iPhone Duo • Hacker News Board

Re: iPhone Duo

#381

Post by markkanof » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

mywittyname wrote: post #327

MPSimmons wrote: post #232

Why do they insist on every new phone being bigger than the phones before them? I don't mind folding. I think it's cool, and a nice way to get a useful space. But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. This is even wider before unfolding. Who wants bigger phones? Who is like, "damn I wish I had a tablet that I could fold up and still barely fit in my pocket"? I want smaller phones. The…

A lot of people who are "mobile-only" prefer larger phones. > But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. I've never been able to use a smart phone with one hand, even an original iphone. So this is probably a really niche complaint that you and Shaq have.

I'm not Shaq and I also have this complaint. Moved recently from an iPhone 13 mini which I could easily use with one hand to a iPhone 17 Pro which I can not use with one hand.

Re: iPhone Duo

#382

Post by neovive » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

I wonder if there's a practical way to protect the phone with a case, given that it folds and the dual screen is a big selling point. It feels like one accidental drop on concrete or a ceramic floor would cause a lot of damage.

Re: iPhone Duo

#383

Post by jhatemyjob » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

MPSimmons wrote: post #232

Why do they insist on every new phone being bigger than the phones before them? I don't mind folding. I think it's cool, and a nice way to get a useful space. But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. This is even wider before unfolding. Who wants bigger phones? Who is like, "damn I wish I had a tablet that I could fold up and still barely fit in my pocket"? I want smaller phones. The…

The reason they keep getting bigger is because Apple is rotting. When a tech company rots, it gets bloated. That bloat seeps into the products.

Re: iPhone Duo

#384

Post by twalichiewicz » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

doctoboggan wrote: post #68

Just a reminder to everyone, always buy the second version of any new product category, even from Apple. The first duo will look primitive in a few refresh cycles. It does look really cool though!

Considering how many comments I regularly see on Hacker News from people who still love their M1 MacBooks, I’d say that’s not a particularly strong maxim.

Re: iPhone Duo

#385

Post by Someone1234 » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

It actually looks really nice; and I'd consider myself their target demographic conceptually. My last iPhone was a Pro for context.

But at a $2K starting price, plus likely another $200 for the storage size they really expect people to purchase, in this economy, it is so far outside of my price range it is dead to me.

Which is to say: Cool tech, but I've already dismissed it as something I want evaluate for my next phone just based on price alone.

That's maybe the real death-nail for folding phones: Price hasn't yet shifted to allow them to be mass market rather than enthusiast phones.

Re: iPhone Duo

#386

Post by pkulak » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

MPSimmons wrote: post #232

Why do they insist on every new phone being bigger than the phones before them? I don't mind folding. I think it's cool, and a nice way to get a useful space. But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. This is even wider before unfolding. Who wants bigger phones? Who is like, "damn I wish I had a tablet that I could fold up and still barely fit in my pocket"? I want smaller phones. The…

For me it's fitting the damn thing in my pocket. And unfortunately, width is the main limiter there, making this far WORSE than any other, despite the smaller screen. I can't imagine what this thing would do to your jeans. Apple needs to sell tiny man satchels with this thing.

Re: iPhone Duo

#387

Post by kspacewalk2 » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

mywittyname wrote: post #327

MPSimmons wrote: post #232

Why do they insist on every new phone being bigger than the phones before them? I don't mind folding. I think it's cool, and a nice way to get a useful space. But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. This is even wider before unfolding. Who wants bigger phones? Who is like, "damn I wish I had a tablet that I could fold up and still barely fit in my pocket"? I want smaller phones. The…

A lot of people who are "mobile-only" prefer larger phones. > But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. I've never been able to use a smart phone with one hand, even an original iphone. So this is probably a really niche complaint that you and Shaq have.

>A lot of people who are "mobile-only" prefer larger phones.

And a lot of people who are not prefer smaller ones.

>I've never been able to use a smart phone with one hand, even an original iphone. So this is probably a really niche complaint that you and Shaq have.

Not in the slightest. I've got a Galaxy A52, a large-ish phone for its time, and I can use it quite easily with one hand. I can't readily think of the small-hands equivalent of Shaq to compose a snarky "it's you" retort, and I'm sure it's not just you, but plenty people around you, with relatively normal hands, can use their phone with one hand.

Re: iPhone Duo

#388

Post by Ar-Curunir » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:49 PM UTC

mywittyname wrote: post #327

MPSimmons wrote: post #232

Why do they insist on every new phone being bigger than the phones before them? I don't mind folding. I think it's cool, and a nice way to get a useful space. But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. This is even wider before unfolding. Who wants bigger phones? Who is like, "damn I wish I had a tablet that I could fold up and still barely fit in my pocket"? I want smaller phones. The…

A lot of people who are "mobile-only" prefer larger phones. > But I have big hands, and I can't use my iphone 17 now without two hands. I've never been able to use a smart phone with one hand, even an original iphone. So this is probably a really niche complaint that you and Shaq have.

What? Plenty of people can use the smaller iPhones with just one hand.

Re: iPhone Duo

#389

Post by ggcr » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:49 PM UTC

improgrammer007 wrote: post #333

I love my iPhone SE 3rd gen. Perfect form factor. Neither too big nor too small to be able to do useful things on it. My hands and arms hurt using large phones. I am so used to using one hand to operate phones. My previous was iPhone SE 1st gen. Why do people need such a large phone in day to day life usage? Carry an iPad/tablet if you really need one.

> I am so used to using one hand to operate phones.

I even forgot about this. God damn it, I enjoyed the SE so much because of this.

Re: iPhone Duo

#390

Post by leptons » Wed, Sep 09, 2026, 6:49 PM UTC

sbdaman wrote: post #280

[flagged]

Beauty is subjective. That's not snark, that's reality. Nothing is "genuinely beautiful". You can't just call something beautiful and have everyone agree that it is in fact "beautiful". It's the most overused word in marketing.