Foldable iPhone
This week, Samsung launched the fourth generation of its foldable phone line. There's the new Galaxy Z Flip for a clamshell design with a screen that folds in half to fit in your pocket. Then there's the Galaxy Z Fold for which is a tablet that folds down to roughly the size of a regular phone. Let me emphasize roughly.
Samsung isn't the only company making foldable phone.
And Samsung isn't the only company making phones with foldable screens. There's Motorola, and it's Razor. And outside the US. Companies like Huawei and Xiaomi also have foldable phones.
Where is Apple's foldable iPhone?
 |
| Apple Foldable Phone: where is Apple's foldable iPhone? |
Problem
Next, Apple typically positions products as a solution to a problem, while a phone like the Galaxy Z Flip solves the problem of having a phone with a large screen that's also portable, it makes compromises elsewhere, like in terms of having a shorter battery life than a regular phone.
Samsung
And then there's the Galaxy Z Fold, which seems less like an answer to a problem and more like, hey, look at this cool tech wizardry. What can we do with it? And the cool factor, as innovative as it is, comes at the expense of features we expect from regular phones, like battery and price. To be fair, the Galaxy Z Fold Three took a step forward, embracing its unique form factor by adding support for Samsung's stylus called the Sin. And now the new Galaxy Z Fold Four improves flex mode for apps, which seems like another step forward and tips things towards a better balance between usability and cool factor.
And all this has to be done without being buggy. Remember that mention I had about Flex mode, about the Galaxy Z fold 4 at the beginning? Well, Flex mode has been around for years. Essentially, when you have the fold or the flip and it's folded in an L position and L shape like a mini laptop, the software will move an appto the top half of the screen while providing functionality to the bottom. Sounds cool and full of possibilities, right?
Well, this functionality has been very limited until this year. And that's why Samsung's ability to turn the bottom half of the Z fold four screen into a touchpad while in flex mode is a significant deal. But I'd like to see even more software optimized for these form factors. And I expect Apple to face the same challenges when it tries to adapt iOS or iPad OS to a foldable iPhone. And on top of all of that, Apple would likely need to design or find a software feature that makes its foldable phones stand out from what everyone else is doing.
Foldable phones ain't cheap. The Galaxy fold starts at $1,800, the b flip four starts at a grand. And yeah, it's no surprise Apple's prices tend to skew toward the higher end. So if an iPhone 13 Pro cost $1,000 and it doesn't fold in half, now, how much would one that does fold in half cost? Yeah, Apple would need to be able to have the problem solving design, the ability to scale manufacturing without sacrificing quality software and features that take advantage of this unique form factor and a price that's premium without being nosebleed out of this world.
So where's the foldable iPhone still in the oven? Let me know in the comments what you think about the possibility of Apple making a foldable iPhone. I mean, would you buy an iPhone that folds in half? And if so, how much would you be willing to pay? Also, we do these videos covering Apple stuff every week.
0 Comments