Apple's First Foldable Device Won't Be an iPhone, Say Supply Chain Sources

[bushman4]

If iPhone sales decrease watch how fast Apple comes out with a foldable iPhone

 

[Black Tiger]

Doesn't Vision Pro work like the HoloLens and you can just connect a BT keyboard + mouse to it? If so, couldn't you just buy a much cheaper (and smaller) BT keyboard + mouse?

I can absolutely see Apple releasing something like this, but imagining how expensive this sort of accessory would be I can't believe it'd be a good value.

Exactly this. It’s hard to believe Apple has all these folding device plans when the only real benefit (a larger screen that is portable) is done way better on the Vision Pro. And I even think the VP is pretty gimmicky and will likely end up abandoned due to its impracticality and price. When I need a larger screen on my phone, I hold it closer to my face. Seems to work pretty well and no compromised folding screen is required.

 

[Roadcrew]

An iPad Mini that can fold down to phone size seems like the obvious route here. Put in all the phone stuff and it can be the iPhone Pro Extreme for people who want an even bigger phone than the big phone.

 

[Nclaire44]

I think you very much underestimate how many people prefer laptops. Tablets have always been a compromised device that neither had the portability of a phone or the utility of a laptop. It’s not just graphic designers using them. Hauling around a magnetic keyboard basically concedes that a laptop is better than a tablet. If anything, I would think that graphic designers would be more likely to prefer the tablet due to its ability to take input from a stylus like the Apple Pencil.

I don't.
I bought the first iPad on release day, almost never used. Then bought the iPad 3, believing I would find a use to it. Again, almost never used.

I'm actually a 100% laptop user (MBP 14), and not a graphic designer, so I totally agree with you.
For taking notes on the go, meetings etc, I use my iPhone and don't have the need for an iPad at all.

My point is that in the future, I think this kind of foldable machine would/could make people like me switch to iPad.

 

[sdf]

I would not have expected it to be an iPhone. Too much pressure (physical and political) on the iPhone. And what, hundreds of fold/unfold cycles per day?

If they're going to do something foldable, doing it somewhere else makes a lot more sense.

 

[spinedoc77]

Foldable phone will be 2X thicker so you'll get one benefit but one draw back.

A tablet making sense because we all used to that form: a book, a pocket book, a planner etc. and 2X thickness won't be a problem since you won't carry it with you all the time.

Which foldable phone released in the past 1-2 years (probably ALL years although I'm too lazy to look it up) are twice as thick as a flagship phone? Why do some of you keep repeating the same false facts. Foldables are also not twice the weight or twice the price.

I'll quote myself just a few comments before this one:
iPhone 15 pro max: Weight 221 grams, Depth 8.25mm. OnePlus Open: Weight 239 grams, Depth (folded closed) 11.7mm. BTW there are even thinner and lighter foldables, but they are not available in the west so I won't use those specs, but the technology is certainly there. Edit: I'm also not seeing twice the price when putting flagship vs flagship, iPhone 15 pro max $1199, OnePlus Open $1699. I think our definitions of "twice" may slightly differ.

 

[spinedoc77]

A solution looking for a problem. Maybe I’m missing something, but what is the point? To make it smaller when it’s in your pocket? To make it slower to answer the phone when it rings? To add a moveable, breakable part to a device when Apple has spent the last 20 years removing movable, breakable parts? I can’t see this ever happening.

I bolded the part where you answered your own question. Yes it's to have the ability to have a small tablet which fits into your front pocket. That's it... not exactly rocket science to come up with what the problem being solved is. Arguably it's more delicate, although I'd push back on that and ask where there is an epidemic of breaking foldable screens after 5 generations now? But even so it's not like Apple doesn't have any products with moving parts. Should they abandon laptop hinges?

 

[spinedoc77]

I think you very much underestimate how many people prefer laptops. Tablets have always been a compromised device that neither had the portability of a phone or the utility of a laptop. It’s not just graphic designers using them. Hauling around a magnetic keyboard basically concedes that a laptop is better than a tablet. If anything, I would think that graphic designers would be more likely to prefer the tablet due to its ability to take input from a stylus like the Apple Pencil.

Hard disagree here, but I'm not coming from the iPad world. My Surface Pro is an upgrade from a laptop (at the same screen size) because it has multiple form factors. If we are talking about larger screens then I'd also say my LG Gram 16" 2-in-1 is a much better laptop because it's so versatile.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I'm not purchasing anything that comes out the box broken (folding)

No laptops for you then

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I would love a MBP with a detachable keyboard in the vein of the Asus ZenFold.

I want a 12" size laptop with a 17" screen. A detachable keyboard mean no more ergonomic destroying contortions to use. To be specific, it has to be a Macbook, not an iPad. I love OSX, but hate iOS.

The problem with that is you need either all of the processing power, battery, etc behind the screen, and thus need to add weights to the rest of it to keep it upright when all connected together (just like Apple's Magic iPad Keyboard thingo or whatever it's called). Or you need to double up on processors, batteries, etc. Thus, whatever way you look at it, you end up with a laptop that is more complex, heavier, and expensive, and may as well just have had a separate iPad in the first place (and that you can use as a second screen).

What everyone REALLY wants, is either iPadOS to grow up from being a kid's toy, and gain all the functionality of macOS; or macOS to gain touch screen capability; or preferably both.

 

[todd2000]

Who cares? It’s a stupid fad that will die in a few years.

 

[BrownyQ]

Where is the logic in making an inferior folding screen so that it’s less capable in use but more usable when it’s being stored?

exactly. I don’t see the point in making a device that is compromised when it is in use for the sake of making it smaller in ones pocket when it isn’t being used.

It's a wild concept, but it's called a "trade-off".

Provided the appropriate advancements in folding screen tech is made, I (for one) would gladly take a folding iPad which improves its portability. There's a reason companies like Samsung offer the Flip and the Fold models; different customers are in the market for (gasp) different things!

 

[Originalblez]

The other day I saw a laptop with a regular keyboard and foldable displays; when it's close, it works like a tablet, but when you open and unfold it becomes a laptop with an additional display on top.

EDIT: Found it:

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i review: Dual-screen done right

One device with many functions

www.tomsguide.com

Too bad it only runs Windows... what a waste.


It's called Yoga, and actually it's two displays with a folio-type keyboard, and a case that can 'bend' in different shapes... very odd. I was expecting better.
We'll need to wait and see what Apple will bring to the table.

I had a stand for my iPad that could mount it floating on top of my MacBook - trouble is you can’t visually position a screen on top in Mac OS! Bizarre

 

[Amazing Iceman]

I had a stand for my iPad that could mount it floating on top of my MacBook - trouble is you can’t visually position a screen on top in Mac OS! Bizarre

Really? I never tried that.

 

[Originalblez]

Really? I never tried that.

100% true. It's the weirdest thing. Maybe something to do with the top menu?