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WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

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Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#141

Post by elxr »

cavemandaveman wrote: post #88
bluescrn wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The purpose of a foldable is to reduce the lifespan of a device, and therefore sell more devices

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.

They made the worst laptop keyboard of the last 3 decades, and put it in their $1000 laptops, AND then refused to update it until 2019 when it could've been fixed a whole year earlier.

Straight junk, forced onto all of their laptop buyers for multiple model-year updates.

Sure, they have a reputation for quality today (in general), but that wasn't even a decade ago and you've already forgot. Classic apple discourse.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#142

Post by philistine »

hbn wrote: post #89
cosmic_cheese wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More than that, it forces iPhone-only devs to get with the program and make their apps usable on larger screens too. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if next year they dissolve the iPhone/iPad distinction on the App Store altogether and maybe even remove the Catalyst toggle on the Mac App Store. If you make an iOS app, it’s also a full fledged iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS app too. I certainly wouldn’t mind. On my Mac th…

> I wouldn’t be surprised at all if next year they dissolve the iPhone/iPad distinction on the App Store altogether I hadn't thought about it but it makes sense and it makes me wonder how far this would reach throughout the rest of the OS. If the iPhone can fold out into an iPad Mini, will it get the rest of the iPadOS features? The iPad used to run iOS but they rebranded the version that runs on iPad to iPadOS to di…

You're just arguing about marketing. Apple has moved to a One device, one OS dichotomy they will not rethink because the foldable iPhone gets a version of the iPad's multitasking. And engineering-wise, when they moved the naming to iPad OS, nothing changed behind the curtain. The iPad still runs the same codebase it did before the marketing switch. They didn't fork anything.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#144

Post by internet2000 »

ARandomerDude wrote: post #71

> Starting price reportedly around $2,000. I'll guess it won't be a Vision Pro level disaster, but most people will skip this device unless the price drops substantially.

It'll be backordered for moooonths. They won't be able to make enough to meet the demand it'll get.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#145

Post by tromp »

HumblyTossed wrote: post #44

I wonder how they'll address the crease. My guess is one of two ways. Not address it at all. Or tell you that you don't see what you really see.

I think Oppo is the first to visibly eliminate the crease with their Find N6.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/i-tried-oppos-latest-foldable-pho...

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#146

Post by internet2000 »

tom1337 wrote: post #39

I don't think I get foldable phones. When is the extra space necessary? I mean most of them turn from a somewhat 9:16 aspect ratio to 1:1. You don't earn anything in space to consume media content. The only real improvement might be for multitasking?

You can read more Hacker News comments per screen without having to scroll.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#147

Post by Schiendelman »

superjan wrote: post #123
rjrjrjrj wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Careful what you wish for. Making devices easily repairable increases thickness.

Not neccesarily: https://www.ifixit.com/News/113171/iphone-air-teardown

The irony here is that the iPhone Air is exactly the test device for their foldable, so their foldable will probably be just as repairable.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#148

Post by fuzzythinker »

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…

Try the RAZR style folding phones. It trades length for thickness which is a godsend for me. I hate how unpocketable phones has been ever since like 10 years ago.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#149

Post by Schiendelman »

didip wrote: post #143

I don’t quite understand this new product strategy. I usually am a pro Apple consumer but how many high end users actually want this form factor?

I think you'll be very surprised at how successful this is.

Do you remember the Microsoft prototype for a folding tablet? It would have two different apps running, and you could use the spine to pull data between them, a kind of visual clipboard.

I don't think that workflow is as important now, but having two apps open (one on each side of a device) is going to be killer, and it's something they're clearly hinting at with some of their asks for developers (and with their iPad OS).

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#150

Post by sixothree »

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…

The iPad Mini is such an underrated device. For years they have been my primary computing device. The form factor is so close to a paperback book that it's easy to carry with you. Heck, it even fits in the front pocket of my Dockers. Toss in in the front compartment of my backpack.

A big thing about the form factor is the perception. If you are in a meeting and pull out a full size iPad or your laptop to look something up, it certainly feels different than using your mini. Same at a restaurant.

At the park with the dog I can carry it like a paperback, sit on the grass and read. It's perfect for everything except phone calls.

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