Other iPhone foldable is the most clear Apple downfall yet.

[NeonNights]

I struggle to even read chord charts on my iPad Air 2! I want a 13” iPad so I can see what I’m supposed to be playing!

I hear ya. I am just a beginner and used to use a 12.9" iPad Pro but hated lugging it around. Surprisingly, sheet music is still big enough on the Fold6 since it's not very far from my eyes on the piano's flip down book stand. For sure, the larger tablet is more comfortable, but the Fold6 has also worked for me.

 

[NeonNights]

Cloud storage is useful for that, I use iCloud for it, and it works very well. A folding phone is useless for me since the kinds of documents I’m sending and receiving from my clients are too big. Even an 11” iPad feels too small, so using a folding phone for work would be like trying to put out a bonfire with a glass of water.

I just don’t have a use case that would make one worthwhile, let alone compelling enough to accept the compromises.

I am curious what the compromises are. The latest foldables are fractions of a millimeter thicker than the flagship S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max, and the Fold7 is lighter than either slab phone. The crease is also much improved (not that I ever considered it an issue) and durability/reliability continues to improve with each generation.

I can understand price still being a barrier to adoption. Look for deals and trade-in promotions. A foldable has a premium price because it offers the convenience of two devices in a compact form factor. If someone doesn’t have a need for a foldable then that's fine but manufacturers have done a pretty good job addressing many of the early criticisms and "compromises" of foldables. I am a lot more likely to splurge on an iPhone Fold than the $3500 AVP.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

I am curious what the compromises are. The latest foldables are fractions of a millimeter thicker than the flagship S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max, and the Fold7 is lighter than either slab phone. The crease is also much improved (not that I ever considered it an issue) and durability/reliability continues to improve with each generation.

I can understand price still being a barrier to adoption. Look for deals and trade-in promotions. A foldable has a premium price because it offers the convenience of two devices in a compact form factor. If someone doesn’t have a need for a foldable then that's fine but manufacturers have done a pretty good job addressing many of the early criticisms and "compromises" of foldables. I am a lot more likely to splurge on an iPhone Fold than the $3500 AVP.

I’m not making any categorical statements here, because this is entirely my experience with a few folding phones. Also I haven’t played with a folding phone that has been released in the last 6 months. These are my personal feelings on the matter, and I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind.

For me, the things that made me want to avoid the Samsung and Google folding phones are the plasticy feeling screens, the fragile feeling hinges, and The Crease. I know it doesn’t bother some people, but every time I look at something on a folding phone and I’m not looking at it in ideal circumstances, all I can see is the crease. Also, I don’t trust that they’re robust enough, that they’ve too much sensitivity to dust and water. Add to all that the fact that I could save about $1000 and get a Pro Max, and that I can see no tangible benefit to one, and I’m a hard no on folding phones.

 

[apple2022]

I have no use case for a foldable. 99% of my waking hours are spent in front of computers with large screens. If contacted to do something during that 1 percent of time I am not in front of a computer, it can wait until I get back there. A phone, foldable or otherwise, cannot accomplish what I need a computer for. So my current phone (a slab) remains effective for me as a phone when I happen to be out.

And, I just do not want a foldable. It's not anything I'm interested in.

OTOH, I can understand why people may need/want one. I have no use case to own a Pro Max. I have no use case to own the largest capacity. But I wanted it. So, if people want a foldable just because, then fine. Hopefully, whatever Apple may eventually offer fits the purpose. For myself however, I won't be buying one.

99% of your waking hours are in front of your computer????? You genuinely need a change in life. I’m not even being hyperbolic. Such an existence is living death. Your life is also so far disconnected from typical human existence that you should question your own opinion on anything and everything including what’s good for a company, a human, humanity. Anything.

 

[NeonNights]

I’m not making any categorical statements here, because this is entirely my experience with a few folding phones. Also I haven’t played with a folding phone that has been released in the last 6 months. These are my personal feelings on the matter, and I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind.

For me, the things that made me want to avoid the Samsung and Google folding phones are the plasticy feeling screens, the fragile feeling hinges, and The Crease. I know it doesn’t bother some people, but every time I look at something on a folding phone and I’m not looking at it in ideal circumstances, all I can see is the crease. Also, I don’t trust that they’re robust enough, that they’ve too much sensitivity to dust and water. Add to all that the fact that I could save about $1000 and get a Pro Max, and that I can see no tangible benefit to one, and I’m a hard no on folding phones.

Fair enough. I am not trying to force foldables on anyone as it truly isn't a good fit for all. That said, I will share that I've taken my Fold4 to sandy, dusty beaches in California and Cancun, and filmed the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery in the rain, all without issue. What actually killed my beloved Fold4 was a ribbon cable being severed by the hinge mechanism.

