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Kuo: Apple Testing Color 'Electronic Paper Display' Technology for Future Foldable Devices and Tablet Applications

Mentioning every possible and impossible device, but not the one where it would make the most sense. (⌚️)
 
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Not sure if anyone is interested in this little bit of conceptual history… It's from my humble old sketchbook, dated October 1990 '7/10/00' (the 00 looks like a 90, but I just realised my sketchbook isn't that old!) I imagined a foldable touchscreen device that would read like a book when rotated (and be about the size of a small paperback). Back then, I didn't conceive of screens getting so thin, but other than that, I think I was pretty close to where we're at 20+ years later. ?

Foldable device sketch 1990.png


I would love to see Apple do something like this with e-ink. Not holding my breath though!
 
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Am I the only one who is wishing Amazon to refresh Kindle Oasis with USB-C? However, it would be great to have a little larger display. I agree with @Mac Fly (film).
 
It would be awesome if e-ink technology got better and eventually became the new standard.
It's so great for the eyes compared to other screens' technology, not to mention that battery life would increase tons.
 
How does the quality of their screens compare to the current retina displays?

Seems like a step backwards unless its not supposed to compete with the current lineup of phones or pads.
 
What's the purpose of the folding display design or functionality?
For Apple, is it suppose to replace or supplement the iPad mini?
It looks different but paying a premium for any Apple product means that the product better work well and Apple better not include a 64Gb base model as it historically and infamously includes low capacity storage for base models.

Android Authority article..
  • The fun factor: Foldable phones are still novelty items, and they are downright the coolest gadgets mobile tech has to offer. Any foldable phone owner is at the forefront of mobile technology and is bound to turn some heads when using his device."
  • Foldable screens are still worse: Foldable smartphone screens can’t be made with glass, which is arguably much better than plastic. Glass isn’t truly flexible, a requirement when you have a screen that needs to be folded in half. Plastic screens have less clarity, don’t look as nice, and are more often to scratches and general damage.
  • They are expensive: Foldable smartphones are still costly.
Seen and read many mixed reviews about the Android folding phones on various forums.
 
ninethirty said:
Don't hold your breath. It'll be years, if ever, before Apple releases one, precisely because they're lackluster.
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Apple will wait until they have a great folding screen solution because of how ridiculous everyone is. If Apple had released the Z-Fold1, we would still be hearing about crease-gate while Samsung doesn't have that problem; you still hear about it, but not with the venom that Apple's critics use.
ninethirty said:
Foldable are a solution in search of a problem.
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Landscape browsing on your phone is sub-par, especially with the keyboard visible, due to a lack of height. That's one of the problems which the Z-Fold solves.
 
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MrMojo1 said:
Foldable screens are still worse: Foldable smartphone screens can’t be made with glass, which is arguably much better than plastic. Glass isn’t truly flexible, a requirement when you have a screen that needs to be folded in half. Plastic screens have less clarity, don’t look as nice, and are more often to scratches and general damage.
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I feel like this is one of those subjective things, like small vs large phones. If you need to absolute nicest screen you will get that phone, but if you are willing to compromise on ultimate quality, and folding screen quality is only going to improve, to get the benefits of the larger unfolded screen then you will get that phone. Besides, the narrower folded screen can be as good as a regular phone screen so you wouldn't necessarily be missing out.
 
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Davelfc said:
Put an e-ink display on the back and you have a brilliant kindle type reader.
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Weren't there rumors of this at one point? I would love an eInk display on my phone.
darngooddesign said:
Apple will wait until they have a great folding screen solution because of how ridiculous everyone is. If Apple had released the Z-Fold1, we would still be hearing about crease-gate while Samsung doesn't have that problem; you still hear about it, but not with the venom that Apple's critics use.
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I agree with you, but I think the big difference between Samsung and Apple, besides overall quality and original design, is that Samsung's fold devices were niche products at launch. When Apple does something they tend to do it across most of their product lines. They don't give users flagship or mid-tier options.
 
4jasontv said:
I agree with you, but I think the big difference between Samsung and Apple, besides overall quality and original design, is that Samsung's fold devices were niche products at launch. When Apple does something they tend to do it across most of their product lines. They don't give users flagship or mid-tier options.
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Yep. People would never cut Apple the same amount of slack so Apple has to release the Fold-4, not the Fold-1.
 
What would be cool….

e-ink display….

with color support…

that can exactly emulate the look of dot matrix newspaper printing ?
 
sylwiusz said:
I'd rather see they use e-ink for Apple watch to extend batterry life to at least ~7 days...
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I never understood how they could not get more than 1.5 days out of the watch. Everyone else seems to be able to. I dislike having to change it all the time.
 
darngooddesign said:
Landscape browsing on your phone is sub-par, especially with the keyboard visible, due to a lack of height. That's one of the problems which the Z-Fold solves.
Click to expand...

And if I designed a straw long enough, with enough bends, I could put a glass of water on my dresser and still drink from it while I'm in bed.

Solution. In. Search. Of. A. Problem.
 
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ninethirty said:
And if I designed a straw long enough, with enough bends, I could put a glass of water on my dresser and still drink from it while I'm bed.

Solution. In. Search. Of. A. Problem.
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That's fine, Apple will have several non-folding phones for you to buy, and a folding phone for people who would like a better landscape browsing experience.
 
The color e-ink screens out now are so ugly that I can’t see Apple using them. E-Ink’s own demo’s, a couple of which I’ve seen, have been highly unimpressive.

i’m hoping that if this is true, then Apple has seen some new screens that are much better than what’s out now, the way they saw the new Yonah cpu from Intel before Jobs went to announce the move to x86, at a time that it was burning up.
 
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Relentless Power said:
From what I heard, it doesn’t eliminate that creaking, plastic sound when storing/folding the device. Personally, that would really annoy me.
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Never had that on my Fold 2, and wasn’t on the Fold 3 I tested either but I only used that for a day.

In general it is a trade off with foldables but I think always having an iPad mini sized device with you is worth a lot.
 
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