avon b7

This is a very good and balanced view on the current state of play on folding phones. 

I think most of the comments are a fair reflection on reality. 

My main qualm perhaps is about putting the iPad Fold plans on pause. 

After following the launch of the Huawei MatePad Fold it was far more compelling than I imagined (at least what I've seen so far) and think an iPad Fold would equally compelling. Especially as only Huawei is really doing the modern folding tablet right now. There are very few fish in that pond (unlike folding phones) and demand would be lower and therefore easier to meet. 

This is a video (in Chinese) that gives a decent overview of what is out there right now. Obviously there are a lot of use case options that don't exist with folding phones and this product is running one OS (the same one that runs on laptops) so moving from a 'tablet' style use to a 'laptop' style use is seamless. 



If Apple has put the project on hold I wonder if it's because resources are being diverted elsewhere or the development is simply not moving as fast as it could due to other pressing issues. 

If the MatePad Fold takes off (it's very expensive) Huawei will have yet another win in the ultra premium segment and Apple will lose more premium customers as a result. 

A folding phone would fill one hole where customers are potentially being lost but cars and tablets/folding tablets is another. 

If it's 'cheap' and runs macOS there will be a market for it unless it is crippled in someway (RAM etc) or 'Apple upsell' ends up killing the 'cheap' aspect.

To my mind, I think OS 'convergence' is inevitable despite what Apple says and will mark the way forward just like HarmonyOS is doing right now. One OS for every device. 

It will require a huge effort to restructure the OS underpinnings and I think that is already underway even if nothing has been said officially. 

missile man said:

sloth77 said:

I voted Remain in the UK back in 2016.  But as an Apple user, I can't say hand-on-heart that I would do so now, with the shenanigans the EU is pulling with Apple.

It is a shame, as some of the EU regulations have been decent - like the USB-C support.

If you believe in free markets and no fraud is occurring, please tell how the EU setting a USB-C standard is a good thing.  Shouldn’t companies be free to provide options.  If the customers feel ripped off, they’ll buy an Erickson or Nokia.  Oh wait, that didn’t work out too well.  Did Apple cheat or just out compete?  Since the EU has mandated USB-C, how will we ever get anything better?  Oh yeah, the old Soviet model, what ever the government mandates is for the good of the people!  Do you remember the US government mandating Windows for all us Government computers?  How well did that work out?  Innovation?

Nope! And if you had read up on why that requirement was put into place, you would know full well that the EU had tried for decades to harmonise the situation.

The requirement was due to fragmentation in charging options (and goes far beyond phones BTW). 

citpeks said:

appleinsideruser said:

Scuzzy terminations we’re a right laugh and a great way to lose data and days. But they did let you make phone calls on your Mac via your iPod! 🤪

Remembrances of FireWire would be incomplete without mentioning the procedure to reset the FireWire bus -- unplug all devices, powering down the Mac, and waiting for some time period I don't recall.  Or something to that effect.

And also that some models of iMac could act as firewire repeaters even when switched off. 

The Sawtooth Macs had an internal firewire port. 

I very nearly bought a Sony Lissa stereo system, too with 1394 interconnects. 

Regulation is an absolute must but the devil will be in the details.

Weak regulation that gives Big Tech even more of a de facto monopoly power wouldn't serve any real purpose other than to justify that 'regulation' at least exists.

A complete lack of regulation would have dire consequences for just about everyone - except Big Tech and it's industrial partners.

In the consumer realm they will be herded up and fed off just like has happened up to now.

In other areas (in addition to consumers) stringent safeguards must be present and above all enforceable.