I took the Fold4 apart and the ribbon must not have been centered properly during assembly. Bad luck and worst is I didnt have insurance on the phone. This happened after 18 trouble-free months. Despite all that, the Fold4 was hands down my favorite phone of all time back then and I've owned flagship Android and iPhones in the past. Anyways, I couldn't go back to a slab phone and am happily using my Fold6 with insurance.

The Fold 4/5/6 all have solid build. The Fold7 that I held in BestBuy feels even more impressive. The Fold series displays are actually all glass, both front cover and inner display. What you perceive to be a plastic screen is probably the integrated screen protector but the inner display is UTG (ultra-thin glass).

 

[russell_314]

The Fold series displays are actually all glass, both front cover and inner display. What you perceive to be a plastic screen is probably the integrated screen protector but the inner display is UTG (ultra-thin glass).

Glass doesn’t bend. Do they make the center crease plastic and the rest glass?

I remember plastic screen protectors, and how terrible they were compared to modern glass screen protectors. I couldn’t imagine going back to a plastic screen.

 

[eyoungren]

99% of your waking hours are in front of your computer????? You genuinely need a change in life. I’m not even being hyperbolic. Such an existence is living death. Your life is also so far disconnected from typical human existence that you should question your own opinion on anything and everything including what’s good for a company, a human, humanity. Anything.

I'm a graphic designer. I purposely chose a career that would put me in front of a computer. That's because at 29 years of age I decided that throwing packages around for UPS after seven years (part time!) was a dead end job. I worked inside the hub, moving irregulars that can't go down a belt - some of them up to 150lbs.

When WFH became an option for my current job in 2020, I took it. That isn't to say I don't get out. I mean, I've been married 28 years and I have two kids. I'm the family chauffeur. Both my wife and I are two loners who found each other (somehow). At UPS no less.

I like computers. I like being online and talking to people. Over the course of my career I've met and conversed with people all over the world. Some of them are very good friends who I would never have met if I wasn't online.

Living death would be all this and not having a connection to anyone.

 

[NeonNights]

Glass doesn’t bend. Do they make the center crease plastic and the rest glass?

I remember plastic screen protectors, and how terrible they were compared to modern glass screen protectors. I couldn’t imagine going back to a plastic screen.

I used to think the exact same thing (how can glass bend?), but I was wrong. That is what makes technology grand.

Here's an article from 2020 that goes over details of the 30-micron thick ultra-thin GLASS. Yes, glass can bend. The company that Samsung partners with has actually been making ultra-thin glass for over 25 years. When Apple launches their foldable iPhone the displays will be glass just like past foldables.

 

[russell_314]

I used to think the exact same thing, but I was wrong. Here's an article from 2020 that goes over details of the 30-micron thick ultra-thin GLASS. Yes, glass can bend. The company that Samsung partners with has actually been making ultra-thin glass for over 25 years. When Apple launches their foldable iPhone the displays will be glass just like past foldables.

That’s interesting. Is this glass under plastic or is it actually on the surface?

From the reviews I’ve seen on the Samsung foldable it has a non removable plastic “screen protector”. Basically the surface you touch is plastic. Is that still the case?

 

[Viridian5]

I’m happy to see Apple taking risks. The only way to create the next big thing is to create new things in general. For all we know the hinge they use will become the central component of the NEXT new thing

 

[NeonNights]

That’s interesting. Is this glass under plastic or is it actually on the surface?

From the reviews I’ve seen on the Samsung foldable it has a non removable plastic “screen protector”. Basically the surface you touch is plastic. Is that still the case?

True, there is a screen protector straight from the factory, but it isn't like the crappy old-school films. It is perfectly smooth without any wrinkles and when I tap the inner screen it doesn't sound appreciably different than my tempered glass screen protector on the front screen.

In short, I haven't given the inner screen protector any thought because it feels like my finger is gliding on glass.

 

[droidgod]

I have to say if Apple actually releases a foldable iPhone, it will be the most clear sign that the company has abandoned a lot of Steve Jobs principles that got it to where it is. Foldable phones go 100% against Apple philosophy. It's the next netbook. It's a stupid gimmick that compromises design principles of durability, aesthetic and to add what? Few inches of plastic screen.
This will be the biggest sign on the wall "I'm Tim Cook, I don't know what else to create, so I've do another Newton". Apple Vision was the first product they made that while nowhere near as bad as a foldable phone, was the first device that didn't have a proper use case. And released 8 years too early. Because....investors, stock, we need to innovate? Yeah, probably. There was a lot internal resistance at Apple before the release. For a good reason. It made no sense. As a concept in the future, Apple Vision may make sense. (watch didn't have a killer app - yes, but they have pulled it off eventually, difference is tech to build a good product was there).

