Why Apple Rejected a Clamshell-Style Foldable iPhone

[Dreamail]

Wow, every single person in the world who unbelievably wants a smaller phone is on this thread.

Why unbelievably?

Just because many people want bigger and bigger phablet screens, does not mean everyone is like that.

I carry an iPad or small laptop with me most of the time, so I do not need a big phone for on-the-go Internet. For that I prefer an even bigger screen than even the rumored "iPhone Fold" could ever provide. Maybe a triple-fold iPhone might one day offer a decent Internet screen size. Who knows? But it'll be years if not another decade before Apple goes that route.

In the meantime I want my communications device to be small. As small as possible. Heck, a 4G or 5G Apple Watch would be fine for me. Alas Apple does not allow you to pair an Apple Watch with a Mac or iPad - only an iPhone. And I am not going to buy an iPhone to get an Apple Watch. 🤣 Apple keep shooting themselves in the foot...

 

[TechRunner]

That's a shame. I was really hoping for an iPhone Flip. I used a Galaxy Z Flip4 for almost three years and loved the form factor. Apple's take on this design would have been a day one purchase for me.

 

[ChrisMac47]

Was just forced to upgrade after the lighting port was dying on my iPhone 13 mini. Now have an iPhone 17. Hands down my least favorite iPhone ever.

I'm dreading having to "upgrade" (not) my Mini when it finally dies. Hopefully it has a few more years left. As others have noted, it's strange that the MacBook Air is so popular largely because it's small and relatively light, and has adequate specs, but Apple refuse to accept that there is a market for a small phone. People keep citing the relatively low sales of the 12 mini and 13 mini, but that was 4-5 years ago and there was a lower cost smaller SE iPhone available at the time. Somewhere in Apple there is a loud mouth macho guy convincing Tim that phones have to be large and heavy. An iPhone the size and weight of the iPod Touch (88 grams) would be awesome and sell like hotcakes.

 

[nottorp]

the biggest selling point would have been its smaller size when folded.

Yes, apple idiots. That is the only reason I'd buy a foldable.

When does Cook retire again? Not a second too soon.

 

[darngooddesign]

certainly, but here's what apple has to say becomes relevant: space issues. the display has thickness, even if you fuse it together with the touchscreen. it also generates heat - not a lot - but enough to mandate some sort of thermal management: whether that's an air gap or some thermally conductive material -> adds to thickness. not much, but small things tend to accumulate.

Apple has a history of saying things are bad until they find a solution they are happy with. If Apple can figure out thermal management on the iPhoneAir, they can figure it out on a clamshell foldable. The compromise for a much smaller phone in your pocket is that it’s slightly thicker.

then you want to have it shock/scratch/break-resistant too.

If Apple is releasing the rumored iPhonebook then they have figured that out, and their solution would have apply to whichever style foldable they released.

then there's the UI complexity and the problem of screen real estate: another weirdly shaped screen has to be handled either by the OS or by the installed apps. how much stuff can you fit onto it, how can one interact with it. not impossible, but pretty challenging as the various screen sizes will certainly pose some challenges to app developers, so there might be some apps that won't support the external screens and require you to open the phone anyways.

or the OEM might just decide to restrict the use of the external screen solely to the OS to provide an uniform experience.

Apps are already responsive so they could adapt so 3rd party apps would need to adapt if they want to be used there.. But yes, the small screen might be iOS apps only, or only until other apps are compatible.

then there's the problem of taking and making calls with the device - I know this is probably not the main function of nowadays' smart-"phone" - but still it needs to be dealt with. so what are the options:
- speakerphone when in clamshell mode (works, but has the obvious issues. the AW also works as a speakerphone, but that's more like some emergency function)
- some sort of headset/earpiece (probably the most feasible way, but requires extra items that need to be sold/charged/cared for)
- open the damn thing whenever it rings

I bet I could use it like my phone now as Apple would make sure the bottom microphone works for this. Otherwise speaker if AirPods.

texting: sure, you can do the old fashioned yell-at-the-phone speech to text way, or have some quirky letter by letter input or a tiny unusable virtual keyboard too - just like the AW. is it working? kinda yes, but I wouldn't want to type this post on such a thing. again, you need to open the thing up.

Texting wouldn’t be a problem. I just checked my phone that the keyboard and field are less than half the height of my screen; I just wouldn’t see the top half while composing a text. and if I couldnt remember what I was replying to, i could just swipe the keyboard down just like i can now.

and this basically boils down to keeping opening/closing the device whenever it comes to any social interaction with it.

