Soon we’ll have tablet sized phones that fold multiple times. lol
Whatever they do, when they release it the have to call it the iFold!
I’m shocked that Apple didn’t just make the crease more obvious and consider it a design element and advertise it as something the consumer wants.
I mean for all the things you can meme on Apple for, releasing products for the sake of releasing something isn’t something they’re known for. See Air Power.
We invented the crease.
Only Apple has the courage to give you a crease.
Yeah just like the notch and dynamic island. They even brought the notch to Macbooks since Apple thinks it makes their brand look more uniform.
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They are trying to make foldable iPhones because everyone else is making a foldable phone, but have they stopped and asked themselves if people want and need a foldable?
I have yet to see a real use case for something like a Samsung Z flip, and carrying a bulky Z fold phone in my pocket only to be able to have a tablet once in a while and watch a movie is not interesting enough.
Honestly a foldable smartphone should be 2 touchscreens with a hinge if there’s at all any risk of a bendy screen breaking more easily or otherwise being inferior to that.
That’s what the surface duo was. I still have my OG, and other than being fragile because its literally 2mm thicker than a USBC port on each half, its the perfect e-reader. Sadly for video consumption its not great with the boundary, but you can use it in a propped up mode which I much prefer.
Its a great phone, but certainly not without comprises, just like any folding phone.
I want a flip design. Or women’s clothing with pockets large enough to fit my current phone. Whichever is easier. Seems to be the folding phone at this point.
Meanwhile I want a tablet with phone call support. (Samsung Tabs with LTE/5G are carrier locked)
I want a flip phone.
I still think the Game boy Advance SP’s design was peak. Lightweight, compact, and very distinct. It looked sleek enough to not look like a toy, where I was using it in the office and nobody would bat an eye.
Give me that with a phone. Im not interested in being a first buyer or spending money for that novelty. But id happily use a foldable the moment they become as reliable as these tablet phones.
The form factor is just really great for a pocketable device, and being able to close a GBA SP really feels satisfying to put away. Same with the (larger) DS.
Personally I’d like a fingerprint reader notch on the back of a Z-fold style phone. Not a fan of the “in-screen” style. Tbh i probably should just not use biometrics unlocking to begin with.
Jacksfilms even made a joke about the DS Lite when the first Galaxy Z Flip came out. Just thought I’d mention that.
I’d take a foldable over the current slabs any day of the week
Why? What does it bring you? I’m genuinely curious
I watch movies and read on my samsung fold and I enjoy it a lot
I want a foldable phone.
Phones have become larger abd flatter over the years, and they’re just uncomfortable to have in my pocket. A foldable phone will solve this issue.
I didn’t buy one yet due to not believing the tech is there yet. Screens are very scratchable and the battery life is poor.
I love my flip 6. I had a flip 5 which I abused with no case on it. Got a deal to trade it in broken as fuck for a 6 straight up. I would hate to go back to a regular phone. They are better in every way and the crease isn’t even noticeable after using the phone for a couple days.
I kind of want a flip phone for the compact size when folded so it will fit more easily into my tiny pockets. But I don’t want a phone with a screen that likely need regular (and expensive) replacements if I want to keep using it long past the 2 year contract window like I do with most phones.
My wife loves her flip. She just upgraded from the 4 to the 6 and the creaae is barely visible when in use
She uses it a lot for videocalls and she folds it to use it as a tripod, and also being able to use the good camera to take selfies is a great use case
She also loves that it fits on most of her pants when folded, usually women’s pants have very small pockets.
That phone is not for me, but I can definitely attest to real use cases
I know a few people with foldables. They enjoy them, but I don’t really have a need.
Do I need a foldable phone? No. Do I like the idea of owning a phone that is actually small enough to be used with one hand and can fit anywhere? Yes. Besides, closing it to end a call is very cool.
The ones I have seen in stores are still too long to be used with one hand or fit comfortably into a pocket. My Pixel 7a is about the biggest I can use one-handed, and even then there is awkwardness.
Most Androids have a one-handed mode, where it shrinks the display into a corner, so you can reach everything with your thumb.
Wouldn’t it be better to just, y’know, cut out the free space around it?
you mean having a small phone in the first place?