But foldable phone...Steve Jobs said many times "we don't ship junk". It's junk. Do you remember how nuts Steve went before original iPhone release when he scratched a prototype plastic screen? He made Corning go nuclear to retool the factory to have a glass screen before 2007. And they will ship plastic ******** for 2+ grand...?

Just genuinely sad to see company giving up on what it stood for. Slowly, gradually.

Buddy... between you and Tim Cook, only one of you knew Steve Jobs, the person and it ain't you...

 

[subjonas]

Everything else is marketing and the weird, cult-like obsession with putting Apple on a pedestal. They're just another consumer electronics company. No better or worse than any other, and always have been. Any belief to the contrary is being a victim of marketing.

Well some companies are definitely better than others and some better than others in different ways, and I think most would agree Apple is one of the overall better companies. But we can definitely agree that Apple has no innate divine quality that makes them better. They have the same bottom line as every other company, and they are fallible like every other company. They just happen to have a mix of ingredients that has been very successful.

 

[subjonas]

The iPhone Fold will come with one of two operating systems: iOS or iPadOS.

If it comes with iOS it's an iPhone.

If it comes with iPadOS it's a folding iPad, and Apple have some marketing to do to explain that.

Apple spent ages splitting iOS into iOS and iPadOS because they said the two devices do different things. If they now have an iPhone that uses iPadOS they've muddied the waters.

What I can see happening is the iPhone Fold will come with iOS, but iOS will have extra features enabled that allow it to work with the iPhone Fold's multiple screens/larger screen. You might not get fullscreen multitasking or even Stage Manager in the first release, but you will get apps that fill the screen, fullscreen movies etc. There will be compromises in the first version, as there always are.

At next year's WWDC in June, Apple will either:
- Preview the iPhone Fold and the new features in iOS, to give developers time to update their apps to make use of the new screen(s)/screen size. That would make it a success on launch, as Apple could market how "there are a thousand apps already ready for it," etc.
- Not preview it at all, and when the iPhone Fold is announced in September just before iOS 27 is released, apps will just magically fill the screen by default (if they're written well). A new beta of iOS 27 will drop which contains new features that developers can then use to update their apps. That would annoy developers though, as they would have to rush their updates, and there's a risk that showstopper bugs might've made it into the public release. Quite dangerous for Apple.

Just thinking out loud.

I tend to agree it will have a specialized iOS and not iPadOS. Some might even argue iPad Mini shouldn't have full iPadOS. It's quite small for iPadOS features like Stage Manager.
Also I don't know how the relationship between the two OSes would work. Would there be two sets of every app--iOS version and iPadOS version--doubling storage requirements? And the two apps would have to constantly sync with each other?

Obviously right off the bat, iOS apps should be able to open side by side on the internal display. And probably video will be able to go full screen and of course picture in picture which already exists. A handful of Apple first party apps will probably support full screen as well as whatever other multitasking features they cook up special for this device--3 windows, drag and drop, etc. So right away it should be somewhat useful. I think from there, developers will have to add full screen and full multitasking support to their apps.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I have to say if Apple actually releases a foldable iPhone, it will be the most clear sign that the company has abandoned a lot of Steve Jobs principles that got it to where it is. Foldable phones go 100% against Apple philosophy. It's the next netbook. It's a stupid gimmick that compromises design principles of durability, aesthetic and to add what? Few inches of plastic screen.
This will be the biggest sign on the wall "I'm Tim Cook, I don't know what else to create, so I've do another Newton". Apple Vision was the first product they made that while nowhere near as bad as a foldable phone, was the first device that didn't have a proper use case. And released 8 years too early. Because....investors, stock, we need to innovate? Yeah, probably. There was a lot internal resistance at Apple before the release. For a good reason. It made no sense. As a concept in the future, Apple Vision may make sense. (watch didn't have a killer app - yes, but they have pulled it off eventually, difference is tech to build a good product was there).

But foldable phone...Steve Jobs said many times "we don't ship junk". It's junk. Do you remember how nuts Steve went before original iPhone release when he scratched a prototype plastic screen? He made Corning go nuclear to retool the factory to have a glass screen before 2007. And they will ship plastic ******** for 2+ grand...?

Just genuinely sad to see company giving up on what it stood for. Slowly, gradually.

Is this just a troll post? What kind of person defines a product as junk before it is released or even seen in beta? Especially an unreleased product from a hugely successful company that is successful because it seldom releases junk.

 

[subjonas]

I think the use of the term ‘junk’ depends on how one defines junk. To some, for example, such an expensive phone as the iphone with limited repairability and upgradeability, sealed with glue and without a user replaceable battery could be considered as junk. From that standpoint, Apple has been selling junk for over 15 years. And because people are dumb and bought that junk like hot bread now all other manufacturers are selling the same junk and there’s no other kind of mobile phones anymore.

