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Testing the World's Thinnest Foldable Smartphone

anthonymoody said:
Yup I travel quite a bit and usually bring my MBP "just in case." When I need it, I'm really glad I have it bc I really need it. OTOH, I'm often away for a week or more and wind up leaving the MBP in my bag the entire time.

This thing sure would lighten the load.

Re: prices. IMPORTANT TO NOTE - the Chinese version, which can be imported from a bunch of places for $1500-1600, lacks a *lot* of the important MMwave/5G bands. The "Global" version, which you'll see for $1900ish, is what you want in the US. Still doesn't have every single band, but, it has more/most of them and should work reasonably well on US carriers.
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I think Apple doesn’t release this for less than $2199. It has to cover the cost of selling an iPhone Pro Max and an iPad Pro at the same time. Tim prefers to sell more in two categories. But what Tim values even more are total revenues and net profit. At $2200, Tim would win all the money for the top 1% - elite who own the vast majority of the stock. At $2200, Apple’s profit margins would go up. Apple might even sell more iPhones for the first time in a long time. People can say they don’t want one, but when you hold one in your hands the crease melts away and the possibilities truly seem amazing. Everything about it except the OS not being in the ecosystem is perfect. People will want this exact product from Apple. Tim is taking too long to introduce it by trying to perfect the display so cannot see the crease. Having used the Fold 5, I can say that the crease went away to my eyes far faster than the Dynamic Island or notches of iPhones.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
In before about 50 posts that are basically "solution in search of a problem" and "what's the point"...

Jobs: "a mobile phone, an iPod and an internet communicator." That was 3 distinct products we generally owned at the time that was being merged into one thing. We didn't question the point or the purpose, or have trouble imagining problems iPhone could solve. We could "think different" and appreciate 3 becoming 1.

"an iPhone and an iPad, as a single product." That can be 2 distinct products we generally own now that can be merged into one thing. If we try, we can still "think different" and appreciate 2 becoming 1.
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I admit I have been one of those “solution in search of a problem” naysayers. And yet… this is a great-looking device, which has had generally favorable reviews. I’m definitely coming round to the idea.
 
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ThailandToo said:
I think Apple doesn’t release this for less than $2199. It has to cover the cost of selling an iPhone Pro Max and an iPad Pro at the same time. Tim prefers to sell more in two categories. But what Tim values even more are total revenues and net profit. At $2200, Tim would win all the money for the top 1% - elite who own the vast majority of the stock. At $2200, Apple’s profit margins would go up. Apple might even sell more iPhones for the first time in a long time. People can say they don’t want one, but when you hold one in your hands the crease melts away and the possibilities truly seem amazing. Everything about it except the OS not being in the ecosystem is perfect. People will want this exact product from Apple. Tim is taking too long to introduce it by trying to perfect the display so cannot see the crease. Having used the Fold 5, I can say that the crease went away to my eyes far faster than the Dynamic Island or notches of iPhones.
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My guess is minimal specced option for $1999 for the psychological pricing punch but nicely upgraded (meaning what it SHOULD come with) averaging about $2499. 💰💰💰
 
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TechRunner said:
IMO, Android is not the dumpster fire many here claim it is. I recently returned to iPhone after a decade on Android, and I don't find this huge chasm between iOS and Android. You should feel free to embrace the technology that appeals to you and your wallet without fear of being stuck with an "inferior" OS.
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I think this perception might be partly due to people's experiences with Android phones years ago. I tried a couple Android phones in 2013, and some parts of their user interface and some apps were terrible compared to iPhones at the time. The newer Android operating systems in phones I've tried in recent years are so much like iPhones that it's tempting.

But many people's experience differs, maybe depending on the version of Android they're using, how much bloatware the phone manufacturer installs, etc. If I had to spend more time actually using it, I might find parts of it painful.
 
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jouster said:
I admit I have been one of those “solution in search of a problem” naysayers. And yet… this is a great-looking device, which has had generally favorable reviews. I’m definitely coming round to the idea.
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Wait until Apple releases one and most of the naysayers will magically & suddenly see problems solved by this exact solution... and 10 or 20 ("What's the") points of going fold/roll... just as the vast majority of this crowd thoroughly ridiculed phablet-sized phones for years (many tens of thousands of passionate anti-phablet posts in history) until Apple embraced phablet form factors. And then? It's as if no such comments were ever written. For many/most of us, we seem to not like new things only while Apple doesn't offer them. But when they do, our sometimes very strong cases against whatever it is just evaporate... often flipping to then ridiculing the old "perfection" formerly defended as the ideal. Same movie almost every time.
 
