No Foldable iPhone Expected Until 2023 at the Earliest, But 2024 More Likely

[Virinprew]

Yeah, agree here.
All these rumors just remind me of the iPhone nano, rumored between 2009 and 2011. Recent emails have came out showing that Apple was indeed working on an iPhone nano, but it never happened.
Same with the rumored 60+ inch Apple HDTV that was rumored around 2012. A lot of extremely reliable sources were saying that Apple would be introducing an HDTV that was around 60 to 65 inches, and it just… never happened.
I expect the same thing with the folding iPhone.
This entire folding phone thing just reminds me so much of 3-D TVs, companies spend a good three years hyping them up, finally release them, customers get all excited, they’re all over advertisements, it’s gonna be the next big thing and then… nothing.
Customers try them out, realize all of the compromises that exist just to get them working properly and slowly companies just drop all the ads and promotion and kind of just let them die off.

Yeah, It’s just one gimmick. To make a foldable phone, you create a lot of compromises.
1. A moving part is just waiting to fail.
2. Double the thickness.
3. Necessitate outside screen increasing cost
4. Can’t use glass screen. (Plastic will flex when push down)
5. Crease along the center.
6. One-hand use out the window (can’t open it one-handed)
7. Broken app support.

If today I want more screen, I pick up my iPad.

 

[UrbanJoe1]

Not a compelling use case from this point in time but maybe they can make it interesting. Idea wise, it’s low hanging fruit and gives Apple a challenge to solve. It’s different enough people might go for it and a simple/logical step forward.

 

[JPack]

It’s interesting how there are likely a lot of people on these forums who were too young when the Palm, Treo, iPaq and other similar PDA’s and eventually smart phones came to market. They have zero context of why the market moved to the current slab style devices. They get all excited about hinges or folding screens, but don’t realize that hinged flip phones died for a reason - because the hinge was huge failure point. And the plastic covered screens of the day (which are similar to the UTG folding screens today) were horrible after a year’s worth of use, which back then we didn’t use the “smart” devices like we do today because they were painfully slow or simply couldn’t do what we expect from the devices of today. So you have two features of a folding phone that are physically prone to getting damaged, where both are integral parts of the user experience - that’s not a great combination for a device that gets used hundreds of times per day.

I remember buying my first cell phone - a bag-phone that I had to buy from some small commercial communications provider - there were no normal cell service providers back in the early ‘90’s. And even though it had to be plugged in to be used (using a cigarette lighter plug in the car), it was a game changer for me as I traveled all over the country for work. And the cost to call on these phones was exorbitant, where you paid by the minute on top of getting only a certain number of calls per month, which you paid also paid for. It’s fun thinking back to where things started.

How many AirPods hinges have failed these days? That's a $130 product compared to what is likely an $1,800+ foldable iPhone.

Phone manufacturers didn't use glass because Corning didn't offer Gorilla Glass until 2007. We're at the point where Corning is about to commercialize bendable glass. I think it's far too early to predict a failure before we've seen everything available.

 

[jmgregory1]

I had one of those in '95.

My favorite phone of all time was a Blackberry Pearl -- a smart flip phone, with a tiny screen compared to any smart phone today. I never had a problem with the hinge on any phone I owned and I've always been partial to flips until i couldn't buy a smart one anymore -- now I can again.

I never ended up getting any Blackberry, but I do remember the Pearl. Had lots of friends on BB’s though. I was an early adopter of a Compaq iPaq, but that was when it was a glorified PDA, with no cellular connectivity because that wasn’t yet a thing. I went from that to a Treo.

I had just one flip phone myself, an old Motorola (prior to the Razr), that died because the hinge failed. My kids had Razr’s and each of them failed because of the hinge. A hinge is a mechanical device that when it’s simple like a door hinge, can last forever. But when it’s subjected to dust, dirt, lint and the like that is in your pocket, bag or purse, and opened and closed hundreds of times a day, it’s not a matter of whether it will fail, but just when it will fail. And add to the hinge issue, scratched screens, because any dust, dirt or sand that works its way between the folded screen is going to leave scratches, pits or even crack the screen. Again, it’s just a matter of time, even when there is a thin plastic screen protector applied.

 

[drumcat]

You're all talking about "foldable phones". Wait until phones _don't have screens_ and use glasses for AR.

"Pocket unit" can be any size
Sound will be available via bone conductivity for calling/talking - ear buds still a thing
All visible output is either controlled verbally or by hand movements

This will happen before consistent folding will be available.

You're all kvetching about "3D TV".

 

[macfacts]

I'm not so sure Apple is actually headed this direction.

Curious we haven't heard anything about the existing foldable phones lately. Wonder how they're holding up. At first they weren't doing well.

That was 3 years ago

 

[JoshuaBru]

Because foldable phones are stupid and solve a problem that doesn’t exist

 

[rsdotscot]

Gimmicky rubbish.

 

[antiprotest]

I don't want to fold my phone unless it folds out really big, so that it replaces the iPad (or iPad mini), and unless it is just as usable when folded, like the iPhone is now.

 

[paulypants]

Can they just not?

 

[PsykX]

They can take their sweet time all they want, I'm not interested.

 

[Shirasaki]

Would rather have USB-C

More like no ports at all.

So like a MacBook Mini?

Except it will never run macOS.

I’m sure they’ll be able to overcome the laws of physics where everyone has failed.

Yeah, only apple can defy the power of nature.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Why is anybody expecting a folding iPhone at all? ?

