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1. To exist
2. No price increase.
3. Notifications without having to open the phone
4. Low weight! (Otherwise is like carrying an iPad).
5.Apps that actually use the new size, not just "zoomed-in" versions.
 
There are amazing folding smartphones in China. Sadly we cannot use them in America.

In due time Samsung will offer a Galaxy fold with a proper sized outer and inner screen. They just aren't there yet.

I do believe we will see the folding iPhone at some point but probably not until 2025.

I for one have been clamoring for a folding iPhone for years. Imagine an iPad Mini that fits in your front pocket. It will be a total game changer.
 
an all-wrap-around screen, so that we have two single smaller screens when folded and two larger screens when unfolded
 
I vividly remember the passionate discussions about just how stupid an idea a big glass touchscreen on a phone would be. It's going to break all the time, and it's going to be so annoying to use, and the screen is going to be oily and greasy, and it's got nothing on a good Blackberry keyboard, and who would ever want to watch media on such a small screen, and don't get us started on the battery life... Well you get the gist. We're all forward thinkers at times, but let's face it, most of the time most of us aren't very imaginative.

Anyway, what I would want in an iPhone foldable would be a slimmer version of the Oppo Find N. A device that's roughly the size of my iPhone Mini but gives me more real estate when I need it that's primarily to read book, general internet stuff, write emails and manage my diary. Maybe watch the occasional movie but I certainly wouldn't want the screen aspect ratio be driven by media consumption.

I would love to have a foldable as a work phone, but given prices this won't ever happen.
 
Basically impossible. There’s no structure we can make from any known metal that can be so thin and durable. Thousands of people will break their phones in their pockets.
My desire is for
ideally not much thicker than the current iPhone Pro Max when closed
where "not much" implies "least extra thickness as possible". Twice as thick as today's iPhone is a non-starter. Thinner than that should be achievable thanks to redistribution of electronics in a larger form factor but potentially at the cost of battery life (and other features). Thinness in clamshell mode has to be a design goal, but of course also balanced with other attributes of the device.
 
That’s thicker than what guy asked.

He said "not much thicker" (no jokes please), but I don't think the point is one person, rather it's the desire by many for a foldable to be as thin as today's smartphones. The Xiaomi is getting closer to that point as technology improves.
 
While I have fond memories of my Motorola RAZR, I don't want a screen with a visible fold. While Apple may be prototyping a foldable iPhone, I highly doubt we'll see one enter production anytime soon or if at all. Samsungs foldable phones are a gimmick to steal sales away from other phone manufacturers. Apple's goal is to build flawless products and as we've seen there's nothing flawless about these foldable phones on the market. If somehow, Samsung was suddenly stealing away millions of sales from Apple with their foldable phones then we might see Apple's prototype come to life but until that happens it will remain securely tucked away in Apple's R&D department.
 
Apple's goal is to build flawless products and as we've seen there's nothing flawless about these foldable phones on the market. If somehow, Samsung was suddenly stealing away millions of sales from Apple with their foldable phones then we might see Apple's prototype come to life but until that happens it will remain securely tucked away in Apple's R&D department.

Yes, but also no. The first iPhone certainly wasn't flawless.

We're reaching peak smartphone and slowly, but surely, Apple will need new ideas to keep people buying phones they don't need. With the 12/13 series it was a new/old iconic design, soon it might be absence of a notch, but ultimately there's only so much you can do with a regular form factor.

I don't think foldables will take over completely, but I'm fairly convinced they will grab a healthy part of the current premium market.
 
Apple is falling behind again just as their flagship iPhone finally gets things like Pro Motion. Samsung is in their 4th year of foldables and Apple is nowhere to be found—not even with prototypes leaking. That means we’re at least 3 cycles away from foldables from Apple - how much catching up will that have to do on Folds and Flips?
 
I'd like to have an iPhone that can be an iPad and Mac together. When you unfold it, it's iPad and when you connect it to an external display it's a Mac. With Apple Silicon iPhone that turns into a Mac can be done even today like Microsoft Continuum.
 
