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Other The iPhone Air is the Appetizer....

JPack said:
Everyone is using two hands because 1) large displays require two hands and 2) they recognize how much faster they can type.
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Not true IMO. Watch people around you for a while. Single-handed usage is very common [not so common for the constantly-texting crowd], even when often done badly, like all those folks that incompetently take photos using one hand without using voice control.

Apple added a camera control button to help lead users into more competent two-handed photography, and many users here laughed at it [IMO ignorantly]. Me, I love having the new camera control button as an additional choice for shutter release and for starting up the camera.
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
Not true IMO. Watch people around you for a while. Single-handed usage is very common [not so common for the constantly-texting crowd], even when often done badly, like all those folks that take photos using one hand without using voice control.

Apple added a camera control button to help lead users into more competent two-handed photography, and many users here laughed at it [IMO ignorantly]. Me, I love having the new camera control button as an additional choice for shutter release and for starting up the camera.
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Single-handed mindless scrolling or content consumption? Sure.

The new form factor by Huawei, adopted by Apple is no wider than a current Pro Max. It's even slightly narrower.

1748201018324.png
 
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JPack said:
Single-handed mindless scrolling or content consumption? Sure.
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Reading is hardly "mindless." And when I use the phone as a phone I usually do it one-handed, and so do most other users.

It is primarily those [mostly young] people who spend much of their lives texting that are always using two hands on their phones.
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
Reading is hardly "mindless." And when I use the phone as a phone I usually do it one-handed, and so do most other users.

It is primarily those [mostly young] people who spend much of their lives texting that are always using two hands on their phones.
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You are making some wild assumptions here.

As smartphones have gotten larger and heavier over time, people have naturally adapted to using them with two hands as it is far easier. This isn't just young people. This is people of all ages.

Unless you have one hand already preoccupied with something, I see no reason not to use a smartphone with two hands. It's simply far more comfortable and easier to do everything in this regard.
 
My expectation is that initial sales of a folding iPhone will be quite good, as there is pent-up demand from people who like the idea of a folding phone, but don’t want to switch to Android all buy one. After that, though, in successive generations, sales will fall off because expensive phones are eye-wateringly expensive. I expect at best it will have a similar share as the Pro Max, but most likely will cannibalise mostly the Pro Max share.

Two weeks ago, for the first time ever, I saw a folding phone in the wild. Some guy sitting in front of me on a train in Sydney was using one. I feel quite safe in saying the folding format is not going to be the new standard for smartphones. It will be a popular niche for a while. Maybe it will stay sufficiently popular that it doesn’t go away for many years, but the much-maligned slab of phone is simply a better form factor for the long term, even if some people get bored by the lack of superficial change.
 
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The main reason I upgrade every year is the camera. So the Air wouldn’t be a good choice for me. I take a lot of pictures and videos. I’m fascinated to see what they announce though!
 
blairh said:
You are making some wild assumptions here.

As smartphones have gotten larger and heavier over time, people have naturally adapted to using them with two hands as it is far easier. This isn't just young people. This is people of all ages.

Unless you have one hand already preoccupied with something, I see no reason not to use a smartphone with two hands. It's simply far more comfortable and easier to do everything in this regard.
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I am making zero assumptions, simply reporting my observations. YMMV.

Note that I was disagreeing with your comment that "Everyone is using two hands."
 
blairh said:
It's superior because it has a nearly 8" screen when unfolded. There is no comparing what the Pro Max screen can offer versus what the future folding iPhone will offer.

It actually will not be bulkier. The Pro Max is rumored to be 8.75mm this fall. The folding iPhone is rumored to be between 9 and 9.5mm next year. So while it is technically a little thicker if that remains true, we aren't talking about a massive difference.

Book-style foldables do not currently have any issues with bending.

You will end up losing that bet. The folding iPhone is coming.
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Even if we set aside the thickness and the durability issues there’s still the practicality issue for every day use. You would have to flip it open to use it properly every time. This was the problem with the flip phones in the past for me and it’s the same again. I just don’t see how such device would continue to be appealing after the novelty of the flip screen wears off. It’s just not as practical in general and it would target a niche market like the iPhone Mini did. Gearheads would be the ones who’d buy it mostly and as a result it would follow the iPhone Mini destiny.
 
kiv.atso said:
You would have to flip it open to use it properly every time.
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Based on the leaked screen dimensions, the outer screen will have about the same screen area in terms of square inches as the regular iPhone, just in a different aspect ratio. And it’s larger than the old 6/7/8 Plus screen. I would say that is enough to allow “proper” use.

Foldable outer screen vs. regular iPhone screen:

1748253127955.png


Foldable outer screen vs. 8 Plus screen:

1748253341786.png
 
Never buy a version one device as you are the beta tester of the hardware. Except maybe an Apple device version one iPhone, as if you don't buy now it may be made of cardboard and a 9 volt battery stuck on the back soon!
It will be called the Tariff Air one. I'm sure Tim will say its premier cardboard that's been recycled from boxes from the old well made iPhones, the best quality cardboard money can buy, just don't use it in the rain! Although the 9 Volt battery will be glued to the cardboard so you cant replace it of course...
 
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Allen_Wentz said:
I am making zero assumptions, simply reporting my observations. YMMV.

Note that I was disagreeing with your comment that "Everyone is using two hands."
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No you were not. You were disagreeing with someone else.

