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'iPhone Ultra' Will Solve Two Key Problems

trip1ex said:
If I had to guess, the reception ends up lukewarm.

As much as the concept appeals, can’t help but feel it would be too fragile still. Then there’s the price tag. Probably in 2x iPhone price range minimum.

Next people will discover they don’t unfold it much in practice. And that it makes for a worse feeling iPhone when not unfolded. Chunkieir, heavier.

Which leads to realization they might as well carry a cheap iPad on trips or in their backpack if they want to watch videos on a bigger screen. And stick to a single screen phone.
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It’s far more efficient to not have to store a tablet and get it out just to have more real estate being productive and do several computing tasks on-the-go.

Things like group photos, reading, and spreadsheets/emails will always be superior on foldables by design that are intrinsically supposed to be more convenient than some of the larger form factors they overlap with
 
Nicky G said:
I thought this might explain the actual problems folding phones solve. I get “bigger screen” but that’s a feature, not a user story.
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"Tell me what problem it solves but you're not allowed to mention the problem it solves" 😂
 
ipedro said:
"Tell me what problem it solves but you're not allowed to mention the problem it solves" 😂
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What problem are you having on your current iPhone that a larger screen will solve? That’s worth paying at least twice as much for, which could also get you an iPhone Pro and a really nice laptop.
 
t0rqx said:
They can't fix the crackling static noise charging iPhone 17 Pro via USB.

They can't fix the decades MacOS bug where it suddenly does not accept your password.

They can't fix the decade long dumb Siri.

And this article suggest Apple fixed the crease in folded plastic?
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I mean, there is always windows and android, if you are truly this digruntled.
 
So they solve two problems with a foldable phone, but what two problems does a foldable phone of this size solve?
 
I had a samsung flip 5 and 6 both sucked!! black dots, cracking sceens at the seems. never again a foldable screen from samsung, resell value tanks hard too!
 
A quibble but when you say that they are solving “two key problems” you should specify “with foldable phones”. The biggest issue with foldable phones in general is that they’re not really solving any problem, key or otherwise. And as long as they require two distinct screens to function (open interior, closed exterior) they aren’t even doing anything with any hint of elegance. And you pay for it.

I’ll wait and see what, if anything, Apple releases into the foldable phone market before belittling them but of all of these proposed designs the only one that made the slightest sense was a tri-fold.
 
jlc1978 said:
The challenge is the aspect ratio; more square results in black bars for unused space. Unless it is wider than an iPhone is tall, openning won't add any extra space, unless you zoom and crop. The extra space will be useful to those wanting such a phone, just not for videos, IMHO.
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this was exactly my point. I just saw someone on the plane watching a movie on a foldable phone and the added screen real estate was mainly used for the black bars, which means I don't know what the extra screen space is intended for. Multitasking? 😂
 
I really thought the iPhone Ultra could be a replacement for an iPad mini! I own the mini 7. Why, you guys, think the Ultra isn‘t a replacement for the iPad mini?
And do you think there will be a second Generation iPhone Ultra in 2027? I heard that Apple will then concentrate more on an 20th Anniversary iPhone..will there then be space and time for a 2nd Generation iPhone Ultra?
 
klasma said:
Not having a continuous screen would disqualify it for streaming and most gaming.
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Why is that?

You can stitch two panels into one screen in software no problems.

Mechanically, you can create a hinge with almost imperceptible gap between displays, which can be further hidden using optical trickery - turn edges of the glass into lenses.

It might be actually less complicated than all that flexible display affair. And waaaay more robust.
 
Nicky G said:
What problem are you having on your current iPhone that a larger screen will solve? That’s worth paying at least twice as much for, which could also get you an iPhone Pro and a really nice laptop.
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Personally i would actually get larger screen iphone for bikepacking trips, if it would be reasonably rugged (as in "carrying it in jersey pocket" rugged). But that is an extremely niche use case - want to carry larger screen for photo editings and content consumption and extremely weight-limited.
 
2128506 said:
Why is that?

You can stitch two panels into one screen in software no problems.

Mechanically, you can create a hinge with almost imperceptible gap between displays, which can be further hidden using optical trickery - turn edges of the glass into lenses.

It might be actually less complicated than all that flexible display affair. And waaaay more robust.
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Microsoft called it the surface duo in 2020.
 
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macfacts said:
Microsoft called it the surface duo in 2020.
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Yes, i was actually thinking about that one. As usual with MSFT, failed because of poor software, ironically.

It had quite big bezels IIRC, if someone would manage to remove them and make split seamless, would be killer device.
 
wanha said:
this was exactly my point. I just saw someone on the plane watching a movie on a foldable phone and the added screen real estate was mainly used for the black bars, which means I don't know what the extra screen space is intended for. Multitasking? 😂
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The main use I've seen was for games that used the extra real estate, mostly multi-player turn based ones that people were playing at a bar. Frankly, if that is the main use then an iPad mini would od the same thing for a lot less, IMHO.
 
2128506 said:
Personally i would actually get larger screen iphone for bikepacking trips, if it would be reasonably rugged (as in "carrying it in jersey pocket" rugged). But that is an extremely niche use case - want to carry larger screen for photo editings and content consumption and extremely weight-limited.
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iPhone 17 Pro and iPad (perhaps a mini) — still cheaper than the folding iPhone.
 
2128506 said:
Why is that?

You can stitch two panels into one screen in software no problems.

Mechanically, you can create a hinge with almost imperceptible gap between displays, which can be further hidden using optical trickery - turn edges of the glass into lenses.

It might be actually less complicated than all that flexible display affair. And waaaay more robust.
Click to expand...
I think you're describing Microsoft's Surface Duo with a smaller bezel/hinge... https://news.microsoft.com/surfaceduo/
 
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