D TV to me.

I believe there will be a large market for them. It will be a hybrid phablet and tablet. Essentially a XS Max and iPad Mini, in one.

 

[now i see it]

the "my iPhone screen has a crease in it" threads on forums will blow up the internet

 

[JPack]

I believe there will be a large market for them. It will be a hybrid phablet and tablet. Essentially a XS Max and iPad Mini, in one.

There's no doubt the market will be big. Currently, the backside of a smartphone is wasted. It's a very inefficient design from an engineering perspective. Instead of a thick slab of glass, the backside should be a display, which is what the Mate X is.

In a few years, consumers will view non-folding phones the same way they view phones with physical keyboards. It's a big waste of space.

Apple told Japan Display in late 2015 they were switching to OLED in 2017. We'll probably see a similar rollout of a folding iPhone in 2021.

 

[Superrjamz54]

There's no doubt the market will be big. Currently, the backside of a smartphone is wasted. It's a very inefficient design from an engineering perspective. Instead of a thick slab of glass, the backside should be a display, which is what the Mate X is.

In a few years, consumers will view non-folding phones the same way they view phones with physical keyboards. It's a big waste of space.

Apple told Japan Display in late 2015 they were switching to OLED in 2017. We'll probably see a similar rollout of a folding iPhone in 2021.

Just out of curiosity, how do you see what’s on the back when your facing the front?

 

[JPack]

Just out of curiosity, how do you see what’s on the back when your facing the front?

The idea is to have a front and rear display available so the phone can be used regardless of how it's placed on a table.

A properly designed foldable phone like the Mate X also allows you to use one camera (the best one) for selfies and general photos. This is another win for efficiency.

 

[Ta0jin]

We won't see a folding phone from Apple until they figure out a proper case solution for it. They love that accessory money! Lol

 

[Digger148]

I'm interested to see what, if any, types protective cases will be available for all of these upcoming (very)expensive and fragile folding devices.

 

[DNichter]

I think we are a ways off from such form factors becoming ready for consumers.

 

[44267547]

The potential for a folding phone is there, it’s evident this is where manufacturers are leading. The caveat being the hardware needs to mature and the prices are massively inflated for ‘newer age tech’. The question is, will Apple venture on this path, I don’t think they will right now.

But the smart phone market needs a shakeup, and I commend Samsung and Huwaei for pushing tech further and opening new possibilities.

 

[igroeg]

I might change my mind in the future, but as of now I very much dislike the idea of a folding smartphone. It's a nuisance to fold stuff.

 

[eyoungren]

I might change my mind in the future, but as of now I very much dislike the idea of a folding smartphone. It's a nuisance to fold stuff.

Totally agree with this.

Not interested in a foldable phone. I had a series of Samsung flip phones and a Sanya Katana. I've been done with folding phones since 2009.

How annoying having to unfold your damn phone to answer a call.

 

[chabig]

I think it’s just commodity manufacturers struggling to find the next big thing. It might a short lived fad like 3D TV.

 

[jtrue28]

Nah, had one, they sucked.

 

[yukari]

Why would you want one you don't need?
They are creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

 

[Nerdyaf]

There's no doubt the market will be big. Currently, the backside of a smartphone is wasted. It's a very inefficient design from an engineering perspective. Instead of a thick slab of glass, the backside should be a display, which is what the Mate X is.

In a few years, consumers will view non-folding phones the same way they view phones with physical keyboards. It's a big waste of space.

Apple told Japan Display in late 2015 they were switching to OLED in 2017. We'll probably see a similar rollout of a folding iPhone in 2021.

i dont think everyone will. the scenerios is different. physical keyboards take up screen space, a virtual keyboard allows me to have a bigger screen but retaining a similar size, plus most physical keyboards were crappy. For a folding phone, you have to juggle between having a bigger screen vs the weight, size and battery life of the phone, so the tradeoff is real until there is a breakthrough in batt tech at least. oh and it definitely doesnt help that prices are sky-high.

 

[pika2000]

I believe there will be a large market for them. It will be a hybrid phablet and tablet. Essentially a XS Max and iPad Mini, in one.

Not really.

Folding phones sound and look cool for demo, but in reality, it’s cumbersome and cannot be a great phone nor tablet. It would be too thick and less durable for a phone, and it would be too cumbersome for a tablet.

The foldable phones are simply demos for the technology, which will be used more subtly in existing products. Eg. Apple already use foldable OLED on the X/XS as a way to minimize the bezel and prevent the phone from having a chin.

 

[radiologyman]

Too many trade offs for the novelty. For me Iphone is a tool and as such needs to be light and easy to use single handedly

 

[Jimmy James]

I want a creasless compact phone. Folding or not.

 

[Ralfi]

It's a nuisance to fold stuff.

The only time you need to fold it is when you’re done using it as a tablet.

If designed right, the folded mode would be used for the majority of the time, on a screen large enough for most tasks (unlike what Samsung have done with the Fold).

How annoying having to unfold your damn phone to answer a call.

Are you thinking of a flip phone?

The Fold/Mate X both don’t require the user to unfold to answer a call.
[doublepost=1553312718][/doublepost]

Why would you want one you don't need?
They are creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Thanks for the negative media clichéd comment.

Let them create. Foldables aren’t going to make today’s phones extinct...

 

[subjonas]

When people hear “folding phones”, I think a lot of them are imagining their current (thin) phones folding out into a tablet. But that’s not reality, because the extra mass does not come from nowhere. The reality is a folding phone is more like two phones attached together. This of course begs the question, do you really want to carry the equivalent mass of two phones all the time?

For those who really want an ~8” screen always at the ready, the answer might be “yes”, assuming they perfect the form factor (durable, no crease, etc). For others who are fine with the size of their current phones, even if they perfect the form factor, the answer will obviously be no because the extra mass is just not worth it.

I’m in the latter group. The only kind of folding phone I’m even slightly interested in is a one-handed flip phone—in other words, instead of phone that unfolds into tablet, a very small phone than unfolds into a bigger phone. But even that doesn’t excite me much.

 

[Charadis]

There's no doubt the market will be big. Currently, the backside of a smartphone is wasted. It's a very inefficient design from an engineering perspective. Instead of a thick slab of glass, the backside should be a display, which is what the Mate X is.

In a few years, consumers will view non-folding phones the same way they view phones with physical keyboards. It's a big waste of space.

Apple told Japan Display in late 2015 they were switching to OLED in 2017. We'll probably see a similar rollout of a folding iPhone in 2021.

Hold up there. When you completely unfold the phone, wouldn’t the backside be a waste, too, since there is no screen on the back? So you would need a foldable screen for the back just as well..

 

[44267547]

Why would you want one you don't need?
They are creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Manufactures Are not creating a solution to anything, they are creating an alternative for those who see the value in a folding display now, but it doesn’t mean that folding displays have an guaranteed future either. It’s too early to tell, because the prices are beyond reasonable for the majority. This is a very niche technology that hasn’t had the opportunity to mature enough. I would say it will be a very ‘telling market’ to know where folding displays stand two years from now.