There is some context to lay out before I say anything about a foldable form factor. If you don’t need added screen real estate, this is not a form factor for you, and it likely never will be a convincing one without that demand for a bigger screen. I come from an iPhone 15 Pro Max, and I chose the Pro Max only because it was bigger than the Pro but still more portable than an iPad mini. So my focus is primarily on how the Duo fares against a combination of a phone and a tablet.
Tagged Foldable
Rumored iPad mini to Close Duo Gap
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the OLED iPad mini will be “considerably more expensive” than the current $599 model. His own guess is something closer to $799. When I compared an iPhone Pro and an iPad mini, then an iPhone Air and an iPad mini, against Apple’s foldable, I concluded the iPhone Duo would need more to beat the two-device price advantage. Apparently the advantage didn’t go unnoticed by Apple either.
App to Print iPhone Duo Dummy
Before iPhone Duo, most iPhone form factors had not changed so drastically. They grew either taller or wider, which is not quite the case with the foldable. I wanted to get an idea of how big, and how small, iPhone Duo will be before pre-orders.
iPhone Duo Needs Killer App
Apple’s unveiling of iPhone Duo makes me feel vindicated. When the original Galaxy Fold was released, I argued that a foldable form factor must give us a unique platform. Opening a small phone into a larger one was only part of the proposition. What the form factor needs is exclusivity. Apple’s keynote gives me something more interesting to discuss than opening and closing.
To Fold or Not to Fold and Ferry Two Devices
Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone at its September 9 event. The rumored price has hovered around $2,200, though the latest Bloomberg report puts it nearer $2,000. Either figure puts the device on the upper end of premium, even against Apple’s own. Apple’s own iPhone Air and iPad mini, together, make an awkward comparison for its newest device.
Action Button Maybe Dropped on iPhone Fold
Action button replaced the traditional Silent switch in 2023. The idea behind the button is rather opaque. It can be customized as a trigger of any actions, including Shortcuts. It can stay as a Silent switch for those who wish to keep it, or in my case, I use it to call the orientation lock shortcut. It is a button without a purpose, and if the leaks and rumors to be believed, the upcoming iPhone Fold does not have it.
iPhone Fold, iPadOS, or iFoldOS?
Though I never elaborated it to software level of discussions, one of the immediate questions I had for foldable (book styled) is that it has no media exclusive to the hardware. And it seems that is still the case. As far as I am aware, Android manufacturers and developers on the platform have not worked out what would be the potential use case of having quite literally flexible and dynamic resolutions. As I have iterated multiple times, if it is simply the case of having a larger screen for certain occasions, with the magic of buying two devices, a tablet…
Positioning Foldable iPhone
The new onslaught of foldable iPhone rumors have been released: a. it will feature under-display camera for innards, b. it will feature Touch ID instead of Face ID, c. it will feature a larger battery, d. the foldable display will be crease-less, and finally e. it will be priced at $2,399. The prudence dictates we don’t jump to conclusions, but the rumors are suggesting the Californian company wishes to sell one iPhone at the price of two, possibly by bundling the two in one.
iPhone Air, Foldable iPhone, and iPad
There are rumors iPhone Air is a stepping stone toward a possible foldable iPhone set for 2026, 27, or even 28. Some are already speculating Apple will adopt foldable form factor starting with iPhone 18; hence, they added, iPhone 17 is less likely to succeed from the usual upgrade cycle. We won’t know the sales figure for a while, but I’m seeing two contradictory coverages on the new iPhone — either it was an unusual flop, or it was unusually high in demand, especially the base iPhone.
Upcoming iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods
Apple is set to release new iPhones, Apple Watches, and possibly some minor gadgets such as AirPods this coming Tuesday. The rumors surrounding each and every one of them were too comprehensive to the point the actual Keynote is likely going to be a repeat of the rumor mixed with Federighi’s “crack product marketing team” jokes. In other words, had it been a decade ago, this year would be an “s” year for the iPhones — minor improvement from previous year.
Are Foldable Smartphones the Future? Pt. 2
I was asked recently if I would be willing to update my old piece, Are Foldable Smartphones the Future? with the news foldable smartphone is still around. Indeed, Samsung and Xiaomi, the two largest Android makers, have been pushing both folds and flips since its initial launch. Well received it may be, but so was 3D TV, hence why I am writing part 2 of foldable smartphone op-ed, not an update to the old one. In fact, Mark Gurman has recently written a piece that Apple may be working on a foldable iPad set to release by 2028 —my golly,…
How America Grades Samsung on Pass or Fail
Calling out on Galaxy Fold debacle as “graded on a curve” apparently was an understatement. It is time to face the ugly truth. Samsung already has a bad track record, and none of the reviewers had gull to question the product in their hand. These pre-launch reviews that had been published prior to the issue treated the smartphone as though it is a holy relic. Had it not been for the delay, these articles would have been nothing but praises from untrained eyes for a product that is essentially a bomb waiting to go off.
Are Foldable Smartphones the Future?
Remember the days before iOS? In 2010, Apple finally rebranded its iPhone OS to iOS, making it the first non-Mac OS Apple had released. The significance of the iPhone manufacturer’s rebranding comes not from its shoddy name, but rather its date: 2010. In 2010, smartphone phone factors started to see consolidations. Google was releasing its own share of “standard” smartphones in the name of Nexus, and so for coming 8 to 9 years, we had a bar-type full touchscreen phone as a de facto smartphone.