What to expect from the 'iPhone Fold'

24

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 71
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    lkrupp said:
    " AppleInsider has created exclusive renders to show what it may look like.”

    Coffee just sprayed out of my nose and all over my iPad keyboard. 
    Same. Oh, and these renders draw inspiration from the “iPhone 14.” Next you know, people will be puttiing down cash for these non-existing products. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 71
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    Thank you for the info Helpy Helperton. 
    watto_cobraFileMakerFellerSpitbath
  • Reply 23 of 71
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    Cool. Who cares? Samsung also make refrigerators, should Apple copy them there too?
    watto_cobradewmeSpitbath
  • Reply 24 of 71
    y2any2an Posts: 187member
    Sigh. Stop calling “artist’s impressions” renders. They are not. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 25 of 71
    AppleZulu said:
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    And yet, have you ever seen one in the wild? You might have, but I haven't, and they're certainly a rare novelty. Just as the underselling Microsoft Surface hasn't ended up proving how Apple really needs to make a 2-in-1 MacPad Pro, the Samsung folding phone isn't showing Apple how they've missed the boat on this one.
    You have to read my comment in context - it was a response to @ravnorodom who claimed the Samsung would follow Apple's lead on the foldable phones, which is an extremely ridiculous claim to make. 

    I haven't seen one in the wild YET. But that would change, with the foldable phone form factor matures in reliability/utility and prices coming down. And I didn't imply that Apple has missed the boat. It is still a maturing technology and Apple will join this at the right time when it is ready. I do expect that Apple would be launching a foldable phone in late 2023 or 2024.
    edited January 2022 williamlondon
  • Reply 26 of 71
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 820member
    netrox said:

    I agree but look at MacBook Pro with HDMI and Magsafe, making the ugly MacBook back in style despite the fact that USB4 offers BOTH features. 
    Actual professionals who use the MB Pro as a business tool have long been tired of the need for dongles for inputs they use regularly, such as HDMI. Thus the reappearance of input specific ports rather than a dongle into USB4. Professionals have been asking Apple for this, but I totally understand that you don't understand because you're not part of that group. MagSafe is simply the best solution that has ever been created to prevent accidental tugs on a power cable from sending an expensive laptop crashing to the floor and that's why it's back. USB4 charging capability isn't a substitute. For actual professionals who use MB Pros, the cost of repair may be the least of their worries in such an accident scenario--far worse is the possible loss of critical work, not to mention the potential for being "out of business" until their machine is repaired... a real crisis if you're a photographer or videographer on a remote shoot. Again, you'd have to be a professional to appreciate this--someone who views the MB Pro as a tool to be judged by its usefulness and efficiency, not by random subjective considerations about its appearance--so I get why you don't get this. 
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobraFileMakerFeller
  • Reply 27 of 71
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    AppleZulu said:
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    And yet, have you ever seen one in the wild? You might have, but I haven't, and they're certainly a rare novelty. Just as the underselling Microsoft Surface hasn't ended up proving how Apple really needs to make a 2-in-1 MacPad Pro, the Samsung folding phone isn't showing Apple how they've missed the boat on this one.
    You are not going to see one in the wild because they are very expensive and, proportionally speaking, only a niche product. 

    That said, both Samsung and Huawei have stated that folding phones are selling extremely well. 

    As prices come down and the folding or scrolling technologies within them mature, more and more people will jump into the fold. It can be argued that that is already happening and is probably a result of prices coming down. 

    I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Apple among them. 
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 28 of 71
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    AppleZulu said:
    The first problem is that there's not a good argument for why they would make this. If Apple made things in response to unimaginative fan fiction, they'd have given in and would be losing money on the MacPad Pro by now. 

    Those folding iPhone renders above fail to respond to really simple questions like, how do you answer a phone call on one of those things? Do you have to open it up to see who's calling and then awkwardly hold a big square to the side of your head, or is there an additional screen on the one side of the device not shown in the render? If so, that's a really expensive option requiring a lot of additional hardware, plus OS bloat to operate two screens on one device. Also, there's not a good way to put a protective case on that thing, so if there's an additional outside screen, it will be scratched and broken with great regularity. Also älso, the corners of that square hinge will be digging holes into pockets, legs and faces.

    Again, what's the point of it? Wow! It the screen folds and unfolds... out into a display area not used for any particular function. Videos in every format will have to straddle the crease, unless they only use half the screen, a screen area you already have with a non-folding iPhone. The most common 16:9 video aspect ratio would only use half the screen, making it pointless, and the older 4:3 would even be letter-boxed, making the big, unfolding screen a natural for neither format.

