All Of Apple’s Foldable iPhone Prototypes Have Visible Creases
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 torture test 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.
Crease distortion occurs immediately, day 1, first fold, and it’s a substantial distortion… but does not necessarily get exponentially worse like normal fatiguing plastic, but instead just gets worse slowly. Yeah it’ll last 50k folds but the crease distortion is definitely there in person.
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.
Except Huawei Mate XS 2, Honor Magic V2, Oppo Find N.
Edit: search engine link unreliable.
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.
For every AirPower there’s a $999 ProStand. Apple is just a greedy company, like everyone else in tech. They are just more picky on the bullshit they sell, but they still sell bullshit.
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.
And I hate every second of it on my work macbook. How one could think cutting out the middle from the space that has to house your applications menu(IntelliJs is huge for example) and your tray icons, which can be quite a lot too, and then not have a function to keep either of them from just disappearing behind that cutout is asinine.
No No, I didn’t need thos menu items anyway…
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.
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.
I had to go crawling back to Samsung because the pixel 9 is too large (and heavy) for me. I was using a pixel 5 before my screen died earlier this year :(.
Edit: to clarify I’m not using a foldable phone, I just have their S24 which is apparently the smallest phone on the market I could find these days that isn’t out dated (Zenphone).
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)
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 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 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.
Cops in the US can (legally) make you unlock your phone if it’s biometrics-locked. Something to think about.
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.
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.
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
Back before smart phones I always preferred flip phones over “candy bars”, the flip phone helps to protect the delicate screen and buttons while the phone is in your pocket/purse. You don’t really need a case for a flip phone.
Modern smart phones tend to be more delicate than they should be across the board, but in theory, a flip phone puts the more delicate parts in a safer place.
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 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
Smaller overall size of the phone. If the folded thickness is less than a double of the current slabs, and the unfolded size is bigger than them, doesn’t it make sense to you?
With the “current” technology, we could make phones that have 9” screens and insane battery life (The ratio of screen power usage and battery density isn’t 1:1. Think tablets and their insanely good battery life) but it would be impractical, but if you fold them, you get that exact thing.
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.
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.
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.
If I were on the verge of running a monopoly, I’d be spending my money on making anything that the competition is making, along with my usual product. Because if you let them run with it and it turns out to be the next big thing, you’ve just shot yourself in the leg. Microsoft is no longer just an OS maker. Google is no longer just a search engine company. Amazon is no longer a bookstore.
Diversify your assets.
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?
I could allow that some people would rather carry a thicker but shorter object in their pocket than a thinner one with larger surface area. But I can’t think of much more than that. It bugs me that all foldable now ALSO have a miniature screen on the outside. Like they immediately admit that their primary feature is a nonstarter and add bulk to the phone when bulk is a primary issue with foldables.
My biggest concern is durability. I keep my phones for a long time (5-6 years). I have serious concerns that folding phones wont hold up. Especially considering that they oldest amongst them are only just now reaching the age of my last phone that was a champ up until I retired it.
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.
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.
The curved edges were the precursor tech to having a foldable screen. No matter what is said about the Apple vs. Samsung debate, Samsung is still the one responsible for the praises on Apple’s screens. They have tried with other manufacturers and providers but can’t escape the fact that Samsung is still the major leader on displays as they dump a shit ton of money on R&D on all LED screen technologies, specially manufacturing at scale. If you want high end screens, you just go with Samsung, period. The alternatives are constantly playing catch up with them and they are actually experimenting and trying to come up with new and original stuff. LG and Sharp are also really good, but their screens aren’t as premium as Apple wants them to be, though they are more affordable.
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.
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!
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?
I’d tolerate a crease to have an ipad on my pocket
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
Only Apple product I care about. God, the Android tablet market is so shit. I miss the Nexus line 😞
Which isn’t even close to an iPad in size, not even the iPad mini in terms of actual screen real estate.
