Leaked Google Documents Suggest Foldable Pixel Phone in the Works

[cmaier]

Serious question what is the benefit of this.. A bigger screen is nice. But is it really? Seriously inquiry only dont be rude please...

If there were a way to double the screen size but keep the phone dimensions and volume about the same, I might be interested. Of course, the real solution to this is AR glasses (I wear glasses anyway) that "project' as big a screen as I want wherever I happen to want one.

 

[Olganech]

If there were a way to double the screen size but keep the phone dimensions and volume about the same, I might be interested. Of course, the real solution to this is AR glasses (I wear glasses anyway) that "project' as big a screen as I want wherever I happen to want one.

That is the holy grail so to speak, a wearable that takes no more space that Normal glasses yet is able to let you see a projected image as big as you want and allows you to interact with the objects as you would in the real world.

All in a package that we can afford to pay for.

 

[spinedoc77]

Why are they pushing so hard for this gimmick? I've never once felt like I wanted to fold my phone.

We've gotten to the point where phones have almost no moving parts and are thus super-reliable as a result, and now we want to go back to having hinges and clasps and bending, whyyy?

Just give me my solid, reliable slab of OLED, speakers and cameras.

Why so short sighted? IMO this is the next paradigm, and oem's need it if they want to keep selling phones. I'm sure regular non folding phones will be around for a long time so you simply have to choose one of them. Personally I'm extremely excited at the option of having a larger tablet which fits inside of my pocket.

 

[russell_314]

I never said anything about price. I was talking about the tech in general.

You can say the same about a £10,000 Apple watch. Few will buy one so is it pointless making one that price.

At this point it is not about how many get sold it is about being thankful that manufacturers are willing to try new things and maybe in a few years time the tech will be at a stage where it is reliable and able to come to market at a reasonable price.

If no one buys them then the manufacturers will move onto something else.

The fact is in 2 3 4 5 years down the line who knows.

A folding phone at £500 that is reliable and durable screen maybe exactly what the mainstream want.

Maybe we need to get past the screen in our pockets and come up with something different.

The tech has a price attached to it. Currently it's about $2k. Apple came out with a phone that has a $1,000 starting price and it sold well so now Samsung is testing to see if anyone will buy one starting at $1,300. I think it will sell but I think the vast majority of consumers aren't ready to pay $2,000 + for a phone. Now when they get folding phones to that $1,000 mark and fix the many problems with them sure they might sell. I'm not saying the idea of a folding phone is bad but rather the current implantation is terrible. Maybe in five or ten years they will get it right. As to the Apple watch comparison it doesn't make sense because yes they have sold a few crazy special edition models but you can buy the normal one for $200+. There is no normal version of a folding phone that sells for around $1,000.

 

[rebel22lax]

this is a smart move....pixels arent moving with the regular form factor...if they can use the mate xs design with google services oh yea

 

[Fahad.sul3man]

Android... *yawn*

Yup it’s the same boring android that made the mighty Steve jobs rant like a lunatic.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Why are they pushing so hard for this gimmick? I've never once felt like I wanted to fold my phone.

We've gotten to the point where phones have almost no moving parts and are thus super-reliable as a result, and now we want to go back to having hinges and clasps and bending, whyyy?

Just give me my solid, reliable slab of OLED, speakers and cameras.

I've always had small tablets whether Android or iPads. Foldable phones would be good for me. They just have to perfect the tech behind it. This direction is no gimmick.

 

[sgodsell]

Can’t wait until the iPhone can unfold into an iPad mini type device.

Apple has a major problem with their apps, and software for foldables, period. Think about how Apple encourages its developers to make iOS apps. Apple wants its developers to make separate iPhone apps, and separate iPad apps. That makes Apples current apps and their app ecosystem far from being conducive towards foldable hardware. You will not be seeing Apple make a foldable device that can go from iPhone to iPad, that will NEVER be Apple's first foldable device. If anything Apples first foldable will stay as an iPhone, and only run iPhone apps. If Apple wants to make a foldable device like that, then Apple has to change its app ecosytem, and how developers actually make iOS apps. Android can do it, because Android and Google encouraged their developers to make one app, that works on both smartphones (iPhones), and tablets (iPads). Apple went down the wrong path for their apps and software development, especially if they want to support future foldable hardware, that goes from iPhone to iPad.

 

[NT1440]

Is ANYONE producing content for these absurd aspect ratios of folding phones?