I miss small phones
exactly
I love big phones though. Smaller ones feel too claustrophobic to me
Also, from a usabity point of view, bigger screens are better for watching videos in landscape, editing text and it’s easier to use the gestures and the keyboard (I don’t even have fat fingers). I think only downside is ring and pinky fingers hurting after a while because of the weight
Yeah, iPhones have similar modes, swipe down and the screen scrolls down you can also swipe the keyboard to either side for better access too.
I hardly ever do that though, except by accident.
Those are probably the Samshits and I too avoided them because they’re too damn long (And their user hostility lol), the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is what you want, folded it’s almost as big as the 7as screen (6.3 to 6.1 on the 7a)
First - 6.3 usually means already over the edge of comfortable, 7a is already almost too much. Second - thickness adds to it when it’s in your hand. And third - why would I spend huge money (doesn’t seem like it would decrease in price with generations as much as a normal phone, it might be EOL when it becomes affordable) on something that breaks more easily and is still bigger?
I don’t personally feel much of a difference in .2 inches of screen, but if 6.1 is your absolute limit, then the Pixel Fold 1 might be your perfect fit with a 5.8 “short and stocky” outer screen
Though I don’t think it’s being sold new anymore, but it looks like eBay has some good condition/refurb models going for ~<800-1k, Google has stated all Pixels will get 6 or 7 years of updates.
Sure, you can buy one to never unfold. But you’d be getting a thick, expensive AF phone for no reason, lol
? I don’t understand your comment, was it meant for a reply for a different comment?
The implication is that when closed you can use them one handed
My wife loves her flip. I personally don’t like them, yes there is crease right where it folds and over time it will make your phone stop working. We just replaced hers after months of her dealing with the phone glitching. But she does enjoy it and requested getting another flip phone.
We just replaced hers after months of her dealing with the phone glitching. But she does enjoy it and requested getting another flip phone.
Does not compute. My wife had her Flip 3 replaced two times, and now she bought a Fairphone. Unfortunately they seem to be unreliable, the phone was quite nice otherwise.
I have a Z flip and while it’s far from perfect, foldable flip phones are great and I’d choose them over a same-spec regular phone every day. Much more convenient to carry in my pocket compared to a slab and basically having an included tripod for photos is pretty nice as well.
My z flip is hands down my favorite phone I’ve ever owned and I didn’t get it expecting to like it much. I just needed a new phone and with Samsung’s recycling program, my old near-tablet sized phone made the switch like barely 100 bucks.
There are a lot of small advantages it provides that quickly add up to it being an overall superior experience. Now if only Bixby wasn’t the worst fucking thing ever.
I agree the Flip and kiln are utterly pointless, just a big ol nostalgic rip imo.
But book styles like Fold are pretty great, being able to go from phone to tablet whenever has been amazing! My Pixel 9 pro fold is my most used tablet ever, I’ve had a lot of tablets over the years and they all end up collecting dust in no time because they suffer from a fatal flaw. They’re never near me when I need/want a tablet the most.
I would have considered a folding book-style phone if I wanted a tablet. I agree that they’re likely the only viable use case that isn’t a complete gimmick.
I just got my pro fold, I haven’t used it that much as a tablet to be honest. It is nice to do when I need it.
Did you get the Google insurance thing that’s quite pricey with it? I have a few days to get it.
I just got my pro fold, I haven’t used it that much as a tablet to be honest. It is nice to do when I need it.
That’s the beauty of the “not tall as fuck” (cough Samsuck cough) ones, you don’t feel forced to use it so you’ll use it more when you actually want to lol
Did you get the Google insurance thing that’s quite pricey with it? I have a few days to get it.
I bought through my carrier and have their insurance, folds on my carriers thing has a deductible of $250. I’d look at your carriers offerings if they have any and go with whoever has the cheapest deductible
But in general, I always got the phone insurance even when it wasn’t an 1800$ foldy phone lol
Do people need foldables? Absolutely not, but I love mine. I went with the OnePlus Open mainly for the cameras, and the bigger screen is great for reviewing or sharing the photos with someone. Having two apps side by side is really nice but I don’t really use that feature that often.
I think the bigger thing is having a screen that faces away from the main viewing side. Showing a live camera view or translating speech into text from another language are two good, but rare, use cases. I think what it really comes down to is how much do you use your phone and for what purpose?
Thanks for the insight! That’s not something I thought about
Nintendo DS emulation. That’s about the one novelty use case.