    The original iPhone itself introduced a form factor that a lot of people didn't know they needed. They may not have realized they needed it, but the utility of the thing was obvious from the start. I'd certainly looked more than once at the cellphone and Palm Pilot I was carrying around and thought it would be better if the phone disappeared and became part of the PDA. Looking at the folding iPhone renderings above, there's just isn't an obvious or even vaguely apparent utility beyond novelty that will wear off after the first few days.
    No folding phone to date has required you to open it to answer a call. Therefore there is zero reason to think Apple will require it. 

    The render is like an artist's impression to give you an idea of what it might look like, not a rundown of functionality. 

    You (and lots of people) mention aspect ratio for video. Why? 

    Phones aren't only designed for video consumption. There is a ton more you can do with square aspect ratios that far outweigh the presence of a couple of black bars for video consumption and you don't even have to see them if productivity is your goal. You can shift the video up and use the rest of the screen for other uses.

    In the case of folding 'Flip' phones, take a look at the P50 Pocket which was directly compared to an iPhone during its presentation and precisely to cover the video consumption aspect. The iPhone had black bars and the Pocket didn't. 

    Universal aspect ratios don't exist though so no one phone will resolve that problem. 

    Your photo viewing/editing experience will be vastly superior on a folding phone because of the extra screen space. So will reading, web usage, office productivity...

    Tablets can do the same of course but can't be folded down into a more manageable form factor. And that is the whole point of folding or scrolling phones in the first place.

    Also, you can use the main camera for selfies and in many cases, see yourself on the external screen for composition. 

    I don't see why Apple would not include this functionality. 

    And on the subject of thinness, Huawei's folding offering is so thin when opened that it actually benefits from a 'grip' (like Cameras) and tapered design to keep the phone balanced for one-handed use. 

    When the technology has matured and prices have come down, that convergence may even force Apple to enter the market just to satisfy market demands. 



    edited January 2022 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 29 of 71
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    They were on their nth generation of 'smartphones' when the iPhone launched too.  Being an early bird might catch a few worms, but Apple aren't interested in worms.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 30 of 71
    crowley said:
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    They were on their nth generation of 'smartphones' when the iPhone launched too.  Being an early bird might catch a few worms, but Apple aren't interested in worms.
    As I already mentioned, you have to read my comment in context - it was a response to @ravnorodom who claimed the Samsung would follow Apple's lead on the foldable phones, which is an extremely ridiculous claim to make.

    And you seem to be one among the many in this forum who do not get why a foldable form factor is a useful one. It will change in the next couple of years. The technology has moved forward fairly well in the last couple of years. The recently launched Oppo Find N seems to be the best of the lot in terms of footprint/design. Foldable phones will become mainstream by 2024/2025.
  • Reply 31 of 71
    Back when the original iPhone was released Apple were innovators. Now they have become complacent and just copy ideas from other manufacturers. Heck they didn't even include a 5G chip in their phones until what 2 years, or about, after Android flagships had one. I love macs and I love iPads but getting an iPhone nowadays is like stepping back 2+ years in time compared to androids in features. Yes, the chip is amazing, the camera is great and the software runs smoothly, but you can tell that Apple has lost their creativity and their gonads. As for the apple watch well square watch faces are for kids watches. Since apple cares so much about having all these fancy color options now then they could at least release a round version for people who find square watches repulsive. Oh well when the iPhone division discovers their creative spark again then maybe Apple will actually take back the smartphone market from Android instead of only making up 29% of it. 
    williamlondonRoderikus
  • Reply 32 of 71
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    crowley said:
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    They were on their nth generation of 'smartphones' when the iPhone launched too.  Being an early bird might catch a few worms, but Apple aren't interested in worms.
    As I already mentioned, you have to read my comment in context - it was a response to @ravnorodom who claimed the Samsung would follow Apple's lead on the foldable phones, which is an extremely ridiculous claim to make.

    And you seem to be one among the many in this forum who do not get why a foldable form factor is a useful one. It will change in the next couple of years. The technology has moved forward fairly well in the last couple of years. The recently launched Oppo Find N seems to be the best of the lot in terms of footprint/design. Foldable phones will become mainstream by 2024/2025.
    I don't think it ridiculous, though it's certainly speculative.  Would you deny that Samsung followed Apple's lead on smartphone design after the launch of the iPhone, even though they have several generations of smartphones under their belt when Apple entered the industry?  And their designs of laptops, headphones and watches have at times veered very closely to Apple's designs even when Samsung were earlier to market with a different design.  

    I don't think it's particularly controversial to say that Samsung aren't embarrassed about copying designs, from Apple or others, when it suits them.  Not that Apple and other companies don't also have form for taking inspiration from their competitors, but Samsung are especially flagrant sometimes.