Not necessarily. We have years of data which shows that flip/clalmshell users generally treat the folded state as a way to respond to notifications, do quick tasks, use the media player controls, take selfies/self portraits with the better main cameras, etc. then they unfold for longer sessions.

 

[Applɘ Aꙅylum]

Just convert iPhone 17 Air into an Apple iPhone 17 Flip and call it a day.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

The problem with the iPhone mini, wasn’t its size, it was its technology.
If you could shrink an iPhone Pro, into the form factor, it would be a winner. With advancement of battery technology, maybe we will see a rethink in years to come.

One of the things that’s well noted, is females seem to prefer the larger phone, and men smaller! Whether that is related to where they are carried (generalisation coming) handbag vs jeans pocket, who knows.

I'm not entirely sure about that. Realising it's a ridiculous metric, all my colleagues with iPhones have a Pro or Max purely for screen size. My 13 Mini is the odd one out and gets bullied because of that, comments mainly about how I can even see anything on screen. Well, I have good eyes and also a MBP at home that gets almost all of the screen time.

Now had there been a 13 mini Pro I (and likely many Mini users) would have jumped at it. One thing about my above mentioned anecdote is that those colleagues also don't really own a secondary device. No laptops, perhaps one or two with a tablet but almost exclusively their larger iP as a primary device for consumption, entertainment, email, banking. So for me even the larger iP's are horrid to use when I have MBP's 16" screen instead.

Finally, they're (my colleagues) are not that tech orientated but are pleased with the camera's output, not ever printing or displaying the files, except on that local device. I have a dedicated camera for that. So they're not even aware of many extra or common iOS features between those devices (iPP vs Mini) as I'm often showing them basic features. For disclosure: the age range I'm describing is 40-58, which kind of limits my argument further, but am just giving a limited example that they all prefer the larger screens.

 

[freezelighter]

You might be looking at it the wrong way - it might be the customer choice (opting for bigger screens in large numbers) that changed Apple's dictatorship mindset in regards of phone size. 😉

Do not forget that at the same time the Android crew (75% of smartphone market worldwide) were really going on “bigger is better” path and content creators worldwide started adapting their content to larger screen sizes, using 6”+ as a new reference point.

Customers who need bigger size should get a tablet and distinguish between a mobile device and big screen.

 

[freezelighter]

Except for the fact that a Flip styled phone is smaller and easier to carry/keep in pocket, there is no other benefit. I have the Z Flip and feel like there is no other benefit. Having a phone which can double as a tablet is the better option and I would prefer to buy the Z Fold over the Z Flip any day. Looking forward to seeing the foldable from Apple. Maybe in the future, Apple too will have a Flip styled iPhone.

If the form factor is like Huawei Pura X (and it seems so based on renderings and rumors), it's an instant buy at launch for me.

No matter 2499$ or more.

This iPhone will be the last bridge between the 2030s smart glasses, implants and the era of physical handheld phones we used to have during past decades.

 

[anthony131]

...the biggest selling point would have been its smaller size when folded.

YES!!! PAAALLEEEEEAASSSSSE. TAKE. MY. MONEY.

 

[B4U]

"Apple had a 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini and an iPhone 13 mini, but the device was discontinued after two generations because it sold poorly."
The plus and air are selling that much better???

 

[anthony131]

The problem with the iPhone mini, wasn’t its size, it was its technology.
If you could shrink an iPhone Pro, into the form factor, it would be a winner. With advancement of battery technology, maybe we will see a rethink in years to come.

I still use an iPhone Mini 12. It's more than sufficient for my needs. I have never owned a Pro phone and I genuinely do not know what it offers that I would want or need. At all. What is it about the Pro models that's compelling to you?

 

[one more]

Customers who need bigger size should get a tablet and distinguish between a mobile device and big screen.

FWIW, not that iPadOS has a native Phone app, yes, they could, hypothetically. 😉 However, I cannot decide for other people. Besides, the whole current iPhone line up, including 17 Pro Max, is still way smaller and lighter than iPad Mini.

 

[one more]

"Apple had a 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini and an iPhone 13 mini, but the device was discontinued after two generations because it sold poorly."
The plus and air are selling that much better???

The Plus is no more and if Air 2 does not sell well, it will be written off as well.

 

[anthony131]

I'm of the extremely firm belief that Apple's motivation to sell larger phones is to create addictive habits. The more "useful" a device is, the more time you spend on it. Bigger phones generate more engagement. You can do more on them - watch content, create content, umm... other stuff, I guess. The Mini is a perfect device for the people who do not want to live on their phones. Apple is not interested in producing something that people use less frequently.

This article affirms my belief.