The use case is people who want pocketable, one handed phones. It doesn’t matter to me if they make another iPhone mini or an iPhone flip. Whichever one they release will be my next phone.
The last iPhone mini release was in 2021. I don’t want a near 7” pro max phone. 6.4” is too big in my opinion as well.
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Note: the latest pixel fold is about the same size and weight as the pixel 9 pro.
It’s actually kinda incredible that it is that light and thin while folding.
I’ve got one on the way Best Buy screwed up the pre-order and didn’t get enough stock in so I’m left waiting. But yea seems like by all accounts it’s roughly the size of a regular phone plus you get a small tablet when you want.
The battery life is definitely worse because of it but it doesn’t bother me much
All
Of Apple’sFoldableiPhonePrototypesHave Visible CreasesAll
Of Apple’sFoldableiPhone Prototypes Have Visible Creasesftfmocd
German renowned institute “Stiftung Warentest” just tested two foldables (both Samsung I think) and had them 50.000 times folded and unfolded (they build machines to
torturetest stuff) and reported no creases.50.000 times is over four years for 32 uses every day (twice every wake hour). Would be more than sufficient for a normal user think.
I don’t get the obsession over the crease, things that fold generally have creases. As long as it’s not distorting things (which IME it doesn’t and is hardly noticeable when in use anyways) it’s fine
This is Apple; they value different things than most people… sometimes warranted, results in offering a much better experience, and pushes everything forward (see MagSafe -> Qi2 for recent example), other times they’re just regarded as late adopters. The detraction of visual aesthetics from folding crease is apparently one of such things that they care about.
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Except Huawei Mate XS 2, Honor Magic V2, Oppo Find N.
Edit: search engine link unreliable.
So many links about creases.
Many such creases!
Everybody says so.
There have been plenty of fads over the lifespan of the smartphone market. E.g. curved edge screens. I think curved screens are another and Apple is right to ignore it. There’s too many compromises required for a foldable and not much benefit to be worth it.
My personal theory for the curved edges is, that samsung just wanted to prevent cheap off brand replacement screens.
I think part of the reason was to look good in stores. If you have a non curved and curved phone next to each other playing the demo video, the curved looks waaay more futurostic.
Mine is that they wanted it to stand out, compared to all the other phones with flat screens at the time, especially with all the design clones.
You would look at it and go “oh that phone looks funny, must be a Samsung”.
This is what it was when they introduced it. I used to work for an Android OEM at the time and the product people really wanted to get their hands on curved screens for the same reason. Eventually they got Samsung to sell them some but it wasn’t as curved as the ones Samsung used on their devices to keep differentiation. It still cost twice what flat screens which ate a significant chunk of the profit margin.
Foldable at least has theoretical benefit, curved screens on a phone are fucking terrible
What I don’t understand is why nobody makes a foldable phone where it’s just two flat screens with an invisible bezel along one edge so they fit seamlessly together when fully opened.
It’s not like there’s a use case where you operate the phone half unfolded and require both halves of the screen to be seamlessly connected.
If the flexing feature wasn’t a gimmick and there was an actual use case for a foldable pocket iPad, someone would have released a phone like the Kyocera Echo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyocera_Echo to commercial success.
not invisible, but the Surface Duo line was pretty much that.
Interesting idea. Bezels have been made pretty thin and there have been curved display edges, but I don’t know if anyone’s ever tried a one-side zero-bezel design that you could hinge together. Bezels in the other sides are fine, but could we create a flush edge with no gap to click two screens against each other?
Microsoft had a dual screen foldable like that, then stopped supporting it
Is “invisible bezel with actual screen below” possible?
Exactly. And it wouldn’t have to be double wide since some components could be pushed to the other size. I’m fine with it just being like two apps open and not even one big one. Multitasking.
I guess what we really need is a phone case that has hinges and we can just buy two phones!
Hey! What did you just say about the Nexus 4?
Not completely related to the foldable iphone(tho im sure it would slap because it would be a good execution of the idea) but its such a shame that apple has to be so bitchy with their software. If theyd just open up the software(or the eu forces them to) i would instantly buy one when custom os’s are available. Imagine getting a linux iphone.
Why do you need an iPhone to get a Linux phone?
Similar to how you can buy a recently used MacBook Pro and install linux on it and have a fucking phenomenal device, that other person hopes the same could be done to their phones.
