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WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

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Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#261

Post by alsetmusic »

somenameforme wrote: post #227
Aperocky wrote: post #66

I think discussion here are missing that most people do not own a PC/laptop and if they do barely ever opens one, and not because they can't afford it, but it just didn't fit into their daily lives. This is obviously entirely different from the HN crowd. And in that case, a folding phone is huge! Having played with one that my parent use, it's such an upgrade for reading/scrolling experience. When we all are spending…

As of 2021, 78.4% of households own a laptop or desktop, compared to 85.6% with a smartphone. [1] And it's likely driven more by economics than lifestyle choices. It's 50.9% for households earning less than $25k, and 96.1% for households earning > $150k. The reason PC purchases plummeted is not because people stopped using them, but because if you don't use your PC for high end gaming (or a tiny handful of other esot…

My mother had an iMac that we bought for her (to replace the old one that wasn't receiving security updates) that remained in a box for two years because she was afraid of the upgrade complexity. There was none. Her whole computing life was Hotmail and web surfing.

She told me she loves her iPad for web stuff. I sent her one of my old MacBook Airs because she wanted a laptop. I don't know that she ever uses it. I sent an email asking once. She didn't reply. There are two full-blown Macs in her home. They don't count for anything.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#262

Post by pasc1878 »

dijit wrote: post #239
pasc1878 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a pain to carry an iPad and a phone if you are walking. You need either large pockets or a handbag. If it is warm then you don't want either,

those folding phones are permanently bulging and enormous. I feel like I'm the only person on earth sometimes who just wants the phone to be small so it's easy to carry and use one-handed. I want to live life when I'm out and about, the phone I have is the heaviest thing I am constantly carrying.

What I want is a phone/wifi in a watch - e.g. Dick Tracy like.

Then I am free to wander etc.

If I need a screen then I can attach an iPad or smart glasses to the wifi from the watch.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#263

Post by NetMageSCW »

duxup wrote: post #208
Aperocky wrote: post #66

I think discussion here are missing that most people do not own a PC/laptop and if they do barely ever opens one, and not because they can't afford it, but it just didn't fit into their daily lives. This is obviously entirely different from the HN crowd. And in that case, a folding phone is huge! Having played with one that my parent use, it's such an upgrade for reading/scrolling experience. When we all are spending…

What's huge about it for someone who doesn't own a PC laptop? Every example I've seen or tried using a fold-able was just a regular smartphone with a screen that displayed apps that looked like the app doesn't fit on the phone very well. The few that did fit didn't seem to provide any real advantage. That and the fold-able users I know all run into reliability issues with screens breaking over time.

That would be an Android issue - Android tablets have the same issues. An iPhone foldable will have a much more cohesive ecosystem just like the iPad.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#264

Post by arikrahman »

vidarh wrote: post #258
arikrahman wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With my foldable, I find that I hardly use the full display and just use the main screen.

I'm opposite. My phone is only folded while in my pocket.

I find myself unable to fold it in public as I'm worried it puts a target on my back. Albeit, with more folds coming to market it will be seen less as a premium.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#265

Post by sunnybeetroot »

chrisco255 wrote: post #230
JKCalhoun wrote: post #99

I instead see these sort of things (add the AppleVision Pro as well) as Apple feeling obliged to respond to "the public" (shareholders?). "Samsung has this cool foldable phone—they seem to be taking the design mantle away from Apple these days." "I hear this VR thing is the future of computing. Why isn't Apple in this space?" I suspect even in the Jobs-era you might point to the iPad as Apple being pressured into res…

> I hear this VR thing is the future of computing. Why isn't Apple in this space? Apple released the Vision Pro, which is AR

It is MR, it supports both.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#266

Post by Jnr »

alwillis wrote: post #247
skywhopper wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, they ran out of ideas in 2010, if not before.

The MacBook Neo is a new idea. It’s also a device most Apple skeptics didn’t think was possible.

Nothing new about it. It is a thin laptop, similar to Macbook Air which they have had for many many years.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#267

Post by duxup »

vidarh wrote: post #259
duxup wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's huge about it for someone who doesn't own a PC laptop? Every example I've seen or tried using a fold-able was just a regular smartphone with a screen that displayed apps that looked like the app doesn't fit on the phone very well. The few that did fit didn't seem to provide any real advantage. That and the fold-able users I know all run into reliability issues with screens breaking over time.

For me, it's entirely ended my tablet use, and now rarely reach for a laptop. I still have a desktop with two large screens, but I don't feel a need for anything in between any more. The screen is big enough for me that given it's always in my pocket it's far more convenient to grab my phone than getting up to grab my tablet or laptop.

What are you doing on your fold device that works as well on a tablet but not a phone?

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#269

Post by ncr100 »

trueno wrote: post #220
arikrahman wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With my foldable, I find that I hardly use the full display and just use the main screen.

i think about how little i use my ipad mini and yeah, like. its so easy to idealize these pieces of tech in your head and dream up scenarios. reminded of my coworker when he got the surface duo and how much his meeting life was gonna change. he was back on an iphone in like a month, felt like at every corner he was trying to invent reasons to use it but i dont know. it's interesting, im a nerd and enjoy nerdy things.…

My Reality, not my idealism, with the '23 Pixel Fold:

It makes the screen bigger, which is great for photograph viewing at a further distance from the device, and generally larger amounts of text on screen, at the cost of a 30% heavier and more delicate device.

My eyes are 52 and they appreciate the larger characters, often times.

Re: WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding

#270

Post by ncr100 »

jhbadger wrote: post #224
Aperocky wrote: post #66

I think discussion here are missing that most people do not own a PC/laptop and if they do barely ever opens one, and not because they can't afford it, but it just didn't fit into their daily lives. This is obviously entirely different from the HN crowd. And in that case, a folding phone is huge! Having played with one that my parent use, it's such an upgrade for reading/scrolling experience. When we all are spending…

A folding phone basically turns into a smallish tablet. That may have an attraction to some people, but even fewer people own or want a tablet than own or want a PC. And the people who do want tablets already have a better one than what a gimmicky folding phone can give them.

I use my foldable as a phone until I want to see things bigger.

Pretty straight forward to make it bigger, with a foldable.

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