Innovation looks different to me. Apple used to be the pinnacle of innovation.
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Report: Apple Close to Selecting Supplier for Foldable Display
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More Cook throwing s^&t against the wall to see what sticks. Apple really needs to get some tech strategy or Cook needs to go.
I would buy a foldable iPhone instantly, whatever the price. I firmly believe that a foldable iPhone will once again bring huge growth to the iPhone market. If there was only one reason for me to buy a Samsung phone, that would be the ZFlip6 or the ZFold6.
If Apple can perfect it and reduce the crease to its minimum, they will make billions on this model. We finally will be able to put our phones in our pockets in the summer hassle-free.
If Apple can perfect it and reduce the crease to its minimum, they will make billions on this model. We finally will be able to put our phones in our pockets in the summer hassle-free.
It will be the same volume as the 2025 slim iPhone. Do you not see the pattern of how Apple works?
They moved from innovation to follow trends. But at least they making good products.
Yep. Apple is believed to finalize iPhone designs 1.5-2 years out. So if this report is accurate, we’re looking at 2027.
That said, I take reports like this with a massive heaping of salt.
Yeah, the propping up for a photo does actually look handy, I'd use that functionality. Actually makes you wonder why kickstands aren't a more popular feature in cases for normal phones.
You're right about that, adverts manage to make everything look much more useful than it really is. I've seen adverts for LLM features that almost look worth using! Although they are struggling - the last one I saw depicted a man asking his phone about his football team, and it responding with the tritest platitudes imaginable. "Your team will need luck and consistency". Oh **** off and write a fortune cookie.
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Actually that would be 2026,..as they are looking at suppliers now. By all accounts, the design was already finalized in 2024.
I don't think it possible to make a foldable with exactly the same volume as the equivalent non-foldable. Even if every other factor was identical, the hinge is additional.
I guess it’s dependent on whether or not they are confident their suppliers can get there. The quote in the article:
“Some domestic component manufacturers are said to have recently made substantial progress in meeting Apple's exacting specifications.”
makes me think the suppliers haven’t met the specs yet. Finalizing a design before they know if it can be done yet would make me nervous, but I do a lot of risk management in my job, so always look at things from a “what can go wrong” perspective 🤣. But Apple obviously know better than I do.
It's very handy. I used it several times with the timer function (Z Flip4) to include myself in group photos.
Nope,..i'm not to sure how your reading that? It's pretty clear that thy HAVE made progress in meeting the exacting spec.
Is it going to survive the people that put it in their pocket without folding it and then it bends in their pocket? What about falling? If it snaps shut in a fall will that break it easier? Will foldable screen be able to use gorilla glass? This can’t be for phones. Probably for a iPad Pro that can be a laptop with touch keyboard. Except it’ll be as expensive as a laptop itself but less powerful than a MacBook Air.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Adapt your imagination. Since the phone is the "precious" we have such a hard time imagining anything other than the "as is" (often even worrying about a triangle camera layout becoming a straight line layout), switch this to iPads. Any interest in a pocketable iPad? How about a pocketable iPad that runs the same telephony app so that it can double as an iPhone too? And therein, we find the 2-in-1 utility solution for a problem of carrying around 2 devices for the times you want a bigger screen to do/watch something.
I own no iPhone, instead letting a cellular Mini double as my phone (VOIP app with Buds). Why? Bigger screen is generally better for all apps, it costs a LOT less than iPhone and 5G service is a LOT less than iPhone too. The ONE tangible thing iPhone has over it- IMO- is pocketability. If it folded or rolled, that very tangible problem is solved.
"Think different." There is likely no path to iPad-size iPhones. But there is an obvious path to phone-sized iPads (via fold/roll options).
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
It's only twice as thick if we can't imagine most of the guts- battery- spreading to the other half. Else, imagine 2 of the rumored "slim/air" hinged together. That would not be twice as thick when folded but would offer substantially more screen when unfolded. Instead of having to carry around iPhone and iPad (the latter because a bigger screen for many apps is better than a tiny, islanded screen), one device could potentially scratch BOTH itches.
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How many people do you think carry two devices on a regular basis, outside of work situations? I don't know anyone that regularly carries a tablet.
I carry two phones, a pager, and a laptop for work, but I ditch all that as soon as I'm done.
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I spent two days in a meeting sitting next to a guy who has a Samsung fold. Unlike the pic in this article it folds lengthwise, which to me makes more sense. Chocolate bar sized phone that folds out to the size of an iPad mini. While I can’t speak to the functionality, quality or usefulness of Samsung’s design, the screen real estate he had on the thing was nice.
Also if something like this IS in the works it needs to built so as to not require a protective case.
Also if something like this IS in the works it needs to built so as to not require a protective case.
I don't know. With the rate of advancement of technology, choosing a supplier now seems to be a bit early. Admittedly I don't run supply chains for a multi-billion dollar company. But considering manufacturing starts in spring next year at the earliest, for a release in September, it seems a bit early. Maybe they will have to ramp up production although I doubt that the first iteration of a foldable iPhone will sell in iPhone Pro volumes (it will have a price tag surely higher than the current Pro Max). If anything, this would at least set the projected ship date to 2025, considering the choice of the screen supplier. I wonder though, which advancements in the foldable tech will be made between now and when manufacturing starts.
I used to think these were dumb idea till I folded Samsung and put it in my pocket. I'm all for a smaller phone in my pocket with a full size screen.
Now, a regular-sized iPhone that unfolded into a tablet-sized device might be more interesting...