HawkTheHusky1902
macrumors 6502a
The first smartphone, Apple, the first mainstream personal computer, Apple, the first mainstream smart watch, Apple.....
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Other I want an Apple Fold
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I am in the same mode, except that the Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods now obviate a lot of iPhone access. The iPhone mostly stays in my pocket. And if it stays in my pocket anyway, what value add does folding provide?
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
Unfortunately for Apple (not for me), anything along these lines I wouldn't buy. I sit in front of a MacPro with seven monitors for 16+ hours a day. In my immediate area are three other computers of my own and two work computers. In the garage are four other computers, two of which are both hooked up to dual displays. There's a bunch of other Macs that are simply stored and not being used.
The smallest screen size I use are 20" displays and primarily that's for holding Finder windows. The largest is a 55" HDTV.
I do have an iPad (6th gen) which gets used once a day, at night for a couple hours reading news in bed.
I don't need a folding anything. There's no way it'd ever equal the screen real estate I deal with every day.
HawkTheHusky1902
macrumors 6502a
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
Well, mainly because I can.
I'm a graphic designer so it started with dual monitors in the early 00s when I realized I could do that. Up until around 2013 I was fine with that. But my boss bought a MP for work that had a video card that supported three monitors.
I couldn't have the work MP using more monitors than my own Mac at home. So, three video cards later I had six monitors attached to my G4 Quicksilver. I kept six up until earlier this year. I have a DisplayLink adapter I bought for my Late 2009 Mac Mini so I could drive a third display. Didn't really work with the Mini, but I still wanted to use it. And I had a blank spot on the left side of my desk. So, I hooked it up to the MacPro and it worked fine. Technically, I could add one more because the adapter is for dual displays. But I don't think I have any more desk space and I can't hang stuff in the air (unfortunately).
Mainly I'm using these for Finder windows and palettes. But the TV is a TV and also for media (Youtube, movies, etc) from the Mac. The two 30" Cinema Displays allow me to have full-size docs side by side.
Note, the display on top of the MP is for my work Mac. Just got that yesterday, 24" for $10 at Goodwill. I use it for a secondary display (palettes, Finder windows, etc). One of my 30" CDs is the primary for my work Mac via a KVM switch.
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einhaufenpizza
macrumors newbie
HawkTheHusky1902
macrumors 6502a
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
And that is why I don't need a foldable. I work from home and even when I wasn't, work had dual and triple display setups. I'm either at work or home. On the rare occasion, if I'm in between, then whatever it is can wait until I get one place or the other. My 11 Pro Max stands in the gap in these cases just fine.
The problem with a Swiss Army knife is that it does a lot of things… well, bad. It may be useful for some, but for most, give me a knife and fork…I’ll get the toothpick from the kitchen if I need it.
A foldable phone is a heavy and thick phone. It is also a small and lackluster tablet.
I’ll take an iPhone and iPad and pay less than $1,800 for both.
A foldable phone is a heavy and thick phone. It is also a small and lackluster tablet.
I’ll take an iPhone and iPad and pay less than $1,800 for both.
dcp10
macrumors 6502a
I’m not so sure Apple is all that interested in a foldable phone, the market seems pretty niche to me. A foldable iPad which opens up to a Mac however is an entirely different story. To me all signs point to this being a more likely direction.
Ludatyk
macrumors 604
I agree… rumors indicate that Apple plans to go in that direction.
But what’s the market for a foldable iPad? And who’s to say they plan to add a macOS when it opens up… it could be iPadOS tailored for a foldable.
dcp10
macrumors 6502a
iPadOS still falls way short for any power user’s multi task needs. Just having a folding iPad With the same OS doesn’t really differentiate and leaves it with same basic issue foldable phones have, a solution search of a problem. Being able to run MacOS is a killer app though. Imagine an iPad going from tablet to lightweight MacBook or when fully open and paired to a keyboard mouse,full desktop mode with multiple monitor support. To me it’s an exciting idea which elevates folding screens from gimmick to a purposeful feature
Ludatyk
macrumors 604
Well, in that case… why should a foldable iPad exist when a non-foldable iPad (Pro) that can dual boot into macOS is what you prefer.
But I do think you are being disingenuous as far as calling a foldable phone some solution in search of a problem… when in fact you want a foldable iPad that can turn into a MacBook. The idea of a foldable is that it’s a phone that can turn into a tablet… imagine having your iPhone in your pocket then being able take it out and unfold it into a iPad Mini
You are then presented with the opportunity to use multitasking features (SplitView & Slide Over) along with an Apple Pencil. How is that a gimmick?
Sorry i pass on that. in my opinion Folding Smartphones are a Overpriced very fragile toy and i don't see any purpose for them. i my self wont buy a folding smartphone neither from Samsung or Apple or any other company.
Eriamjh1138@DAN
macrumors 65816
Is that an Apple Roll-Up in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Spock
Contributor
Apple was hardly the first smartphone, Apple just fixed it just like they did with the MP3 player and the iPod. Apple is rarely first, they wait until they can be the best after observing the market for a while. I am guessing that Apple has not made a folding iPhone because they can't figure out a way to make it better than what is already on the market.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
On the long flight? On the train? In all those "in-between" places where you might want a screen bigger than an iPhone MAX?
A fold/roll (or a virtual phone in Vpro) delivers an iPhone-sized screen when that is good enough, an iPad-sized screen when one needs bigger, etc. That's the point of it.
