M68000

Pema said:

Let’s stick to the cold, dusty facts.

Samsung has been flogging its folding phone for the past three years at a generous price point of $2,000. And where do these cutting-edge marvels reside? Locked behind glass cabinets at every major retailer I frequent—strategically placed right by the entrance for maximum visibility. You know, in case someone mistakes them for art installations. Despite the security, one thing still gets in: dust. Lots of it. These phones have been collecting it like they’re in a long-term relationship with neglect.

Now, imagine you're Samsung. You’ve poured years of R&D, marketing bravado, and PR spin into this thing. You manufacture components in bulk because surely the orders will flood in once people get wind of your sci-fi screen flipper. And then… crickets. Not a flood, not even a trickle. More like an accidental drip from a leaky tap.

So what do you do with warehouses full of unused folding screens? Enter Apple, stage left. “Hey,” they say, “we’re thinking about a folding phone.” And Samsung’s like: “Hallelujah, sweet redemption! We’ve been waiting for this moment. Take all the folding screens you want—we’ve got enough to wallpaper the moon.”

But here's the head-scratcher: Apple, smart as it is, somehow believes it can charge $2500 (because, you know, Apple tax) for a folding phone when Samsung couldn’t move theirs at $2000. I have a sneaking suspicion the same marketing guru who dreamt up the $3,500 Vision Pro price tag is behind this one too. “Why price something sensibly when you can make it aspirational?”

And if you still think folding phones are the future, just sashay over to the Google Store. Yep, they’ve got one too. Spoiler alert: it’s not exactly setting the world on fire either.

In summary: folding phones — the mullets of mobile tech. Novelty up front, disappointment in the back.

flug_m said:

I just registered to propose this idea: What if Apple isn't targeting consumers with this MacBook, but rather enterprises?

At my workplace, we use a Virtual Desktop environment, and our current solution is the 10zig platform; 10zig is not performing well with videoconferencing (don't ask about bluetooth accessories either), and as far as I know, a 10zig thin client costs maybe $600 (for a desktop model), $850 for a laptop-form thin client.

Basic requirements for a thin client:
* Support two external displays
* Support a VDI client (Omnissa, Parallels, Azure Desktop, etc)
* Support external keyboard/mouse
* Support MDM or another form of Enterprise management.
* Ethernet preferred over wifi (achievable in a docking solution, I guess)
* Low repair/maintenance costs

Future proof:
* Support zero-trust networking
* Cloud-first/cloud-only work paradigms
* 4+ years hardware/software support
* Highly secure platform
* Mobility strongly preferred (eg, laptop-form as a minimum)

Apple has a strong opportunity to compete in this market, similar to the iPhone 5c (and their iPhone 16e models); they've demonstrated a lot of competency on basic issues not just with devices (Bluetooth and video), but with enterprise workflows (MDM, secure networking), so this allows them to enter a growing market segment and be well-positioned 5 years down the road for zero-trust cloud-only environments.  And honestly?  you don't need a ton of RAM/storage to run MS Office + the thin client software, at least for 80% of the org's users; the power users can target higher-performance machines, obviously.

Caffiend said:

Is this A-Series MacBook Lite a response to Trump's Tariffs?

How about convergence of MacOS and iOS / iPadOS. Some tech(s) with curiosity and time may try to run iPadOS but problems will abound starting with the lack of touch screen on Macs.