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When the price gets to $600 or less, then I'll consider it. Otherwise, as nice as it is to have a phone which stores flat and get used conveniently, while folding out into a nice big screen, it's not something I'm interested. Hell, I still haven't bothered with smartwatches this day in age (still use a "dumb watch" :) )

I personally have no need for it. Doesn't mean that others don't. Just not for me.
Yeah, that's how I feel about most Apple products :) Glad I got a 9th gen ipad. Haven't been using it that much, but that's been a good thing thus far as I'm not wasting so much time like I did with my last iPad (although Apple Arcade was a fun binge while that lasted).
 
I want the horizontal scroll rollout from Earth: Final Conflict.

For a foldable I would have to be completely unable to tell any sign that it’s a foldable when it’s open, and it would have to be at least as thin as my current phone when closed. I don’t think that’s physically possible.
 
I don't like it. Flops around. Would always prefer an incrementally thinner/lighter iphone.
 
Why anyone would want a foldable phone is beyond me. They seem functionally useless, and are plagued with issues. Just a gimmick. Shame Apple has become the sheep and not the shepherd.
 
It’s a geometrical conundrum. A4 paper when when folded in half become A5 , exactly the same shape, different size, both pleasing to the eye.
Iphones don’t have A6/A7 shaped forms, If they did they would they would be uncomfortable to hold, too wide for the height. iPads do and we like them.
the conundrum is that it either looks nice when folded or nice when opened, it can’t do both easily.

nice phone = square phone pad
square phone = nice phone pad shape.
 
  1. Further minimize the crease. Whether that is a rolling display, 2 glass panels that meet in the middle or something else I think this needs to be the highest priority.
  2. What happens to Face ID? Will it be on the front screen or inner screen? I would imagine the front screen. Do they include a selfie camera inside or go all-in on the "all screen" marketing?
  3. iOS would need some iPad OS like modifications. With the bigger screen you would almost have to run iPad OS on this device.
  4. Aspect ratios on foldables are garbage. The outside screen is too small to do anything useful. The inside screen is too square. The new Mix Fold 2 looks to strike a nice balance between the 2.
 
Apple is falling behind again just as their flagship iPhone finally gets things like Pro Motion. Samsung is in their 4th year of foldables and Apple is nowhere to be found—not even with prototypes leaking. That means we’re at least 3 cycles away from foldables from Apple - how much catching up will that have to do on Folds and Flips?

Ya must be new to Apple products.

Apple is rarely a first mover.

They prefer to watch other companies produce stupid and chunky designs for a few years.

And if those stupid designs fail to truly take off beyond hype, then Apple lolz at them.

If those stupid designs do indeed get popular beyond some hype, then Apple moves in with a much better design.

From PowerBooks, to iPods, to iPhones, to iPads - this had always been the strategy.
 
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The Galaxy Fold 4 is the first device to have Android 12L as it’s OS. This is a version of Android specifically created for foldable Android phones, so the industry is moving this way whether people like it or not. Those complaining about a foldable iPhone on this forum, will be the first in line or placing their online orders when Apple release their own version that’s for sure.
 
I want to see a foldable tablet, not a phone. The tablet makes sense, even better with a stylus. It's like opening a book. A foldable phone is awkward because it encumbers me if I just want to look at the Lock Screen for a notification. I'm assuming someone at Apple read this. Make a foldable tablet, not a foldable3 phone.
 
Apple is falling behind again just as their flagship iPhone finally gets things like Pro Motion. Samsung is in their 4th year of foldables and Apple is nowhere to be found—not even with prototypes leaking. That means we’re at least 3 cycles away from foldables from Apple - how much catching up will that have to do on Folds and Flips?
At least 3 cycles, if they are ever released at all. But does that matter, really? Apple almost never is first to market with anything and yet is a massively successful company. When it comes to displays, Apple is reliant on Samsung so it makes sense that Samsung works out the kinks with high refresh rates before Apple incorporates the tech. If I wasn't ok with that I wouldn't purchase an iPhone.
 
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