There’s a bit more demand for a folding iPhone than skeptics realize. A new survey found almost a third of U.S. smartphone users say they are highly likely to get a foldable as their next device.
And lots of those people want one from Apple.
The just-announced Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 offer the clearest evidence yet that Apple is correct to hold off on releasing a folding iPhone. Flexible screens still come with too many problems to be acceptable in an iPhone.
Of course, that didn’t stop Samsung from releasing handsets with these drawbacks.
There’s plenty of proof that Apple has had a folding iPhone on the drawing board for years. But the company held off until flexible displays are past the prototype phase. The latest foldables from Samsung show that the technology has finally matured to the point where an iPhone Fold could become a mass-market success.
This surely hasn’t escaped Apple’s attention, which is why a folding iPhone is probably coming in 2023.
Update: The Surface Duo is available to buy. Reviews haven’t been wholly positive, although most seem to agree there is plenty of promise for the future.
Microsoft’s folding, dual-screen Surface Duo is finally available for preorder. The Android device, which boasts two 5.6-inch displays, starts at $1,399. Orders will begin shipping on September 10.
Huawei is gearing up to take on Samsung with a foldable smartphone of its own. The exciting Mate X goes on sale in China next month, but it will cost a whopping $2,400.
And you thought the Galaxy Fold was expensive?
Add Google’s name to the list of companies investigating flexible-screen phones. The head of development for the Pixel line says his team is at the prototype stage.
Apple is also experimenting with this tech, while companies like Samsung and Huawei are moving ahead with production models. Or at least they are trying to.
Forget what you think you know about glass. Rather than being an utterly rigid material, Corning is close to producing a type of glass flexible enough to go in a future folding iPhone.
This material will be inherently superior to the plastic screens going into handsets like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
After being one of the first out of the gate with a folding smartphone, Samsung is trying to entice competitors — including Apple — to join the foldable future.
Samsung, which debuted the Galaxy Fold at its Unpacked event on Feb. 20, has reportedly sent some foldable display panel samples to Cupertino in hopes of attracting Apple as a client.
The co-founder of Apple, and its original tech guru, can’t wait to get his hands on a folding iPhone. The first generation of folding devices from Samsung, Huawei, and others have met with skepticism from some quarters, but not Steve Wozniak.
He thinks Apple should get a handset with a folding display on the market soon.
We won’t have flying cars and hoverboards in 2019, but thanks to Samsung, we do have foldable phones.
The Galaxy Fold finally got its official unveiling today at Galaxy Unpacked, and it wants to replace your phone and your tablet. Samsung calls it “a whole new world of mobile,” but it looks more like a prototype than a final design. And that futuristic folding phone certainly won’t come cheap.
