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Important points
- For Apple’s rumored flip-style foldable iPhone to be worthwhile and different from a regular phone, the outer display needs to have a clear purpose.
- For a foldable iPhone to be attractive to users, it must offer battery life that matches the performance of the current iPhone lineup.
- To justify its value to consumers, a foldable iPhone’s price must be reasonable and competitive with other foldable devices on the market.
The biggest innovation to shake up the smartphone world over the past few years is undoubtedly the foldable smartphone. As with any new experimental phone feature, there’s no doubt that Apple is close to releasing its own twist on the foldable phone. At least, that’s what a new report from The Information claims.
For several years, ever since Samsung released the first Z Fold, there have been rumors and speculation that Apple would release a foldable phone. It’s an exciting idea, but one I’m not entirely sold on. Before you go all-in on a foldable iPhone, there are four things you’d like to see Apple improve on in the foldable space before you hand over your money.
Purpose of outer display
Apple is currently rumored to be focusing on developing a flip-style foldable device similar to the Samsung Z Flip and Motorola Razr. Both phones are much closer to a “normal” smartphone experience than something like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and both are much more reasonably priced.
For this to really work, the outer display needs to be able to do more than what the Apple Watch can do.
However, one question that this class of foldable devices always faces is what exactly is the purpose of the outer display. Some foldable devices like the Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold open like a book, but the outer display is closer to the size of an average smartphone and has a clear purpose. The small screen of a flip-style foldable device has no obvious reason for existing. Worse, a lack of purpose makes the whole thing feel less valuable in the first place. Why own a flip phone when you can just open it up and it becomes a regular phone?
What is the difference between Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr+ (Razr 40 Ultra)?
Samsung is back with another version of its pocket-sized Galaxy Z Flip that will take on the Motorola Razr+ (Razr 40 Ultra). Compare them below.
To be fair, Samsung has significantly improved the outer screen of the Z Flip lineup. In the generations between the original His Z Flip and his Z Flip 5, outer displays have gone from being a nifty novelty to actually being a great feature. Just going from the Z Flip 4 to the Z Flip 5, Samsung almost doubled the screen real estate of the outer display.
There needs to be a specific intention for folding, not a gimmick
But I’m still not entirely drawn to the outside display beyond its nostalgic charm and old-fashioned familiarity. If Apple is only planning on having a flip-style foldable for their first foldable phone, the biggest thing I need is an actual reason to spend less time opening the phone, but the outside Your display will need to be able to do more than that. The Apple Watch allows you to make this work really well.
Relatively improved battery life
The battery life of the iPhone lineup is amazing. This has always been one of the best features of the iPhone. So giving up a significant portion of battery life would make the possibility of making the leap to a foldable iPhone very unattractive. If the potential foldable iPhone can maintain the excellent battery life that the rest of the lineup is known for, the phone could become very attractive.
Of course, there is only so much you can do about this problem in the first place. Because phones are so large, there’s only so much space to work with inside a clamshell-style flip phone. But if anyone can figure out how to extend battery life in a different form factor, it’s Apple. After all, when paying for a presumably more expensive iPhone, I’m reluctant to give up features and perks like superior battery life. Especially if the tradeoff doesn’t come with a good hook.
More reasonable pricing
In 2017, Apple announced and began selling iPhone X. The iPhone X was a significant enhancement and overhaul of the iPhone lineup, and was a generally well-received phone. It was also $1000. It may not be so extreme now, but at the time, many people balked at the price. Just as the headphone jack was removed from the iPhone 7, the outrage died down and people still bought new iPhones. Within a few years, $1,000 became almost the normal price for a flagship device.
For the price of a foldable iPhone to be reasonable, either the price would need to stay around $1,000, or Apple would have to release a foldable iPhone that could completely justify the price above that.
Currently, the standard price for flip-style foldable products is $1,000. For example, the Samsung Z Flip and Motorola Razr+ both sell for that price. If Apple makes a foldable iPhone, there’s little doubt that the price of that foldable iPhone will be a little higher. After all, that’s the Apple way. However, when prices rise too much, it becomes sad for various reasons. Besides the immediate reluctance to pay extra, Apple’s competitors are likely to raise prices as well. We saw the same thing happen when Samsung raised the price of its flagship phone to balance it with the iPhone.
Is it reasonable pricing or pricing for premium features?
Things only get worse when you consider whether Apple will enter the foldable tablet market. The Pixel Fold and Z Fold 5 both retail for $1,800. It’s not unreasonable to think that Apple will enter that range for $2,000 or more. The problem is that if you’re going to pay a higher price than the iPhone Pro price, especially for a clamshell-style foldable device, you don’t want to potentially give up any of that device’s features. For the price of a foldable iPhone to be reasonable, either the price would need to stay around $1,000, or Apple would have to release a foldable iPhone that could completely justify the price above that.
iPhone-iPad hybrid options
Apart from the rumors that Apple is working on a flip-style foldable device, there are also many rumors that Apple is working on a foldable iPad, which could come to market before the foldable iPhone. There is also. Unfortunately, most of these rumors don’t hint at the arrival of a foldable smartphone to complement the iPhone and iPad lineups. And that’s a shame.
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Apple already offers one of the best small tablets on the market with the iPad Mini, and any form of foldable iPad Mini that transforms into an iPhone (or vice versa) would be a truly special product. Probably. A clamshell-style iPhone could be a big test for Apple in the foldable market, but overall the potential combination of iPhone and iPad seems much more appealing.
Regardless, I’d be interested in at least seeing a foldable iPhone. Whenever a company tries something new with their lineup, you can’t help but be intrigued by what they’re doing. Especially when that company is Apple. But it’s a shame that a book-style foldable device isn’t currently on the list for the iPhone’s future.
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