The definition of "junk" is without value or usefulness. That's how everyone understands that word. Since limited repairability or upgradeability doesn't take away a device's ability to perform all of its intended functions which people do value, and it certainly doesn't remove its monetary worth, no one would use the word junk in this instance unless they are using extreme hyperbole to try to get their point across. And if they do use the word "junk", then they should understand only those who already agree with them will agree with them, and those who don't will be incited. In other words, using the word "junk" in this case is just trolling.

 

[sarcasticgamer]

🥱

 

[Jamie0003]

I have to say if Apple actually releases a foldable iPhone, it will be the most clear sign that the company has abandoned a lot of Steve Jobs principles that got it to where it is. Foldable phones go 100% against Apple philosophy. It's the next netbook. It's a stupid gimmick that compromises design principles of durability, aesthetic and to add what? Few inches of plastic screen.
This will be the biggest sign on the wall "I'm Tim Cook, I don't know what else to create, so I've do another Newton". Apple Vision was the first product they made that while nowhere near as bad as a foldable phone, was the first device that didn't have a proper use case. And released 8 years too early. Because....investors, stock, we need to innovate? Yeah, probably. There was a lot internal resistance at Apple before the release. For a good reason. It made no sense. As a concept in the future, Apple Vision may make sense. (watch didn't have a killer app - yes, but they have pulled it off eventually, difference is tech to build a good product was there).

But foldable phone...Steve Jobs said many times "we don't ship junk". It's junk. Do you remember how nuts Steve went before original iPhone release when he scratched a prototype plastic screen? He made Corning go nuclear to retool the factory to have a glass screen before 2007. And they will ship plastic ******** for 2+ grand...?

Just genuinely sad to see company giving up on what it stood for. Slowly, gradually.

Agreed. These phones have always been, and always will be, overpriced junk that falls apart in 5 minutes, with a giant ugly crease in the middle, and subpar specs. This isn’t the Apple philosophy in any way.

However, I’m also not a fan of old Apple, that was very much form over function. The day MacBooks finally ditched the butterfly keyboard was a good one.

Also disagree on Vision Pro, it’s for sure the future but apples not advertising it to the average joe, it’s about the long game with this one. I’m genuinely considering one in future as my OLED tv is giving up the ghost, and there currently doesn’t exist a tv that’s as good as a Vision Pro for movie watching for the same amount of money. I hope they get rid of the battery pack though

 

[sre.live]

great comments guys, heated as I've expected - thank you all! I only wanted to share my personal, biased perspective and hear yours. You can make arguments for any product, add business logic - nothing wrong in that.
Apple always stood for making great products that are far better than we had before first and foremost (we can long argue what is great). The moment conversation starts from "does this make business sense", that's like every other big corp and Apple before 1997.

There were lots of "apple is doomed" threads. This is not that. Let them release that foldable phone, in 12 months, we'll see how it does, and I'll do an update on this thread.

"you don't know what you're talking about" haha love it! Thank you for that.

Some of you where pissed off at my comments, that's what forums are for. Share a perspective - and I was curious about yours. That's it. Simple.

 

[uwdude]

An iPod....a phone.....an iPad....do you see it? It's one device! *crowd roars*

 

[CyberDavis]

But foldable phone...Steve Jobs said many times "we don't ship junk". It's junk.

When only rumours and no official announcement or specification exist it’s a bit early to call the possible device junk.🤷🏽
Technology and materials have moved on a long way from early iPhone days and the days of Steve Jobs.
The final device may overcome some of the early issues identified on foldable phones, and it may become a hit.

But regardless, I’ll hold fire on any judgement until it’s announced, launched and reviewed.
😀

 

[HouseLannister]

I am a lot more likely to splurge on an iPhone Fold than the $3500 AVP.

Amen. Apple releasing a $2000 foldable in a market of other $2000 foldables would be excellent compared to releasing a $3500 VR headset when the market has already decided that they only succeed and sell when sub-$500.

 

[GioGiusi]

It is a true reflection of Tim Cook's Apple. Just like Vision Pro. The previous Apple never would have released either product. Tim Cook's only goal in life is to see what he can convince people to pay for something.

 

[GioGiusi]

Try a folding phone...

Since I have one, every time I pick up the iPhone it seems completely outdated.

Lmao. Over engineered garbage with vomit inducing crease that runs Android. Can't take you seriously, sorry.

 

[HouseLannister]

Lmao. Over engineered garbage with vomit inducing crease that runs Android. Can't take you seriously, sorry.

That's fine. No one is going to take you seriously when you are spouting rhetoric that comes right out of 90s Console Wars.