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Ael_MR said:
I’m still not sold on foldables. People don’t seem to mention that the crease itself is a point of failure and degrades from daily use. Samsungs are basically unsellable after a year of use due to this and the return rate due to screen failure is huge.
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Sure, but the reason Apple hasn't released a foldable phone yet is because it's working to avoid the issues you describe. From the latest reports, Apple seems to have managed to get Samsung to deliver to them a folding display that's better (apparently creaseless) than the one Samsung has been using on their own phones to this point.
 
JosephAW said:
Looks like the crease is just an accepted manufacturer feature for all foldables. :rolleyes: 📱📱
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My thinkpad fold has no visible crease.
 

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i don't want thin foldable phone.
i want a phone with larger battery, cheaper.
i will take good LCD screen, 60 Hz refresh, metal enclosure, 4 year old processor.
I don't need 20 core CPU, Nural engine, i don't care for AI.
 
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iMac The Knife said:
It can be had for just under $1400 US. Depending on where you buy it from, you can have the Google Play store loaded onto it prior to shipping. Wonda Mobile and Giztop will do this. And yes, this phone will work on the big three carriers in the US. In the past two years, I've used the OnePlus Open and Honor Magic V3 on AT&T without issue. 5G and all.
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Since they can come with Google Play, is there any real difference in your experience between the Chinese version vs Global (other than price?).
 
honestly, if i weren't already using a company supplied phone; i'd probably give one of these foldables a crack for the next one; my last 7 or 8 phones have either been apples or samsungs; this is about the first time i've a different company has made me go ooh.
 
I'm super impressed with the technology and suspect that there will be a lot of enthusiastic early adopters when Apple introduces the first foldable iPhone.

For me, my preference is different devices for different use-cases.

That's just me. I know many Apple users will benefit greatly from having a single device that does iPhone things *and* iPad things.

I also admit that my feelings may change when the foldable iPhone arrives and I can actually demo a working model in an Apple Store.
 
The crease is really not noticeable – holds up phone and shows noticeable crease. Apart from that it does seem to be some pretty cool hardware and software.
 
I use large monitors, many of them if I can and am not a laptop user when I can help it, certainly not one that isn't docked. However, unless I am working I do most of my internet browsing, mail, paying bills, etc. on my iPhone. I do not want Android. So I am in the been waiting for an Apple foldable camp. I want the real estate without having to switch devices to an iPad or anything. I will likely continue using my iPhone 14 Pro Max until a foldable iPhone comes out.
 
iMac The Knife said:
It can be had for just under $1400 US. Depending on where you buy it from, you can have the Google Play store loaded onto it prior to shipping. Wonda Mobile and Giztop will do this. And yes, this phone will work on the big three carriers in the US. In the past two years, I've used the OnePlus Open and Honor Magic V3 on AT&T without issue. 5G and all.
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joefrank64k said:
Since they can come with Google Play, is there any real difference in your experience between the Chinese version vs Global (other than price?).
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YES. The Chinese version lacks a LOT of important bands. You want the Global version. It will work well on TMo/Mint, okay on ATT, not so much on Verizon. The Chinese version will mostly stink on all 3.

Wonda hasn't had the Global version except for the like 3 minutes when they first went live with orders. Giztop doesn't (yet) sell the Global version. SO both of those sites only have the Chinese version.

AverageDad has the Global in stock as I type this. He's been in/out of stock since they started shipping and is probably your best bet if you want one now-ish in the US. That's where I ordered mine.
 
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Anonymous Freak said:
This is what I want Apple to do. I don't want a "flip phone" that ends up a small cube in my pocket, I want a "phone sized" device that unfolds into an iPad-mini-size tablet. (Bonus if it is a triple-fold, or an unfold-and-unroll to be wider once unfolded.)
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Absolutely. This sounds amazing, and would be an incredibly useful productivity device.
 
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