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WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

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Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#181

Post by danaris »

embedding-shape wrote: post #108
game_the0ry wrote: post #40

Not a fan of foldables, if I am honest. Just a personal opinion. I do not like the it feels in the pocket bc the device needs to double its thickness when folding over. When a mobile device manufacturer (samsung, hauwei, now apple) makes a foldable, I get the impression they're running out of ideas with the "slate" form factor and are trying to stimulate sales. Personally, I would want that R&D spend and innovation t…

> When a mobile device manufacturer [...] are trying to stimulate sales > more sustainable materials, longer lasting devices, and easily repairable parts to extend the devices useful life What they are doing, like all for-profit companies, is focusing on profits, for better or worse. What you are suggesting (and what I'd like to) directly works against the goal of making more profits, literally all of those things wi…

The solution is legislation and regulation.

In a capitalist system, those are the only ways to get for-profit companies to care about externalities (which is what sustainability and longevity address).

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#182

Post by asah »

Foldables are life changing - everyone I know who's got one, doesn't go back.

It's all the benefits of a tablet with the weight/thickness of a cell.

Example: maps shows both the map and listing detail.

Example: messaging/email apps show the message/channel list and the current message

Example: virtual keyboard has plenty of space for punctuation, emojis, etc.

Example: games and multimedia are perfectly pleasant to view, even for hours.

Example: I used the remote-control app to take photos from my Sony and Fuji cameras, and the live preview was large enough to easily check for tack-sharpness, which is hard even in the camera viewfinder.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#183

Post by naravara »

manoDev wrote: post #126
game_the0ry wrote: post #40

Not a fan of foldables, if I am honest. Just a personal opinion. I do not like the it feels in the pocket bc the device needs to double its thickness when folding over. When a mobile device manufacturer (samsung, hauwei, now apple) makes a foldable, I get the impression they're running out of ideas with the "slate" form factor and are trying to stimulate sales. Personally, I would want that R&D spend and innovation t…

I guess a foldable phone that unfolds to be that large kind of competes/kills the market for iPad, so this kind of user probably expects to store the device in a bag instead of pocket, and use bluetooth / smartwatch / siri to interact hands free instead of pulling the phone out all the time.

The iPad lineup has forked into two classes that seem to be drifting in the direction of “alternative laptop” or “portable television” respectively. A big folding phone would maybe eat into that second case somewhat, but I still view it as a distinct specialization. The difference would probably be clearer if they set up iPadOS to be viable as a shared multi-user/family device instead of assuming it must have a single owner.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#184

Post by naravara »

bluescrn wrote: post #165
cavemandaveman wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's MO has never been to make junk that breaks. They're as valuable as they are largely because of their reputation for high quality products.

But they still make repairs very difficult in case of accidental damage, random failure, or inevitably battery wear. Glued batteries, soldered storage, keyboards and screens that absolutely aren't designed to be swapped out in the event of damage. There's still an element of planned obsolescence even if reliability/quality generally seems better than the competition.

For an end user the “very difficult” repair process is to go to an Apple Store and either get it repaired under warranty or pay a parts and labor fee for it. It’s not actually planned obsolescence so much as tighter control over the supply chain of device parts.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#185

Post by butz »

How about phones that you can attach one to another and have as much of a phone as you want? Buy two phones - simple foldable. 4? That's almost a tablet worth of screen estate. Want more? Only your budget is the limit. Go as far as 85" TV if you want.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#186

Post by [deleted] »

elxr wrote: post #180
dpark wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know why you’re so uncharitable toward someone who holds a different opinion than you. The idea that someone needs to research device dimensions in order to share their personal experience with foldables is a bit much. Instead of accusing them of complaining for the “dopamine hit”, you could have said “hey, your experience is out of date”. That’s what jayd16 did, and then you rolled in with a complaint about…

Maybe because on hacker news, you expect slightly higher quality comments. Or at least a more forward-thinking opinion on consumer hardware. Holding a different opinion is great, but dismissing on a modern cutting edge form-factor, one that has lots of love (as you can see even just in this thread), one that has painfully obvious benefits for reading, all because of "thickness" is daft considering the current crop of…

[deleted]

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#187

Post by rjh29 »

jerf wrote: post #48
rjh29 wrote: post #10

I've gone all the way around and came back. The Samsung Fold was awesome and convenient. But carrying an ipad mini and a phone is not that big a deal. It's quite nice that the ipad mini does not have whatsapp or SMS plugged into it, so I can use it exclusively for reading books or playing music. The cost of the iPad Mini + my phone was like $600 and the folds - even the 6th gen and above - are super unreliable, so ri…

How do you carry your iPad mini? Does it fit in pockets?

I have a small shoulder bag which also holds wet wipes, a bottle of water, raincoat in case it rains etc... can't really go back to just using my pockets now.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#188

Post by rjh29 »

stronglikedan wrote: post #41
rjh29 wrote: post #10

I've gone all the way around and came back. The Samsung Fold was awesome and convenient. But carrying an ipad mini and a phone is not that big a deal. It's quite nice that the ipad mini does not have whatsapp or SMS plugged into it, so I can use it exclusively for reading books or playing music. The cost of the iPad Mini + my phone was like $600 and the folds - even the 6th gen and above - are super unreliable, so ri…

> But carrying an ipad mini and a phone is not that big a deal. For you maybe, but for most it is, or we'd all be doing it.

Foldables are a niche market, so that's not a good argument.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#189

Post by bardackx »

game_the0ry wrote: post #40

Not a fan of foldables, if I am honest. Just a personal opinion. I do not like the it feels in the pocket bc the device needs to double its thickness when folding over. When a mobile device manufacturer (samsung, hauwei, now apple) makes a foldable, I get the impression they're running out of ideas with the "slate" form factor and are trying to stimulate sales. Personally, I would want that R&D spend and innovation t…

I just want to be able to use my apple pencil in my phone :(

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#190

Post by dymk »

mohsen1 wrote: post #30

A foldable iPhone will definitely solve one of the biggest problems at Apple. Foldable phones won't last 5-10 years. I can see Apple making all iPhone offerings foldable down the road

Do you actually know how many people are holding onto their iPhones for 5 to 10 years? I would bet it’s not that many.
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