 

[anthony131]

People keep citing the relatively low sales of the 12 mini and 13 mini, but that was 4-5 years ago and there was a lower cost smaller SE iPhone available at the time.

It was also during covid when most people were inside and wanted phones for facetime and watching videos. It (covid) changed how we used phones. The need to have a small, light, pocketable device for occasional use has diminished. Phones have largely replaced personal (non-work use) computers at this point.

 

[darngooddesign]

Customers who need bigger size should get a tablet and distinguish between a mobile device and big screen.

Says the person with a phone, a widescreen iPod, and an internet communicator all in one device.

 

[ChrisMac47]

I'm of the extremely firm belief that Apple's motivation to sell larger phones is to create addictive habits. The more "useful" a device is, the more time you spend on it. Bigger phones generate more engagement. You can do more on them - watch content, create content, umm... other stuff, I guess. The Mini is a perfect device for the people who do not want to live on their phones. Apple is not interested in producing something that people use less frequently.

This article affirms my belief.

I think you're spot on. I love my mini but I'm not glued to it all the time. It's a PHONE for goodness sake ... plus I can do the occasional messaging, payments or whatever. But you're right anthony131, Apple want me to buy a monster and be on it 24/7, or more.

 

[erikkfi]

I sincerely don't understand the point of a book-style folding phone. So you get like, what, a big square when you open it? And people want this?

Apple reportedly felt that it was an "unnecessary" design because the biggest selling point would have been its smaller size when folded.

Sometimes these people amaze me.

 

[turbineseaplane]

@anthony131 and @ChrisMac47

I agree with you both.
This has been a side effect of Tim pushing the company to "Services" as the growth area.

The concept of a device made to be used and put away and interacted with only as necessary, as a tool, is totally at odds with their financial incentives to have you on it constantly scrolling, gaming, consuming and, critically, subscribing to everything and maxing out IAPs on everything.

 

[Tim Jobs the 2nd]

I'm of the extremely firm belief that Apple's motivation to sell larger phones is to create addictive habits. The more "useful" a device is, the more time you spend on it. Bigger phones generate more engagement. You can do more on them - watch content, create content, umm... other stuff, I guess. The Mini is a perfect device for the people who do not want to live on their phones. Apple is not interested in producing something that people use less frequently.

This article affirms my belief.

I know conspiracy theories are all the rage, but Apple added a screen time feature designed to remind you of how much you use the device, which is supposed to nudge you into using it less. Not exactly the kind of move that makes sense if your theory was true.

 

[Unami]

It's the only folding form factor I'm interested in (except for a phone I could fold or roll like a piece of paper) but I do believe in different devices for different use cases (e.g. a tablet for browsing, a camera with a big sensor for filming, an e-book reader,....). So, a phone is sort of a small tool/swiss army knife for me, that's mostly defined by it's pocketability. But I wouldn't use it for cooking. So, I'm an iPhone mini guy and not relevant to Apple.

 

[d686546s]

@anthony131 and @ChrisMac47

I agree with you both.
This has been a side effect of Tim pushing the company to "Services" as the growth area.

The concept of a device made to be used and put away and interacted with only as necessary, as a tool, is totally at odds with their financial incentives to have you on it constantly scrolling, gaming, consuming and, critically, subscribing to everything and maxing out IAPs on everything.

I find that hard to believe. I'm not ruling out that Apple has run the numbers, but the financial incentives in 2020, when they introduced the Mini, will likely have been very similar to how they are today. Subscriptions, IAPs and all the rest were equally present. Surely they would have never introduced the Mini in the first place, unless the argument now is that it's a recent conspiracy?

I think the far more likely answer is that Apple focuses on the devices that sell while keeping down R&D cost. If the Mini overall doesn't sell spectacularly and the overwhelming majority of prospective Mini buyers will just pivot to a regular iPhone or a Pro anyway, what's the point of keeping it around?

I know that sucks for those who truly want a Mini, but there you go.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I find that hard to believe.

That's ok, we can all have different views. 👍 ✌️

 

[darngooddesign]

I'm of the extremely firm belief that Apple's motivation to sell larger phones is to create addictive habits. The more "useful" a device is, the more time you spend on it. Bigger phones generate more engagement. You can do more on them - watch content, create content, umm... other stuff, I guess. The Mini is a perfect device for the people who do not want to live on their phones. Apple is not interested in producing something that people use less frequently.

This article affirms my belief.

I guess that started first with Steve Jobs’ strategy of the Mac being your digital hub. And then Steve Jobs making the iPhone so easy and fun to do things on and later his App Store cemented that they wanted you to spend as much time with your iPhone as possible.