Other Foldable iPhone 17/18?

[Fat_Guy]

Rumor mill is now pushing the idea of a foldable iPhone (probably 18). This is compelling as it is a clamshell opening to your typical iPhone slab and so would not have to do anything with apps to accommodate the new foldable. This could happen fast and as such it could happen…

 

[eyoungren]

I have no need or desire for a foldable. The current iPhone is a jack of all trades anyway and I use it solely as a phone with a few extra features. I have dedicated devices for everything else, work from home and don't travel or use public transportation.

If Apple sells this ALONGSIDE a regular iPhone, then fine. But if it's intended to replace the current style of iPhone then the iPhone 16 series will be my last upgrade for awhile.

Not interested.

 

[Fat_Guy]

I have no need or desire for a foldable. The current iPhone is a jack of all trades anyway and I use it solely as a phone with a few extra features. I have dedicated devices for everything else, work from home and don't travel or use public transportation.

If Apple sells this ALONGSIDE a regular iPhone, then fine. But if it's intended to replace the current style of iPhone then the iPhone 16 series will be my last upgrade for awhile.

Not interested.

Nobody is saying it will replace the usual iPhones, in fact because of space, you can’t have the usual three camera lenses.


It will add some interest and life to a rather stale lineup and set the stage for more variations if there is interest. I see this pushed out a year earlier than expected as this is simply a hardware play with no changes to the apps.


Between you and me, I believe this was in development already, shelved by someone (?), and then brought back to life all of a sudden.

 

[Fred Zed]

In about 5 years time when the crease issues are completely eliminated by next gen technology.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

Nobody is saying it will replace the usual iPhones, in fact because of space, you can’t have the usual three camera lenses.


It will add some interest and life to a rather stale lineup and set the stage for more variations if there is interest. I see this pushed out a year earlier than expected as this is simply a hardware play with no changes to the apps.


Between you and me, I believe this was in development already, shelved by someone (?), and then brought back to life all of a sudden.

LG Said to Supply Apple With Foldable Displays for Future iPhones

LG's display division is developing and will start mass-producing foldable displays for smartphones in 2018, and supply them to Apple, Google,...

www.macrumors.com

This is very old news. Until there is a breakthrough in material science, and Apple can design a folding phone with no crease, and a screen that doesn't fail in significant numbers, we're not going to see one. Unless Apple starts blindly chasing fads.

 

[bigjnyc]

Saw someone using a foldable next to me last week.... That crease was disgusting.... Until they don't get rid of that I can never use a foldable.

 

[eyoungren]

Saw someone using a foldable next to me last week.... That crease was disgusting.... Until they don't get rid of that I can never use a foldable.

I wouldn't go quite so far on describing the crease as that. However, I do believe it's an issue. I guess it's okay with manufacturers other than Apple. I mean obviously, because it's selling right?

But the design compromises, especially the crease, just don't seem very Apple. Apple's the kind of company that finishes the parts on a product that no one is ever going to see. Customers expect that of them too.

But to me it seems that customers just don't expect the quality of other manufacturers to be on the same level as Apple. Otherwise, a compromised device wouldn't sell, and other manufacturers would be forced to improve so that it would sell.

Just an opinion…

 

[ab2c4]

Why would anyone want a phone style that is plagued with problems? Samsung is probably the best in the world at building phones and if they can't figure out the problems then surely Apple won't. They are expensive to build/buy and don't last anywhere near as long as a standard smart phone. I have zero interest in them, and if I did I would already have one.

 

[shadowboi]

To be honest I was never into flip phones and never had any sort of nostalgia of this kind. When iPhone 2G was released it was a moment when I thought “ooh, finally! Flip phones and keyphones go into trashbin of history!”. And now Samsung decided to bring them back to the market and I guess even paid some movie producers to promote series as “a cool phone for those marketing specialists”. I don’t really think of any scenario when flip is better that slab for me personally. I just want my phone to be as small as possible and as light as possible, as lightweight as iPhone 6/6 Plus/5s would be ideal

 

[bigjnyc]

I wouldn't go quite so far on describing the crease as that. However, I do believe it's an issue. I guess it's okay with manufacturers other than Apple. I mean obviously, because it's selling right?

But the design compromises, especially the crease, just don't seem very Apple. Apple's the kind of company that finishes the parts on a product that no one is ever going to see. Customers expect that of them too.

But to me it seems that customers just don't expect the quality of other manufacturers to be on the same level as Apple. Otherwise, a compromised device wouldn't sell, and other manufacturers would be forced to improve so that it would sell.

Just an opinion…

It could have just been this person's phone and perhaps not indicative of every foldable phone in fairness... But it looked like the crease was more faded than the rest of the screen so it really stuck out... It also looked a bit wrinkled or with additional creases in it.. .Not 100% sure how to describe it... It just really looked bad lol...... I'm not sure if this particular person was rough on their phone or if they all end up like that. Either way that turned me off big time.

 

[RRC]

Not going to happen from Apple anytime soon, if at all.
The demand simply isn’t there…

 

[eyoungren]

It could have just been this person's phone and perhaps not indicative of every foldable phone in fairness... But it looked like the crease was more faded than the rest of the screen so it really stuck out... It also looked a bit wrinkled or with additional creases in it.. .Not 100% sure how to describe it... It just really looked bad lol...... I'm not sure if this particular person was rough on their phone or if they all end up like that. Either way that turned me off big time.

I wasn't a foldable fan to begin with, but I happened to be in a repair shop at one point last year and someone had brought their foldable in for repair. They were told that some sort of transparent film that came factory installed was not replaceable via repair, yet they were complaining about this thing not being there.