Because it’s something genuinely useful that many power users will appreciate. I want something that runs iPad is and fits my pocket and can take calls. I don’t care if that’s a rolling or folding screen. The screen and folding/sliding mechanisms still need a lot of work from current iterations, but eventually it will be ready.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

It’s interesting how there are likely a lot of people on these forums who were too young when the Palm, Treo, iPaq and other similar PDA’s and eventually smart phones came to market. They have zero context of why the market moved to the current slab style devices. They get all excited about hinges or folding screens, but don’t realize that hinged flip phones died for a reason - because the hinge was huge failure point. And the plastic covered screens of the day (which are similar to the UTG folding screens today) were horrible after a year’s worth of use, which back then we didn’t use the “smart” devices like we do today because they were painfully slow or simply couldn’t do what we expect from the devices of today. So you have two features of a folding phone that are physically prone to getting damaged, where both are integral parts of the user experience - that’s not a great combination for a device that gets used hundreds of times per day.

I remember buying my first cell phone - a bag-phone that I had to buy from some small commercial communications provider - there were no normal cell service providers back in the early ‘90’s. And even though it had to be plugged in to be used (using a cigarette lighter plug in the car), it was a game changer for me as I traveled all over the country for work. And the cost to call on these phones was exorbitant, where you paid by the minute on top of getting only a certain number of calls per month, which you paid also paid for. It’s fun thinking back to where things started.

Ok Captain Negatron. My 2015 MBP has a hinge, and it's solid as a rock, and I've used it pretty much every single day for 6 years. My old flip phone from back in the days you're talking about was a Siemens, it was solid as a rock, and I used it for several years, it was one of the best and most durable phones I've ever owned. I'm a bit sad that Siemens stopped making phones.

 

[Bodie CI5]

I want the phones and tablets from "The Expanse". Until they can do that, I'll keep buying non fold phones.

Yep. Those devices captured my imagination

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Why is anybody expecting a folding iPhone at all? ?

Because one of the biggest compromises of a phone is that bigger screens are more useful, but it must be small enough to put in your pocket or handbag. A foldable phone solves this compromise. As soon as the tech is mature, everyone will want one.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I'm not so sure Apple is actually headed this direction.

Curious we haven't heard anything about the existing foldable phones lately. Wonder how they're holding up. At first they weren't doing well.

The Samsung Z fold and Z flip have been the top selling smartphones in Korea for the past few months. Korea obviously has a heavy preference for Samsung phones but these foldables are even outselling other normal Samsung phones. If that’s any indication foldables will fare pretty well in other markets as well in a few years.

 

[blairh]

This was Galaxy Fold 3.

Yes, you can still damage the Z Fold 3 screen with an S Pen or fingernail

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are two amazing phones with better-than-ever screens, but their foldable nature means they could be more prone to damage than a normal flat ...

www.androidcentral.com

No it isn't. It's from the original release of the Fold. You can see for yourself from the date of his tweet. April 2019.

Regarding your AC link, yes, the current screen is still sensitive compared to modern smartphones. However it's at a point where I would not hesitate to purchase a future model. Assuming it comes with dust protection though.

 

[Shirasaki]

It’s fun thinking back to where things started.

Yeah, and apple will make lots of the same mistakes Samsung made when they release their foldable phone.

 

[biffuz]

Please make a phone without notches or holes instead of this nonsense.

PS obviously I mean with the camera and everything else behind the screen, before some genius shows up and says something stupid like "nobody wants a bezel!!!1!!11"

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Nah… it will never come. Apple wants you to buy both iPad and iPhone. Just like the fact that there is no touchscreen Mac. So you have to buy both Mac and iPad.

If it can be priced higher with people still buying it Apple will make it. Apple doesn’t care whether you have both an iPhone and iPad mini or just an iPhone as long as they can keep their profits high and maintain their margins.

There is no touch screen Mac because a touch screen desktop OS is still ergonomically terrible. When I use the Magic Trackpad even on iPad OS I never touch the screen.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

We have already achieved the final form of the celular phone. We have the final form of the laptop, the final form of the desktop computer, final form of a book, etc. There are always a few variants but foldable phones add little for most users except novelty. They will not become dominant because we already have the right form factor for a phone.

Foldable phones add a huge improvement to the phone. A phone has to compromise between screen size and portability. Bigger screens are more useful, but phones must be small enough to fit in the pocket or handbag. If and when this tech matures and becomes mainstream, no one will want a non folding phone. Same with iPads.

Also, tech just keeps on getting smaller, thinner, lighter, faster, and better in all kinds of wonderful ways. No, we are highly unlikely to be in the final form of any of this tech. I'd bet any money that if you were around in the 70's, you'd be thinking that computers were in their final form back then, and that the idea of a laptop would be a laughably ridiculous science fiction dream. Especially one that weighed less than 3 pounds, had a battery that lasted all day, and had access to all the world's knowledge beamed through the air at incredible speeds. In the 70's, computers were big hulking machines that took up entire rooms and had a fraction of the computing power that's in your iPhone. That was only 50 years ago. What will we have in another 50?

 

[Regbial]

OMG who even wants this gimmick? Just let it die...

 

[daveathall]

Tim Cook will say "and one more thing" pull out of his pocket a shiny, sleek and ultra thin iPhone and open it to double the size, the press at the event will clap, cheer and give him a standing ovation. It will look and feel superb and everyone here who rubbished a need for it will be scrambling to pre order one. Years ago, didnt Steve Jobs say that a phone should not be so big that one couldn't use it one handed? Many then were rubbishing the Samsung large phones, now most of them love their iPhone 13 Pro Max. Must have a big hand.

 

[PS8409]

My brother-in-law has a fold. Seen it. Played with it. Don't like it. Maybe it'll be a thing but I just assume grab the iPad if you want big, or stick with a bigger phone that doesn't fold and look like a brick.