To everyone saying they dont get the idea of a foldable phone...your solution is simple. Dont buy one. For me, if i can have a iphone and a ipad all in one device, then i want that device.
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Kuo: Foldable iPhone to Feature Liquid Metal Hinges for Better Durability
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According to wiki, Liquidmetal was used in golf clubs but then those golf clubs were taken off the market due to premature failure.
That doesn’t make much sense. Apple would LOVE if a foldable iPhone cannibalized sales of other iPhones. Such a foldable iPhone will be priced much, much higher, so the per unit profit would also be much, much higher.
I use mine as a phone while I am out and about and unfold it for media consumption when I am on the couch or riding public transport. It's nice using the browser, email, WhatsApp and Instagram simultaneously without flipping back and forth between apps all the time.
One basic thing I always do is open the bank app in one window and my splitwise app right next to it. Makes it super easy to put in my expenses without going back and forth between apps and forgetting the number I just looked at while doing so. Another use case is browsing the web for hotels while comparing it to the results in the booking app
MKBHD did an interesting video on folding phones, and this rumour. The bi-fold structure produces a pretty square shape when folded open, meaning that there isn’t much benefit for things like watching video over a non-folding Max phone. While the diagonal may be a similar dimension to an iPad Mini the shape of a Mini is much more useful.
My personal opinion is that you want a tri-fold design to go from a size and shape approximating a phone in portrait orientation to a size and shape approximating an iPad Mini in landscape orientation. That would make much more sense.
I wonder if the rumoured iPhone Air is a test mule for making thin devices so they can sandwich two or three of them together in a folding design?
My personal opinion is that you want a tri-fold design to go from a size and shape approximating a phone in portrait orientation to a size and shape approximating an iPad Mini in landscape orientation. That would make much more sense.
I wonder if the rumoured iPhone Air is a test mule for making thin devices so they can sandwich two or three of them together in a folding design?
The iPod suggests otherwise, though that was a different Apple in some ways.
But if the price of a folding iPhone is the same or more than the price of an iPhone plus an iPad mini are you really cannibalizing sales?
Not knowing anything specific, I would hypothesize that the clubs were not made entirely out of amorphous metal, but maybe just the strike plate. I would expect that interfaces between amorphous metal and other metals would receive more stress, making the regular metal more likely to fail at these locations. Apple will have to be careful in the hinge design to avoid creating stress points in their aluminum components. Aluminum isn't a very tough material.
At least early on, apparently the casting method sometimes could introduce microscopic imperfections in Liquidmetal parts, leading to increased brittleness. Hopefully this is no longer an issue, after improvements in the casting process.
It is not that it will cannablize other iPhones, it is what it will do to iPad sales. So people like myself have an iPhone and an iPad. If I could have a foldable phone that gives me what I need out of a tablet as well as a phone then I am going to buy a foldable phone. Will the price of a foldable phone makeup for the loss of sales of an iPhone and an iPad? If it is cheaper they lose, if it is way more expensive then is the extra expense worth the price of an all in one foldable device? I am not sure. So they are left with a crazy super expensive foldable phone, which is probably where it will land, or they are left with a well priced foldable phone that reduces sales of iPads.
It’s safe to say that it will be postponed till 2045 and completely cancelled around 2050. It just works.
Mass production is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, suggesting a potential launch in late 2026 or early 2027.
The iPhone Pro Max starts at US$1199. The estimates for pricing would have a foldable iPhone start at $1999, with some estimates putting it at $2499. That’s a difference of $800 to $1300. An iPad mini costs $499. IOW, a foldable iPhone would cost much more than an iPhone Pro Max and iPad mini combined.
However, I personally would not buy it at even the lower estimate of $1999. Maybe $1599, but $1999 is just too expensive.
The entire company is worth 39 million. If Apple wanted it that bad they could spend 20 million and do a hostile takeover
I remember when Apple bought that liquid metal tech from the real innovators. I still have one of those SD card removal keys made from it. Honestly, I’d be surprised if Apple ever actually releases a folding phone. 🤞
I’d be much more surprised if Apple doesn’t sell a foldable iPhone eventually. It’s a natural incremental evolution to the product line.
Samsung already sells foldable iPhones in the millions.
I fully expect a foldable iPhone by 2027.
exactly. came to say the same thing.
previous talk is about new manufacturing to ensure no crease.
now it's MINIMIZE? nah.
Samsung certainly make them and they sit on demo counters untouched.
I dont think I've seen one being used in the wild yet... I'm sure some must be around.
But I've never actually hear a phone ring in public and seen someone flip it open...
Looking at how well and promptly leaks about the foldable iphone is posted, i guess Tim Cook can quickly check on MacRumors on the progress instead of reaching out to RnD department down floor.
I've still got one of those SanDisk USB memory sticks with a Liquidmetal casing from about 18 years ago. It's impressively light and tough.
For a lot of people a visible crease isn't a big deal. For some people it is a big deal. Luckily Apple will sell multiple different iPhone models.
As mentioned right in my post, they are sold in the millions. Not hundreds of millions, but millions. However, this includes both flip phone styles and the mini-tablet styles. I suspect a lot of people here would love to buy a iPhone flip phone. These are 3-4" folded but 6"+ unfolded.
BTW, I've mentioned this before elsewhere, but Samsung puts tons of foldable phone product placement into K-dramas these days. It's almost become a trope to see a character aggressively close their Samsung flip phone to hang up on someone. 🤪
Exactly……and the real reason why there is no touchscreen on MacBooks…..they are afraid it will hurt iPad sales….