I dont need an iphone for that, but the(in my opinion) good hardware of the iphone with free software would be nice. Most linux phones are pretty crap but seeing what asahilinux is on arm macs i would have hope in iphone linux if the hardware was open. Of course its possible people would just port android which isnt the best result as android in my opinion is basically a worse, mostly proprietary version of linux.
I’d tolerate a crease to have an ipad on my pocket
Only Apple product I care about. God, the Android tablet market is so shit. I miss the Nexus line 😞
no stock Android on Tablets is really bad.
I have an iPad mini and enormous pockets. I’m living the dream.
Skirts with pockets= world peace, prolly
From what we know, the folding iPhone will be a flip style foldable. So, just a regular size phone, it won’t be huge when unfolded.
Sad. My pocket would like a flat big phone rather than a cube shaped phone
My flip 6 is less than an inch wide folded with a case on it
If you want an iPad in your pocket just buy a Pro Max.
iPhone Pro Max screen area: 115.6cm²
iPad Air 11" screen area: 357.6cm²
iPad Air 13" screen area: 519.3cm²
An iPad has between 3 and 4.5 times the screen space than the largest iPhone.
Which isn’t even close to an iPad in size, not even the iPad mini in terms of actual screen real estate.
I’d use the mini if they’d just let me lol.
You mean as a phone? Its modem only does data, yeah.
Yeah. And no phone app.
But that’s my preferred size for sure. I probably won’t bother with a max the next time I get a phone, just because it still isn’t actually big enough for me to justify the price difference.
Kind of relatable. I go with the smaller sizes (regular Pro) as the Max is too large for my relatively small hands to use one-handed but at the same time it’s not large enough to enhance what I can do with the device.
So what I do is I always have my phone with me and optionally I take my 11" iPad Pro with me, although I’m hoping they’ll release a new iPad mini in October as I’d like something a bit more portable (and I also want the variant with mobile data, while my 11" Pro is Wi-Fi only).
I have a Boox go color 7 that I have in my pocket a lot. I made a little leather sleeve for it and am frequently tempted to add a couple pockets to the flap and make it my permanent “wallet”. It’s better for reading, anyways, but there’s a lot of software I use that’s only on iOS without an acceptable Android substitute, and it’s also not a phone. (I’d also be perfectly happy with the watch as my “phone” and to carry two small tablets).
But you just can’t fit much on a phone screen.
The pro max is too small.
Fold the foil outside the hinge?
Foldable phones look and work like shit. Not a shock that Apple wants nothing to do with a silly fad— not until it’s worth it for them.
I am on my second foldable phone, and on my fourth year using them. Not only does your statement is not true, you probably never even touched a single foldable.
Looks? Subjective. I personally love the form factor. Works like shit? In your dreams.
I know a few people at work that have foldables. Both are not going back and the crease really isnt noticeable.
One guy has the Google Pixel Fold. His kids share his phone to leave his wife’s phone alone when they are watching something. It makes it easier to share with his kids because its a larger screen. When it was smaller they fought more because they couldn’t all watch on a small screen. Hes reaping benefits too. Ive seen him have it open to watch NFL highlights lol.
The other person I know is a manager and its just really nice.
I don’t have one myself because its pretty $$$. If I valued phones I would pick one up myself. Year after year they have gotten significantly better with the crease and hardware. They’re often very beast with hardware features.
Last time I looked, the aspect ratios for the unfolded screens were such that you didn’t actually get any more screen real estate than a normal smartphone so the kids analogy doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. For media it’s like you get the illusion of a bigger screen.
I’ve seen the same, but tbh in real world use on my Pixel 9 Pro Fold even with the big black bars on a full screen video it still feels like quite a large viewable area
Doesn’t that “feeling” though kinda confirm that it’s an illusion of screen space when you can measure the diagonal image on a normal phone and see that it’s the same?
I just measured a couple videos with a tape measure lmao
So the typical video Fullscreen is about 6.69 inches almost the size of the iPhone 15 Pro Max at 6.7, unfolded. I should have measured my PF1 the same way while I had it LMAO
The irony is the old school squareish 4:3 videos are WAY bigger (just a hair over 7) so retro emulation is probably great on it LMAO
So its not taking full advantage of the screen size, but you’re still able to enjoy media at a size that most can only enjoy on their phone if they can handle the absolute biggest phones
That being said, that’s really one use case, for me the biggest reasons to unfold has been accessing remote desktops, reading, productivity and some gaming and “remotely remote working” lol
Unsure. I can only go off anecdotes and what ive been told but maybe that illusion works on the kids?
