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Apple is really missing the boat with foldables just like they missed the boat with AI. The current leadership has no vision. Vision Pro is a dead-end.
We have two Vision Pro's and I have never owned a foldable phone so I don't believe I am qualified to call foldables as dead-ends. But I would never buy one Apple or otherwise.
 
Apple is really missing the boat with foldables just like they missed the boat with AI. The current leadership has no vision. Vision Pro is a dead-end.
It's similar to the situation between Blackberry and Apple in 2006, but only this time, Apple is the incumbent. I believe that AI and certainly foldable devices have only been warning shots so far and that no real threat to Apple will emerge from this, but one day... if they are not careful and do not speed up their innovation cycles.
 
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🎵My telco told me to pick THIS one and you are not it 🎶
 
It's similar to the situation between Blackberry and Apple in 2006, but only this time, Apple is the incumbent. I believe that AI and certainly foldable devices have only been warning shots so far and that no real threat to Apple will emerge from this, but one day... if they are not careful and do not speed up their innovation cycles.
We don't see Apple's foldable work because they don't release innovation cycles, they release products.
 
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Well this one is a wild ride.

Not really comparable.

Devices fold because they need to fold. That is why laptops fold and hinges haven't gone away.

That’s a terrible analogy. Laptops fold because keyboards are still the most accurate productivity surface out there. And screens are needed.

Not because devices need to fold. That is an optimisation after the requirement is defined.

Some laptops fold wrongly as well. I am eternally fed up of Lenovo machines leaving piles of human detritus all over the tables in coffee shops because someone decided to use their Yoga keyboard side down. Vile machines.

Currently there are two options for phones/tablets. Folding with a crease or two panels with a physical divide. Scrollable screens aren't there yet.

Or not bother. That one needs to be considered. I’m sure Apple have done plenty of user studies here or they’d be ok the market with it already.

That means more moving parts on a folding phone than on a slab phone but comes with the advantage of doubling the screen size when needed and being able to use the main sensor setup for selfies etc. That said, hinge mechanisms now use less parts in their designs. But a hinge is a hinge.

A hinge is not a hinge. A hinge is a mechanical component. When you start turning it from a mechanical component into a complex substrate of many parts which are flex, temperature and impact sensitive you make trade offs which are probably not a good idea. You multiply the overall failure risk several orders of magnitude.

Flexible OLED panels do wear.

All devices come with trade-offs. On an iPhone you have a notch/cutout for selfie/biometric tasks. Underscreen options still aren't good enough for the mainstream.

Yes and neither are foldable panels.
As for durability, glass backs are a terrible option on slab phones but here we are with glass backs all over the place. Completely unnecessary and tremendously fragile and not even a true trade off.

Glass backs are incredibly strong. They also do not permanently deform if you bend them like metals.
We have glue and sealants too. Unnecessary IMO and never covered under warranty.

Now we’re just going off the rails.

Nothing related to the other point. Unless you want to consider that the flexible OLED screen is glued to the substrate. Also that “IMO” is probably wrong on glue and sealants. Might want to spend some time working on ruggedized military electronics and failure modelling (I have) before comparing about glue and sealants. Wait until you hear about potted things!

I would imagine that both creases and cutouts will go at some point. Until then we have ever-improving interim solutions that still cater to their basic design goals.

No. This is poor engineering propped up by marketers.

The 'less is more' idea isn't absolute and in a relatively short period we may even see removable batteries coming back.

Again away from the original discussion. The batteries are perfectly removable and replaceable just not by the usual idiots who will do it with a shovel after 6 beers.
 
Exactly! I have been a hardcore Apple fan since ip4, changed phone almost every year. But now I felt like an idiot for using iPhone. It’s outdated. Tim Cook only cares about money and tries to perfect what people have done. The visionary Steve Job release products that revolutionised the world, but not with Tim Cook. Apple is cooked.
Then leave, however not sure what people are expecting from a phone. The iPhone does everything I need it to do and then some.
 
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Apple is really missing the boat with foldables just like they missed the boat with AI. The current leadership has no vision. Vision Pro is a dead-end.

I’ve seen about 10 foldables in the wild. I know of one person to own a second gen fold who hated it and went back to normal Samsung.

Who wants a phone with a physical hinge. It’s bad enough with a laptop that gets opened 10 times a day.
 
