2 years away? when Samsung has one available today?
Too Late.
you say this like the phone market is already saturated with fantastic folding phones that apple will have to "compete" with. apple's not missing out on anything by taking that long, they're also a niche part of the market and my imagination is that even a great folding phone is going to take over vs the status quo smartphone.
from what ive watched by youtubers such as JRE, folding phones right now make compromises to make their product work. hinges break easily, dirt/sand/etc can get caught in the device. they're really quite infantile in their presentation currently and i imagine even in 2022 they'll still be relatively uninteresting. no one is clamoring for them, but they're a neat concept.
if you still think they're too late, do realize apple just entered the tracker market and sold out almost immediately. a space that tile was *the* household name for.
now tile's ceo is crying and screaming in hysterics within an hour of apple's presentation because his company has refused to innovate and now he gets to watch a new device absolutely cannibalize his market. something he didnt have a problem with when samsung announced their tracker not even say 2 or so weeks before apple's reveal.
sooooo yeah. apple will be iight. if anyone in the "i" ecosystem wants an iFold, it'll sell.
edit: jumping in with an addition on that bit about airtag vs tile. i was given some tiles a few years ago as im notorious with forgetting where my keys / wallet are. they were pretty nice but they tend to have connectivity issues, ive had the thing tell me my wallet cant be found yet it was in the backpack right next to me.
my experience with airtags has been *immediately* superior to tile, majorly so. being pointed to its location, given precise distance, and the play sound responds promptly, apple sided with the consumer and went with generic off anyone's shelf batteries. the *only* thing tile has the upper hand with is the ability to just put a key ring on it, but no one should be surprised apple was unwilling to compromise their design with a keyring hole.
if apple comes in to the foldable phone market with a device that nails it the same way airtag has, they'll have absolutely no problem making it a contender.