Foldable iPhone

[FFR]

Maybe, only the future will tell the tale. But 4 years of ultra hype (lead by one of the biggest names out there) equaling a sliver of the market, even an annually increasing sliver? Not sure how that is a sign of a ground shift in the market.

4 years of ultra hype and low sales.

 

[phlamethrowre]

Like it or not, Apple is definitely joining the revolution.

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/foldable-iphone-just-teased-in-latest-apple-patent-what-we-know

 

[Annie_M]

I'm not against an Apple foldable iPhone. I just don't think I'll be interested! As others have said, time will tell!

 

[Wotchered]

I shall watch the reviews, when a foldy fone will reliably last 5+years with a prefectly flat screen, I’ll have another look !

 

[C6TX6]

LOVE the folding phones! Absolutely love them! My first was the Fold 3, then got a Flip 3 now a Fold 4. Prefer the Fold over the flip due to the huge screen real estate and the fact it can be used for a lot of things folded. When using it folded (Fold 4) for a phone call it kind of reminds me of a Simon. (for those of you old enough to remember LOL!)

I also love iPhones and it simply cannot be argued they have the best video capture.

So if (Apple) comes out with a folding version it's game over for me!

I was really skeptical especially with the first gen (2019) that had the screen protector that would destroy the screen if you removed it and durability was of concern. Fold 3 added an IP rating to include water resistance and that was good enough for me. They are quite durable for what they are, essentially a laptop you can carry in your pocket!

Are they for everyone? Well of course not, given the expense to get one and some just don't want it. I know at first I was totally unsure, like tasting a new food for the first time, sometimes you spit it out, others you cannot get enough. For me, the fold was the latter.

Flip is nice too, but my preference is the fold.

 

[FFR]

 

[FFR]

Long term durability might be an issue for foldables.

 

[FFR]

Looks like Samsungs foldable sales have collapsed in q4, about 45% below initial forecast.

 

[Up_And_Away]

Looks like Samsungs foldable sales have collapsed in q4, about 45% below initial forecast.

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As a previous poster and purveyor of foldables posted: “Increasing sales is a trend”. So a staggering FOURTY FIVE percent decrease in forecast is a stark trend?

I’m repeating myself — apologies — but again foldables are a solution looking for a problem all the while causing multiple obvious drawbacks.
For the foreseeable future there will be a market, a slim one, but that is likely it. The smartphone in its present form factor and user experience is extremely close to perfected. Nearly the entire market of users is comfortably adept at its form and use in every day activities and motions throughout.
Even more, the smartphone form factor is being pushed even closer to perfected - a sealed device without even slightly moving parts (sim tray, rocker buttons, charge port etc going away). The device is headed for near uni perfection. So ultimately trying to sell this market on change via a smartphone with giant moving parts? Imho that’s almost farcical.

 

[tadpoles]

I’m aware this is an aging post, but….

While some of your points are true, IMO, they also suggest that the current smartphone in its unibody form is getting stale. Users (how many is up for debate) are going to look for something new. Something different. The competition has offered up foldables to answer this call…and it is, IMO, a very real call. However, currently, that means said consumer would have to leave the Apple ecosystem (or carry multiple devices) and for that reason, primarily, IMO, many won’t jump on foldables. If, if Apple were to offer foldables the press would go crazy and many of its loyal consumers would act like it was the 2nd coming of Christ and jump all over said product(s) no matter the amount of countless compromises and drawbacks. …and of course, those same consumers would pontificate on how Apple’s offerings were dramatically better than the competition in every way even if 2-fold (see what I did there?) more expensive. …or so me thinks.

 

[FFR]

I believe foldables are rather stale, after 5 years gained absolutely no traction in the market or with consumers. Especially those plastic screens .

With a less than 1% marketshare after 5 years it seems like consumers and the broader market agree, iPhone + iPads > android tablets that fold.

Meanwhile sales of slabs or to be more precise iPhones are at an all time high.

If you look at q4 22, the three months after the fold 4 launched Samsungs foldables crashed 45%. Some (me included) would call that stale.

 

[tadpoles]

Apple has the market share and as you’ve shown, none too many are going to leave Apple for SAMSUNG’s foldables. I think the data would be different, however, if Apple did release them. Foldables are currently very expensive ($1000+) and with compromises that even a lot of Android faithful aren’t willing to make (Why buy a Fold 4 when you can get an S23U (or iPhone 13/14 Pro Max) with better cameras, faster performance, and better battery life for less )? …only because you can afford to pay the price of entry and deal with the sacrifices to get that foldable screen.