That just had me thinking that amongst all the other breakable parts, you get a part that is not replaceable and can only be factory installed during manufacture of the device. Maybe I heard wrong, IDK, but the guy was complaining about how his device didn't look original.

Bigger compromises than I first realized and it just really turned me off.

 

[The Game 161]

Saw someone using a foldable next to me last week.... That crease was disgusting.... Until they don't get rid of that I can never use a foldable.

He clearly didn’t have a one plus open or vivo or any Chinese phone the creases are great on those

 

[The Game 161]

Why would anyone want a phone style that is plagued with problems? Samsung is probably the best in the world at building phones and if they can't figure out the problems then surely Apple won't. They are expensive to build/buy and don't last anywhere near as long as a standard smart phone. I have zero interest in them, and if I did I would already have one.

It isn’t plagued with problems. not had any foldable with any problems

 

[FlyingDutch]

At this point I still can’t see any reason to make a foldable smartphone. I tried the Flip 5 and the Fold 5, and they both are useless devices. More of a technological demonstration.

 

[naturalguy]

I am not interested in a flip but a fold I would jump all over it. The Pixel fold is really nice

 

[eyoungren]

He clearly didn’t have a one plus open or vivo or any Chinese phone the creases are great on those

Meaning…what?

It's a 'great' looking/performing crease? Or, the crease is so subtle you can hardly see it? Does 'great' mean 'not visible'?

Is having a crease a reason to buy a foldable? Or is the objective in your opinion to make the crease look like it's not even there? If it doesn't have a crease does that mean you won't buy it?

I'm just curious, because the very existence of a crease would be a deal killer for me (if I were in to foldables to begin with), no matter how 'great' it looks or is. I don't want a crease - great or not.

I'm sorry, I know this all sounds pedantic, but my thoughts as to why Apple hasn't released a foldable (should they actually be working on one) is because they can't yet eliminate the crease. And if Apple eliminates the crease, does that then make the crease 'great'?

Guess I'm just trying to find out what you mean by 'great'.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I see a benefit to both flip & fold styles… in fact I’d be hard-pressed to choose between them if both were available.

Flip is smaller in the pocket, and fold could replace my beloved iPad mini 🤔 Decisions, decisions

 

[FlyingDutch]

Meaning…what?

It's a 'great' looking/performing crease? Or, the crease is so subtle you can hardly see it? Does 'great' mean 'not visible'?

Is having a crease a reason to buy a foldable? Or is the objective in your opinion to make the crease look like it's not even there? If it doesn't have a crease does that mean you won't buy it?

I'm just curious, because the very existence of a crease would be a deal killer for me (if I were in to foldables to begin with), no matter how 'great' it looks or is. I don't want a crease - great or not.

I'm sorry, I know this all sounds pedantic, but my thoughts as to why Apple hasn't released a foldable (should they actually be working on one) is because they can't yet eliminate the crease. And if Apple eliminates the crease, does that then make the crease 'great'?

Guess I'm just trying to find out what you mean by 'great'.

I briefly used an OnePlus Open: it is not as bad as the Fold, but the crease definitely is there. You can see it and you can feel it if your thumb is passing over.

 

[FlyingDutch]

I see a benefit to both flip & fold styles… in fact I’d be hard-pressed to choose between them if both were available.

Flip is smaller in the pocket, and fold could replace my beloved iPad mini 🤔 Decisions, decisions

In my opinion they are the worst of both worlds.
Flip is not really “pocket friendly”, because what you get in terms of height, you lose in terms of thickness.
In the same was fold is not a good replacement for an iPad Mini: the screen if afflicted by the crease, and it is smaller than the already small iPad Mini’s panel.
Flip and Fold are a tech demo: a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

 

[Ludatyk]

I briefly used an OnePlus Open: it is not as bad as the Fold, but the crease definitely is there. You can see it and you can feel it if your thumb is passing over.

Let me ask you this… when looking at a video or content on the iPhone do you notice the notch?

Flip is not really “pocket friendly”, because what you get in terms of height, you lose in terms of thickness.

Not really pocket friendly? When it’s closed… it can easily be placed in the pocket and the thickness is not as significant as you make it out to be.

In the same was fold is not a good replacement for an iPad Mini: the screen if afflicted by the crease, and it is smaller than the already small iPad Mini’s panel.

I use a Galaxy Fold on a daily basis and I‘ve never been afflicted by the crease.

Meaning…what?

It's a 'great' looking/performing crease? Or, the crease is so subtle you can hardly see it? Does 'great' mean 'not visible'?

Is having a crease a reason to buy a foldable? Or is the objective in your opinion to make the crease look like it's not even there? If it doesn't have a crease does that mean you won't buy it?

I'm just curious, because the very existence of a crease would be a deal killer for me (if I were in to foldables to begin with), no matter how 'great' it looks or is. I don't want a crease - great or not.

I'm sorry, I know this all sounds pedantic, but my thoughts as to why Apple hasn't released a foldable (should they actually be working on one) is because they can't yet eliminate the crease. And if Apple eliminates the crease, does that then make the crease 'great'?

Guess I'm just trying to find out what you mean by 'great'.

In the foldable world… Chinese manufactures and OnePlus has done well with making the crease less noticeable.

And Samsung hasn’t really addressed this issue as other manufacturers…. I think there’s a trade-off in this crease debate. Either you want a more durable phone (dust and water resistant) or no crease… that’s been the struggle which Samsung has been under. Because they have the most durable foldable in the market, however… crease is more noticeable than the competition.

And some people will never be in the market for foldables… they rather have a tradition smartphone and that’s okay. I don’t think Apple will outright move away from the traditional smartphone and go full tilt with a foldable if or when they ever release one.