    You're right, I don't see much appeal in folding phones at all.  The Samsung Flip series I can kind of get, but the Fold, and its derivatives like the Opposite Find N (terrible name) seem dumb as all hell to me; combining a compromised phone with a compromised tablet results in something I'd never want to use.  Maybe a design by Apple will convince me, though I doubt it.
    watto_cobrapscooter63FileMakerFeller
  • Reply 33 of 71
    bushman4bushman4 Posts: 858member
    How is the iPhone 14 “a radical redesign”?? 
    Going from a notch to a hole punch is a change but not radical.  Increasing the camera to 48 mph would be termed an improvement not radical
     when Apple changes the form factor to a fold or a   Unibody Design then I’ll call it radical but these rumors are just improvements
  • Reply 34 of 71
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Some iKnockoff moron is gonna claim Apple copied the knockoff Apple company.

    I’m starting to doubt Apple will release this device though.
  • Reply 35 of 71
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    AppleZulu said:
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    And yet, have you ever seen one in the wild? You might have, but I haven't, and they're certainly a rare novelty. Just as the underselling Microsoft Surface hasn't ended up proving how Apple really needs to make a 2-in-1 MacPad Pro, the Samsung folding phone isn't showing Apple how they've missed the boat on this one.

    Sammy saw an Apple patent and ruined it just so morons can claim “Samsung did it first!”

    Just like Sammy ruined Galaxy Edge, the crappy watch and the Fold.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 36 of 71
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    crowley said:
    Watch. The moment this folding iPhone is out, Samsung will release ultra folding origami phone. 
    Just FYI - Samsung has already launched 3 generations of folding phones. By time Apple comes out with their own version of folding phone (assuming late 2023 at the earliest), Samsung would be on 5th generation of foldable phones.
    They were on their nth generation of 'smartphones' when the iPhone launched too.  Being an early bird might catch a few worms, but Apple aren't interested in worms.
    As I already mentioned, you have to read my comment in context - it was a response to @ravnorodom who claimed the Samsung would follow Apple's lead on the foldable phones, which is an extremely ridiculous claim to make.

    And you seem to be one among the many in this forum who do not get why a foldable form factor is a useful one. It will change in the next couple of years. The technology has moved forward fairly well in the last couple of years. The recently launched Oppo Find N seems to be the best of the lot in terms of footprint/design. Foldable phones will become mainstream by 2024/2025.
    But if you read ravnorodom's original post in context, they weren't saying that Samsung would suddenly start selling folding phones, they were saying that Samsung would react by releasing an "ultra folding origami phone", which to me implies they would start selling a phone that folds multiple times, possibly into the shape of a swan.

    A foldable phone may be useful, for some use cases, but I'm yet to see a good solution to the folding screen idea, that doesn't deals with the issues around repeatedly bending a flexible screen in the middle.
    williamlondonravnorodom
  • Reply 37 of 71
    brodafett said:
    Back when the original iPhone was released Apple were innovators. Now they have become complacent and just copy ideas from other manufacturers. Heck they didn't even include a 5G chip in their phones until what 2 years, or about, after Android flagships had one. I love macs and I love iPads but getting an iPhone nowadays is like stepping back 2+ years in time compared to androids in features. Yes, the chip is amazing, the camera is great and the software runs smoothly, but you can tell that Apple has lost their creativity and their gonads. As for the apple watch well square watch faces are for kids watches. Since apple cares so much about having all these fancy color options now then they could at least release a round version for people who find square watches repulsive. Oh well when the iPhone division discovers their creative spark again then maybe Apple will actually take back the smartphone market from Android instead of only making up 29% of it. 
    Oh look, new member spewing stale shit believing it's an actual original idea. Might I suggest you go back to the fork in the road and take the other route - it'll lead you to like-minded individuals @ MacRumors.
    roundaboutnowpscooter63radarthekat
  • Reply 38 of 71
    charlesn said:
    netrox said:

    I agree but look at MacBook Pro with HDMI and Magsafe, making the ugly MacBook back in style despite the fact that USB4 offers BOTH features. 
    Actual professionals who use the MB Pro as a business tool have long been tired of the need for dongles for inputs they use regularly, such as HDMI. Thus the reappearance of input specific ports rather than a dongle into USB4. Professionals have been asking Apple for this, but I totally understand that you don't understand because you're not part of that group. MagSafe is simply the best solution that has ever been created to prevent accidental tugs on a power cable from sending an expensive laptop crashing to the floor and that's why it's back. USB4 charging capability isn't a substitute. For actual professionals who use MB Pros, the cost of repair may be the least of their worries in such an accident scenario--far worse is the possible loss of critical work, not to mention the potential for being "out of business" until their machine is repaired... a real crisis if you're a photographer or videographer on a remote shoot. Again, you'd have to be a professional to appreciate this--someone who views the MB Pro as a tool to be judged by its usefulness and efficiency, not by random subjective considerations about its appearance--so I get why you don't get this. 
    That’s quite an opinion there. I won’t begrudge a dedicated charging port (even though we have mag safe adapters), but in the case of HDMI and all of the other ports people “need” on their MBP’s I can’t help but think it’s a lot of crying over nothing. We finally have “one port to rule them all” and we decided to put the legacy ports back? I’m not a first gen guy at all and everything I have is USBC at this point. Apple pushed it hard like they did usb back in the day and now we have a ton of USBC everything. 