Akin to why buy a Porsche 911 Turbo when you can get a BMW 840i for less? They’ll both get you through the McDonald’s drive-thru, I think.

 

[Just_Me_D]

….

Akin to why buy a Porsche 911 Turbo when you can get a BMW 840i for less? They’ll both get you through the McDonald’s drive-thru, I think.

I’d pick the ultimate driving machine every time…

 

[tadpoles]

I’ll go with the 911…every time. My Dad went with the 840i.

 

[Up_And_Away]

Apple has the market share and as you’ve shown, none too many are going to leave Apple for SAMSUNG’s foldables. I think the data would be different, however, if Apple did release them. Foldables are currently very expensive ($1000+) and with compromises that even a lot of Android faithful aren’t willing to make (Why buy a Fold 4 when you can get an S23U (or iPhone 13/14 Pro Max) with better cameras, faster performance, and better battery life for less )? …only because you can afford to pay the price of entry and deal with the sacrifices to get that foldable screen.

Akin to why buy a Porsche 911 Turbo when you can get a BMW 840i for less? They’ll both get you through the McDonald’s drive-thru, I think.

Can’t really agree about the 911 comparison (840i is a good car) just the way I can’t agree a NY Strip from Ruth Chris and Texas Roadhouse both are just a steak. But I do agree with your other point, Apple will likely rapidly expand the market for foldables (IF they release one - their patent means little). And that right there is where Apple the well guarded name and well guarded product releases payyyyys off. Samsung and a litany of other companies will sell you a cheap smartphone that has a Swiss Army knife in it…if they can sell a few million.
Apple bled for it, earned it, paid over the years for it, to make the name synonymous with highest quality, confident purchase and onky a tight circle of products. The trust they’ve earned that has the power to expand a market is very justified.

 

[FFR]

I disagree with your assertion, that if apple released a foldable with the same drawbacks as Samsung that they would automatically succeed due to apples brand power and loyal fan base.

Unfortunately the tech is still too premature to be anything but a novelty within an extremely tiny niche due to marketshare/ consumer demand. The plastic display and hinge are extremely fragile and that does not seem to last more than 8 months to a year. Judging rom all the reports reports of broken screens or problematic hinges due to debris from Samsung users and the long wait to have the issue serviced. This has an inverse effect because it would drive early adopters and mainstream consumers away from foldables, at-least in Samsungs case effectively eliminating any first mover advantage.

The comparison between the Porsche and the bmw makes little logical sense since they are both traditional sports cars that do not fold when you are not using the vehicles.

Nobody calls the 911 turbo (just like a traditional smartphone) stale just because it has the same form since it’s inception. Just for reference, the older 911 are referred to as classics and not stale either.

 

[FFR]

There is a marked difference between choosing a 911 turbo and actually owning one.

Perhaps your father wanted a more comfortable grand tourer.

 

[tadpoles]

The vehicle comparison to phone comparison:

The BMW 840i, like an iPhone 13/14 Pro Max, is premium in its own right and not everyone can have one but they are generally seen as desirable. The 911 Turbo, like the BMW, is a just car at its basest function as the iPhone and Fold are just phones at their basest functions. Some would see the 911 Turbo as slightly more exotic than the BMW, just as some would see the Fold as slightly more exotic than the 13/14PM. I venture to guess the 911 Turbo doesn’t have the same reliability and day-to-day practicality as the 840i (but maybe in today’s world I would be wrong) just as I venture to guess the Fold doesn’t have the same reliability and practicality as the iPhone.

Lastly, we know the 911 is more expensive because it offers something the 840i doesn’t (remember the 840i is still a very premium vehicle however) just as we know the Fold is more expensive than the iPhone.

The comparison is not meant to suggest which of either is better just that you’re paying more for a product that offers the same basic function…premium transportation vs premium mobile communication with the higher priced product still having its own compromises. However, the fact my comparison needed clarification suggests that it was not a good comparison in the first place but I do see its logic.

 

[FFR]

The 911 turbo sells more units at a higher price and is extremely reliable as a daily driver. It’s engine is smaller yet is extremely powerful, that sounds like an iPhone.

The fold is like a folding electric bicycle. Because not many consumers have one, it loses value very quickly, and it folds.

 

[tadpoles]