If you only observe young people using their smartphones with two-hands, then I don't know what to tell you. Look around and I'm sure you will see all age groups doing this as well.
 
kiv.atso said:
Even if we set aside the thickness and the durability issues there’s still the practicality issue for every day use. You would have to flip it open to use it properly every time. This was the problem with the flip phones in the past for me and it’s the same again. I just don’t see how such device would continue to be appealing after the novelty of the flip screen wears off. It’s just not as practical in general and it would target a niche market like the iPhone Mini did. Gearheads would be the ones who’d buy it mostly and as a result it would follow the iPhone Mini destiny.
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Totally disagree.

You wouldn't have to open your folding iPhone to 'use it properly every time'. You could do many things easily and enjoyably with the folding iPhone closed. Text, social media, browse, navigate music and podcast, maps. This will not be a super compromised device when folded.

When unfolded you can experience a nearly 8" wide screen.

This isn't going to be a device that only appeals to gearheads and the like. Once people of all ages can have that 8" screen in their hands, it's game over. It's just a question of cost and durability. Both are significant hurdles to allow foldables to become mainstream. I reckon the first few years the folding iPhone will indeed be a rather niche device on price alone. But assuming the cost goes down over time, it will be embrace by countless consumers. I see no chance of it failing like the iPhone mini.
 
russell_314 said:
If the battery lasts all day on the Air, does it matter if the Pro Max lasts a day and a half? I’m never going to be away from power that long so it’s not going to make a difference for me. Of course this is just for what I need. You or someone else might need that extra battery life so for them it is inferior.
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More battery life is always better than less. I'd love a phone that I only have to plug in once or twice a week!
The thing about a phone that only lasts a whole day is that, as we all know, battery life declines from day one. A phone that starts out with just all day battery life is not going to get you through the whole day a year or two from now. So yeah, I do ideally want a brand new phone to last more than just 1 day. My 14 Pro Max still comfortably gets me though the day without having to be recharged, but it's almost 3 years old. I wouldn't be impressed if it had offered this battery life as a brand new device.
 
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joeblow7777 said:
More battery life is always better than less. I'd love a phone that I only have to plug in once or twice a week!
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There are some people that make this happen, but they don’t look at their phone screen for hours. The dream would be maybe plug in once a month. I’m not sure we’ll ever get there in my lifetime. I went from having a phone that would last about a week to less than a day and now we’re back up to a whole day.


joeblow7777 said:
The thing about a phone that only lasts a whole day is that, as we all know, battery life declines from day one. A phone that starts out with just all day battery life is not going to get you through the whole day a year or two from now. So yeah, I do ideally want a brand new phone to last more than just 1 day. My 14 Pro Max still comfortably gets me though the day without having to be recharged, but it's almost 3 years old. I wouldn't be impressed if it had offered this battery life as a brand new device.
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Of course, when I say all day battery life, I don’t mean as I’m walking in this front door and it’s shutting off because the battery died. I mean, I come home and it has maybe 30%. It’s still just one day because if I forget to plug it in at night, it’s going to die sometime in the morning. For me this isn’t that critical because I can charge in my car or at work. I stay around civilization so there are electrical outlets available. If I was going somewhere that didn’t have this, I would have an external battery with me.
 
blairh said:
Totally disagree.

You wouldn't have to open your folding iPhone to 'use it properly every time'. You could do many things easily and enjoyably with the folding iPhone closed. Text, social media, browse, navigate music and podcast, maps. This will not be a super compromised device when folded.

When unfolded you can experience a nearly 8" wide screen.

This isn't going to be a device that only appeals to gearheads and the like. Once people of all ages can have that 8" screen in their hands, it's game over. It's just a question of cost and durability. Both are significant hurdles to allow foldables to become mainstream. I reckon the first few years the folding iPhone will indeed be a rather niche device on price alone. But assuming the cost goes down over time, it will be embrace by countless consumers. I see no chance of it failing like the iPhone mini.
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Still not convinced. I mean, who really needs an 8-inch screen on their phone? And if it works just fine when it’s folded, then what’s the point of unfolding it?

Honestly, I’d love to see something genuinely new and exciting in phones. It’s been 18 years of basically the same thing, and yeah… it’s getting kind of boring. Foldables just don’t cut it. They’re still the same old phone—just with a fold. It’s a small twist, sure, but nowhere near the kind of leap we saw with the original iPhone. It’s different, but not different enough.
 
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kiv.atso said:
Still not convinced. I mean, who really needs an 8-inch screen on their phone? And if it works just fine when it’s folded, then what’s the point of unfolding it?

Honestly, I’d love to see something genuinely new and exciting in phones. It’s been 18 years of basically the same thing, and yeah… it’s getting kind of boring. Foldables just don’t cut it. They’re still the same old phone—just with a fold. It’s a small twist, sure, but nowhere near the kind of leap we saw with the original iPhone. It’s different, but not different enough.
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Well I could not disagree more. The point of unfolding it is to enjoy content in a different manner versus when it is folded. You use the device folded when you need to (on-the-go, quick text replies, reading new texts or emails, etc) and you use it unfolded when you want to enjoy things (larger browser, consuming video content, enhanced social media experience).

I think this is the natural evolution of the smartphone. It's essentially becoming an iPad mini in your pocket. The tri-fold smartphone essentially makes it an iPad. I personally find this all very exciting. It will be a welcomed change from narrow and tall slab iPhones.
 
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