yeah... I don't think apple's goalposts are what other's goals are. Apple isn't worried about getting it to be thin, etc. Apple isn't looking to solve the problems with someone else's product.
Apple wants it to have a reason to exist beyond... "Dude, it folds."
When it makes sense for the category and when It is every bit as reliable as the current, solid bar iPhone, and when it adds something worthwhile to the phone, Apple will release such a thing.
Currently, Apple hasn't seen the need ro benefit. I have to agree.
That's not to say next year won't be a different story. Perhaps it will. But when Apple actually goes in that direction, it will be don't in such a way as to be plain common sense. it could be that Appel has an entirely different idea in mind than another flip phone with a flexible screen.
How about "iPad Mini in your pocket" ?
Being an iPhone user for freakin' 18 years, this is the first time I ditch iPhone 15 Pro Max for Oppo Find N5. It's a game changer dude. It is as thin as the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. Pick one up and you'll feel that long lost feeling again.
But it’s not an iPad mini, it’s a small Android ‘tablet’ and there’s a reason why people buy iPads in preference to Android tablets and one of them is the software.
That's a great review, but it failed to answer the biggest question: What is the use for this, beyond, "hey look, it folds"?
If you have to ask the question, it's not for you. How can people who obviously think they know tech, not see the advantage of a folding phone even if it's not for them? Seriously. I have no reason to own a pickup truck but I see the utility, even if I'll never need it. You don't have to be a visionary to see it. Or maybe you do.
"An iPad mini in your pocket" someone said. That makes perfect sense to me. Even if I have no reason to have an iPad mini with me. No doubt someone does.
"It's not an iPad mini, it's an Android tablet". Brilliant response. Utter fucking genius. Of course it's not an iPad mini. But it sets a high bar for for a folder. I have no need for a folder. Except when I'm out somewhere and want to actually read something online. Presbyopia isn't fun and Rx lenses only help so much with a phone. To be able to open phone and actual read something without having to scrollscrollscroll would be very nice.
I try watching the odd YT review video online from time to time, not fun for me. No way I'd watch a movie or TV on a phone, but I've seen a lot of people doing so. A folder might offer the viewing experience I can't get with a regular phone.
Pricey. Niche. Novelty. Blah.Blah.Blah. Yeah some will by a folder because it folds. Something like Noem fighting crime while wearing a Cosmograph Daytona. But others will benefit from having a folder for their viewing preferences. They'll have to endure the pejorative remarks from know it alls like the first AirPod customers.
In a couple of years when folders are a thing though not ubiquitous, current naysays will be sayin how they knew it was the next big thing. The N5 sets a high bar. I hope Apple answers the challenge.
That's a great review, but it failed to answer the biggest question: What is the use for this, beyond, "hey look, it folds"?
If you have to ask the question, it's not for you. How can people who obviously think they know tech, not see the advantage of a folding phone even if it's not for them? Seriously. I have no reason to own a pickup truck but I see the utility, even if I'll never need it. You don't have to be a visionary to see it. Or maybe you do.
"An iPad mini in your pocket" someone said. That makes perfect sense to me. Even if I have no reason to have an iPad mini with me. No doubt someone does.
"It's not an iPad mini, it's an Android tablet". Brilliant response. Utter fucking genius. Of course it's not an iPad mini. But it sets a high bar for for a folder. I have no need for a folder. Except when I'm out somewhere and want to actually read something online. Presbyopia isn't fun and Rx lenses only help so much with a phone. To be able to open phone and actual read something without having to scrollscrollscroll would be very nice.
I try watching the odd YT review video online from time to time, not fun for me. No way I'd watch a movie or TV on a phone, but I've seen a lot of people doing so. A folder might offer the viewing experience I can't get with a regular phone.
Pricey. Niche. Novelty. Blah.Blah.Blah. Yeah some will by a folder because it folds. Something like Noem fighting crime while wearing a Cosmograph Daytona. But others will benefit from having a folder for their viewing preferences. They'll have to endure the pejorative remarks from know it alls like the first AirPod customers.
In a couple of years when folders are a thing though not ubiquitous, current naysays will be sayin how they knew it was the next big thing. The N5 sets a high bar. I hope Apple answers the challenge.
Ironically, the folding phone gets you nothing when viewing video content, unless you’re a particular fan of vintage TV shows. That’s because the phone unfolds to offer a square (or close to it) screen. Most video content for both film and TV is now in widescreen format. As a result, that widescreen content will be letterboxed on the folding screen, and will be the same size as when you turn a regular iPhone sideways. The main difference would be the crease down the middle of the picture on the folding phone.
Now if you’re all about watching Andy Griffith on your phone, that’s different. At a 4:5 aspect ratio, that would be almost full screen on the filed out phone, and thus larger than on a standard iPhone screen.
As for the “just not for me” thing, sure. An iPhone Max is just not for me. It’s bigger than what I want to cart around with me, but some people want that, and I see why Apple would make them. Importantly, it’s just a larger-sized model of the same phone I use.
As I’ve discussed up-thread, however, the folding iPhone would presumably run on the same iOS that‘s in every other iPhone, and would thus inject considerable software bloat into that operating system, as well as every iPhone app that would have to accommodate two-screened phones, where one screen is larger, and a different shape. So it’s not just about Apple making a phone that’s “not for me,” it would be about how that phone’s existence would introduce new compromises for every iPhone Apple makes.
It’s also not even about my personal preferences. It’s about how it would be uncharacteristic for Apple to introduce a significantly different model that doesn’t do anything other than chase a me-too, FOMO novelty feature for a very small niche market. Apple tends to introduce new things that fundamentally alter a category, creating a new market. At least as described, this doesn’t do that, and I so doubt Apple will release a folding phone.
That's a great review, but it failed to answer the biggest question: What is the use for this, beyond, "hey look, it folds"? Despite how nifty that might be, folding phones are apparently only 3% of the Chinese market, which, according to others here, is the only place that has the good ones. Also, while the review speaks to the thinness of this device as well as its water resistance, it doesn't address durability. Other reviews out there suggest it's fairly delicate. So why would Apple bother to make and sell one of these? FOMO doesn't seem justified, and would not be consistent with Apple's past behavior. A new phone model that's the most expensive and also much more prone to warranty claims? Why would Apple risk its customer satisfaction reputation just to provide a very expensive novelty?
Said it in the article and I feel exactly the same way, “an iPhone and an iPad mini” SOLD!
Comments
"An iPad mini in your pocket" someone said. That makes perfect sense to me. Even if I have no reason to have an iPad mini with me. No doubt someone does.
"It's not an iPad mini, it's an Android tablet". Brilliant response. Utter fucking genius. Of course it's not an iPad mini. But it sets a high bar for for a folder. I have no need for a folder. Except when I'm out somewhere and want to actually read something online. Presbyopia isn't fun and Rx lenses only help so much with a phone. To be able to open phone and actual read something without having to scrollscrollscroll would be very nice.
I try watching the odd YT review video online from time to time, not fun for me. No way I'd watch a movie or TV on a phone, but I've seen a lot of people doing so. A folder might offer the viewing experience I can't get with a regular phone.
Pricey. Niche. Novelty. Blah.Blah.Blah. Yeah some will by a folder because it folds. Something like Noem fighting crime while wearing a Cosmograph Daytona. But others will benefit from having a folder for their viewing preferences. They'll have to endure the pejorative remarks from know it alls like the first AirPod customers.
In a couple of years when folders are a thing though not ubiquitous, current naysays will be sayin how they knew it was the next big thing. The N5 sets a high bar. I hope Apple answers the challenge.