I fly a LOT. As the plane sits on the tarmac, I see lots of passengers using phones while they can still connect to 5G. In flight, most of those screens are put away and out comes tablets or laptop screens. Why? Apparently many wants bigger screens than the Phone screen they also have with them. So an phone that can also expand into a bigger screen... OR an iPad that can fold down into a phone-sized package is a "2 birds with 1 stone" product. Buy ONE thing and get BOTH. Carry/pack ONE thing and have BOTH.
As someone who opts to use iPad Mini cellular to also cover telephone text/phone needs (VOIP app with buds), I could somewhat say I already have a permanently-unfolded, iPhone fold. I only paid for ONE thing and only carry ONE thing to have BOTH (functionality-wise) now.
The biggest thing iPhone offers that it doesn't IMO is pocket-ability. I wish it could fold/roll down to a pocketable size vs. buying and carrying around TWO things or just living with a screen too small for some uses and too big for when I want to pocket it. That makes this Apple customer interested in a foldable/rollable/other iDevice... or even virtualized iPhone + iPad + Mac in a Vpro if that becomes a possibility Apple will allow: Buy ONE thing and get all THREE+???
Before iPhone, Apple people carried a cell phone and an iPod. With the launch of iPhone, Apple "folded" iPod functionality into it. Soon people opted to no longer buy and carry TWO separate things when one could do BOTH jobs well. Eventually, iPod was phased out completely because the utility of TWO distinct devices in ONE case made the iPod obsolete for just about everyone. Ahead of iPhone, we Apple people could not imagine iPod "going away." Now few of us can summon any justification at all for an iPod.
Before smart phones, some people interested in photography tended to carry both a phone and a camera. Smart phones brought pretty good cameras, cutting into that duality. They've steadily improved since then and much fewer people opt to also carry around a dedicated camera too. Same with camcorders.
We obviously LIKE it when we can effectively get two distinct things into one package. We simply have a hard time imagining it is something we want... until- apparently- Apple takes the stage to show us their cut of the merged/combined thing. Then it becomes "shut up and take my money" and "how did we ever get by without..."
There was a very long time we collectively detested phablet-sized phones... right up until Apple went there. Now we ridicule what used to be called "perfect" 3.5" and 4" screen phones... and nobody seems to be in pants with bigger pockets or carrying man purses... nor have our hands suddenly grown a few inches for the all-important "one-handed use" slung like crazy in faulting the "abomination" phones bigger than Apple offered at the time.
In short: All detested/"99% don't want"/"what's the use case?" stuff seems to flip into "shut up and take my money" as soon as Apple offers their version of it. I expect this to be no different.
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Spaceboi Scaphandre
macrumors 68040
The idea of a foldable is really cool and I can see the benefits of it since it means getting larger phones in a smaller easier to pocket form factor
But in practice, I don't like them, and it's for the same reasons since they debuted: They skimp on performance and camera quality, the crease that never goes away is a distraction, the screens are soft as hell, and the biggest reason they're fragile as hell. Either the crease gets bigger to the point it makes a big part of the screen unreadable (looking at you Z Flip) or the hinge easily breaks, or both.
I think we'll be fine without a foldable iPhone, the same reason we're fine without a touchscreen Mac. I just want a phone that's simple, reliable, and works since I'm not crazy about phones like most people are, which is why I just buy the top of the line iPhone once every five years so I'm set for a long time.
But in practice, I don't like them, and it's for the same reasons since they debuted: They skimp on performance and camera quality, the crease that never goes away is a distraction, the screens are soft as hell, and the biggest reason they're fragile as hell. Either the crease gets bigger to the point it makes a big part of the screen unreadable (looking at you Z Flip) or the hinge easily breaks, or both.
I think we'll be fine without a foldable iPhone, the same reason we're fine without a touchscreen Mac. I just want a phone that's simple, reliable, and works since I'm not crazy about phones like most people are, which is why I just buy the top of the line iPhone once every five years so I'm set for a long time.
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
The last flight I took was Christmas/New Years 2021. The flight I took before that was sometime in 2008 I think. I flew 450 miles back to my parents to get the car they were giving me and drove it back home.
Before that flight was one in 1998 I think.
I live in Phoenix. My work is in Mesa, a 20 minute drive down the freeway. I'm a graphic designer. My job requires a computer. Once I was able to get and keep working from home I took it.
As my family's main driver, during the school year I transport three people within a 20 mile radius. My kid's school is less than 10 minutes from home. Grocery stores, restaurants and any other store I may need is within 10 minutes from home.
At most, on a school day I sit for 30 minutes in a car. And that's because I get there early to pick my kid up at school.
In short, my job does not require flying or driving and my personal life often has me at home. Everything is close - which is precisely why my wife and I chose in 2000 to move to Phoenix. And because we live in the West Valley, there is no train. Only the East Valley has that and it's light rail. You want to go somewhere without a car, it's the bus and that'll take you all day.
This is the exact reason I was waiting for a decent Folding phone to come out. I literally used an iPad mini on flights and downtime away, with a folding phone you just open it to do more multimedia and similar things.
HawkTheHusky1902
macrumors 6502a
eyoungren
macrumors Nehalem
I work for a company that designs scorecards and yardage books for golf courses worldwide. With rare exception we are dealing with people that operate on golf time. 🙂
My bosses travel, as does the guy that actually goes out and maps the courses. But not the designers. We don't even touch the graphics themselves - that's all sent to our India office. Those guys aren't traveling either. 😉
phrehdd
Contributor
Correct. People forget there were PDA units that could add on phone features. Some were, for the time, impressive but not as slick as the barely usable (for web browsing) first incarnation of iPhone.
You won’t see this until the quality (and ESPECIALLY durability/robustness) meet Apple standards.
But Apple is looking into these…
But Apple is looking into these…