At 3:50 it looks like the phone is being opened to watch something. . Looks large to me
The tech specs here
Anyways, that was his reasoning. Lol its still a nice phone. Maybe he used same justification to get this nicer phone with his wife. He has the Google fold while the other guy has Samsung.
Which do you have? Genuinely curious, never used the modern ones, but assumed they’d be shit/very fragile
Not op, but I have the galaxy fold 3 and it’s amazing. I’ve had it for 3 years and I can’t go back to normal phones. And I’ve heard the same from many others that got their first foldable.
I’ve had both the Samsung Fold 2 and now the Pixel Fold
N cer had any issues with them
The screens are pretty fragile, however they’re protected when folded. Just don’t drop them onto anything while open…
Other than that they’re surprisingly robust. I’ve had 2 Moto Razr models and a Samsung Z Fold. First Razr did break the screen by leaving it open in a stupidly precarious position and it hit a piece of metal below directly on the folding screen when it fell. But day to day use I never worried about it.
Right now a Fold 6; the previous one I had was the 3.
You’ve been through two phones in just four years? That doesn’t sound that great for them…
Upgrading every three years is pretty normal, I’d say. I know people that change phones every new iteration of their fruity ones. Unless you were trying to be funny, for which it may have gone over my head.
Only three years for a premium phone sounds like rich people behavior, to be honest.
The large U.S. carriers have plans that are, I think, $20-30 a month and you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, apple or Samsung. They also partner with manufacturers for discounts and trade-in deals, especially when a new model comes out. My last phone was 2 years old but when they offered me the newest one for something like $120 after trade-in (I think that was almost $1100 off, I don’t remember all the details) I upgraded everyone on my plan. I think they did the same thing this year but even with those discounts the pain in the ass of upgrading plus the price, even though it’s low, wasn’t worth the small year over year change. Probably next year or the year after. Assuming similar deals, that makes it $40-$60 a year to get a new phone every 2-3 years.
Edit: You do have to stay with the carrier though. If you leave in less than 24 months you have to pay back a prorated part of the discount. Or at least the part that comes from the carrier, I think you keep the enhanced trade-in from the manufacturer.
To each their own. I would prefer to stick to my $3/mo plan with no extras. And said $120 are, while a good deal for a premium phone, are still $120 I would rather spend on better things (or if they’re this throwaway - donate to a charity). A phone after 2-3 years is still very much functional, I don’t see the point to get a new shiny thing just because you can.
Nah, here in the US the majority of people buy through their carrier and typically put them on a 0% interest Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) that break the cost to a monthly payment typically spanning 2 years.
The carriers also have an upgrade path, for me on T-Mobile when the phone is 50% paid (so once a year) I can turn in this phone and upgrade. The remaining balance gets wiped and replaced by the new phone. Other US carriers should be similar.
I typically upgrade once a year
That… Seems so wasteful for me.
Depends on how you look at it, T-Mobile requires that all phones that are Jumped remain in good condition so that they can be resold at a good discount to others or shipped off to their phone insurance company to be issued out to people whose similar phone broke and they make a claim
So it’s not like they get shipped back and thrown away, and I do always have the option to just not return the phone and continue to make the payments on it and then I can pass it down to a family member or just keep it as a backup. Which I have done in the past.
I spend extremely little on myself. I have a good salary and no vices, every bill and payment is taken care of, and my family is well taken care of between me and my partner.
If I want to indulge myself with a new toy once every three years, I may very well do so without some guy having to complain about it. Sure, call me rich. I guess I’d live up that princess moniker I have on my nickname.
But they’re going on the AI fad now. Not like they are geniuses after all.
They need to.
Siri is basically unusable compared to ChatGPT.
They’ll wait for
the tech to matureother manufacturers to figure it out, starve people for a few more years, then release it with a +400% markup and act like they came up with the idea. That’s how it’s always been.Although I don’t see a future where bendable fucking glass screens become anything more than a gimmick.
(edit) oh hey, the Apple zealots are awake!
My bendable glass screen is the shit. I’m never going back. It’s so small in my pocket.
You like the gimmick, that’s valid.
Still a gimmick though.