    Regarding repairs, any time you have a single motherboard with all of the ports soldered on, repairs happen all of the time regardless of the port type. I don’t think of USBC as being more prone to failure. 

    Also, my experience is that I’ve come to really love the dongle since it tends to ease the stress between the device and the computer ports. So YMMV. Just my 2 cents. 25 year nonfiction, entertainment, lifestyle, news and documentary professional editor. I’m not sure what group you speak of but “professionals” aren’t some monolithic block of click-ish gatekeepers. 
    edited January 2022 anome
  • Reply 39 of 71
    I feel like it needs a screen on one side of the back so you can use it closed to be a folding phone. i agree with comments above else that it’ll really be more like a folding iPad mini than a folding phone. Alternatively a folding phone could fold into a square-ish half the size of the current iPhone. More like a traditional flip phone, but what the benefit? The problem I have with the folding phone in this render is if you can’t use it closed then the form factor doesn’t really fit the use case. You need a tall narrow thing to hold up to your ear, not a wide and short device. There’s no rush to get to this design anyway. We’re close and I would assume Apple has more than a couple of prototypes, but I would assume the tech needs to mature a bit and prices need to come down before the benefits really kick in.
  • Reply 40 of 71
    Hello this is the wild here. And I couldn't help but hearing all the noise. It is apparent to me that no one who has responded owns a galaxy Fold or a Microsoft surface duo. Lol well, I  own both 😐😆 I also have an iPhone 11, and yes the rest of my family friends have  iPhone so it is a lonely existence on a android lol.
    HOWEVER, the reason I got the galaxy fold,, and yes I had both the 2nd generation and the 3rd-really bc the 3rd cam out like 2mths after the 2nd and they gave me basically a free upgrade ) but I GOT the galaxy fold, bc one, it looked amazing duh. But 2, because the iPhone just constantly  wasted my time with clickbait bullshit and it was making me angry and sucked too much time out of my day. So-got an android.
    And I will admit- the phone itself IS BEAUTIFUL! The crease you don't notice and is a non issue. Movies videos games, reading all are not interrupted by a weird crease. It just disappears when it unfolds. Also someone  mention that what about the outside of the iPhone is there no screen on the outside? I would imagine there would be bc there is on the samsung. However, on the Microsoft duo there is NOT a screen on the outside, but the duo permits you to fold it inside out and the 2 screen from the inside fold now folded to the outside can simply work interchangeably. So maybe the iPhone will be like that. Come to think of it, that would make sense.
    So the folding technology is totally there and I'm sure Apple can do it better (no offense samsung and duo, you both are still my first techy loves,) 
    The duo you can write on the 2 side surfaces and the samsug galaxy fold3 you can write on The inside surfaces, but not on the outside surface ( which is ridiculous bc the galaxy fold 2, you could only write on the outside but not the inside, so someone just needs to get their act together at samsung, bc that logic makes zero sense. 
    So I have all 3 phones and I love them all. Actually that is not tru. I love the samsung and the duo bc they both offer the most futuristic thing I have ever experienced. But in using the 2 foldie phones, I can honestly attest to the fact that sadly APPLE IS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF both samsung and Microsoft duo in the actual intenal organs of the machine. I mean it is on a differnernt planet. The ease of use ,the intuitiveness, and smoothness of FaceTime and text messaging to groups to everything . Apple has us all , and there is no escape bc the innards of apple are so damn good. 
    But from an ease of viewing and the multitasking options that a duo screen offers, a folding screen IS great. And even tho I wonder if this article is real or not as the weather temperature on the Apple foldable mock up- is based on a city in pakistan, it makes me wonder.
    Still, if the article is fake and Apple isnt coming out with a fold, they should!
    -because they would blow it out of the park. But I hope they don't bc I would have to then give up my 2 beautiful foldies, bc Apple would have made it just be so much better.
    I hope that answers a few of your questions. Also from the image it looks like the Apple fold would use the Microsoft duo foldingoptions, where closed it would be just closed, no screen, but you would be able to open it a full 180degrees, so you would have 2 working screen back to back if you wanted or one large screen..
    So you could still text normally and  answer the phone like like a regular phone not an ipad.


    williamlondon
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