The phone in my pocket is an iPhone 13 mini — because it is iOS, fits comfortably in my pocket and can be used with one hand. If I need anything bigger I use my 13” iPad Pro or 16” MacBook Pro with 32” external monitor. I will never use a phablet from Apple or anyone else because huge phones are unappealing to me. Accordingly, the iPhone 13 mini will be my last phone (will replace with Apple Watch) if Apple discontinues small form factor phones.

Net-net: I believe most people have rational reasons for their device choices even if those choices and reasons are different than mine.

Not poking at you or your personal interests. The point was that the whole crowd could have written most of that BEFORE Apple embraced phablets... and then almost all of them flipped to phablets as soon as Apple went there. It was as if what they passionately believed- and wrote down- before Apple offered phablets evaporated as soon as Apple launched them.

Now we have non-Apple competitors experimenting with foldable phones. There is overwhelming contempt with rationale that reads much like the rationale against phablets. I wonder what will happen when Apple rolls out their crack at a fold/roll/other? Rhetorical. I've seen this same movie many times.
 
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Yes because if no Apple products were made in china that would put a dent in manufacturing in china lol. Like or dislike china they manufacture things cheap.
It's more than just Apple products that are made in China. Look at Apple's suppliers list. Many of the companies that supply parts to Apple have factories in China or are Chinese owned. If they all lost those Apple contracts or non-Chinese own companies pulled out of China, that would devaste the Chinese economy.

The economy is already very weak



BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) - China's manufacturing activity sank to a six-month low in August as factory gate prices tumbled and owners struggled for orders, an official survey showed on Saturday, pressuring policymakers to press on with plans to direct more stimulus to households.

Producers reported factory gate prices were their worst in 14 months, plunging to 42 from 46.3 in July, while the new orders and new export orders sub-indices remained firmly in negative territory and manufacturers maintained a hiring halt.
 
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Oh please... Who do they think they're kidding? A $2000 foldable phone is nothing to be excited about!
 
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So much hate for a foldable phone by another company but if Apple announced one there would be people throwing their Apple credit cards at this thread.

I’d like an iphone that would fold into an iPad mini!
 
And the reason is they don't like competition.
Back in the days Huawei was able to sell their phones in Europe they already were able to shift the focus on photos after you took them. Their midrange cameras matches or outclasses the pro models of iPhone. They really took the market by storm before they got banned. They also used Leica lenses. A synonym for professional lenses.

It’s actually quite smart they will hold their keynote at the same time Apple is holding theirs. Huawei (Xiaomi is a sister brand) also introduces their EV which Apple wasn’t able to deliver and it already gives Tesla a hard time in China.

I’m sure they will outmatch Apple on every front with their keynote and I think Apple will have a hard time in the future selling their gear in China and other Asian markets. Xiaomi is a sister brand of Huawei and they still sell in Europe.

China is where the consumer tech comes from these days and even all Apple products are produced there.

If technology companies want to survive (and I’m not talking about Apple alone here) they have to get more vertical integration and produce in the USA or Europe more.

Brands like Lenovo, Motorola al already Chinese. Hisense is on its way to get the biggest tv maker and bought the American Vizio.

Don’t forget Apple already lowered their iPhone prices in China three times already and they still didn’t manage not losing marketshare.

I really hope Apple will step up in development and the iPhone 16 will not be an incremental update the rumors told. They need something big and soon.
 
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Now we have non-Apple competitors experimenting with foldable phones. There is overwhelming contempt with rationale that reads much like the rationale against phablets. I wonder what will happen when Apple rolls out their crack at a fold/roll/other? Rhetorical. I've seen this same movie many times.
The idea of foldable suffers from various design issues: thickness/loss of battery life, fragility, ergonomics, aspect ratio, on-screen typing, user experience of the transitions, usability while folded, catching on clothing while being pocketed, etc.

I don't expect Apple to release a foldable phone until the majority of those are solved (and I say that believing some of them are unsolvable).

So are you asking me what I'll think if Apple releases a foldable that is substantially better in many ways than any foldable that came before it?

Or are you asking what I'll think if Apple releases a crap product into a crap space?
 
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At least Huawei is trying things. Not like Apple, Google, Samsung, all resting on their laurels.
Well google is also selling foldables as is Samsung. Huawei is giving consumers far more value for money. Apple will never give up their big profits and will hold to it for as long as they can as long as Timmy is CEO.
 
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