Tangentially related: I am disappointed that the foldable phones seem to have eaten up the market for small pocket-sized phones. I want a reliable phone with modern features and a 4 inch screen. I...
Tangentially related: I am disappointed that the foldable phones seem to have eaten up the market for small pocket-sized phones. I want a reliable phone with modern features and a 4 inch screen. I don't want a tablet in my pocket. I don't want a tablet at all. If anything I want to spend less time on my phone. I do rely on my phone to look up transit schedules and order at restaurants with a QR code, so alas, I am stuck with a 6-inch-plus smart phone for now.
On one hand, I really wish I could buy a modern mini. On the other hand: when no major phonemaker caters to your device preference for 5 years, you do save an awful lot of money on upgrades and...
On one hand, I really wish I could buy a modern mini. On the other hand: when no major phonemaker caters to your device preference for 5 years, you do save an awful lot of money on upgrades and time on (lack of) big screen phone addiction.
I am worried about what to do if something happens to my 13 mini, though -- the used market is way more expensive than when I originally got mine a couple of years ago. And I would literally rather go phoneless than buy the smallest modern iPhone, it just doesn't fit my hand, pocket, or life.
I often wish my brain had accepted the size of the 6S all those years ago. I downgraded to the SE 2016 just a year into my 6S' life because the size drove me crazy. Fortunately my 13 mini is right in between the two in size, but good lord every modern phone feels like a brick to me. How on earth do people run or even walk comfortably with these things?
My battery health is getting into the low 80s and I’d have liked to replace the 13 mini with a n mini. I guess I’ll just keep waiting. I respect foldable phones, but it’s not the product for me.
My battery health is getting into the low 80s and I’d have liked to replace the 13 mini with a n mini. I guess I’ll just keep waiting. I respect foldable phones, but it’s not the product for me.
As somebody who lives in an area where the nearest Apple store is almost 2 hours away and in another country I wish that this wasn't the stock answer. Speaking of which, I broke my screen last...
As somebody who lives in an area where the nearest Apple store is almost 2 hours away and in another country I wish that this wasn't the stock answer.
Speaking of which, I broke my screen last week while in that other country, but still far from an Apple store, and had to stop into a local repair shop to get a refurb screen installed to be able to navigate, use translation, etc. And even though it's a real Apple display, the phone still warns me that it's been replaced and the startup animation is not as smooth (I accidentally cancelled the option to finish setup and pair the new display, and cannot get back into it).
Yeah I basically wouldn’t buy an Apple product if there wasn’t at least a licensed service center within a tolerable distance. At least a battery servicing is a non-essential thing though. So you...
Yeah I basically wouldn’t buy an Apple product if there wasn’t at least a licensed service center within a tolerable distance.
At least a battery servicing is a non-essential thing though. So you can sort of drop in if you’re ever in a city if you can plan ahead enough to set up an appointment. I’m planning on taking my 15 Pro instead of upgrading this year.
Modern features are battery hogs (on-device AI, computational photography) and a folding screen lets you pack 2x the battery in something that occupies the same footprint. It’s the same reason...
I want a reliable phone with modern features and a 4 inch screen.
Modern features are battery hogs (on-device AI, computational photography) and a folding screen lets you pack 2x the battery in something that occupies the same footprint.
It’s the same reason phablets/big phones initially became popular, it was a way to get all day battery life even with poorly optimized software without making it too fat to hold comfortably.
If you want a phone that was “modern” 5 years ago I think the assumption is you’d be better off with a dumbphone, many of which run Android now and can call you an Uber or load a browser.
That would be great if it were true but foldables don't really have larger batteries. They often have smaller ones because they have to be split in the half, they have to accommodate the hinge,...
That would be great if it were true but foldables don't really have larger batteries. They often have smaller ones because they have to be split in the half, they have to accommodate the hinge, etc. Bigger screens allow bigger batteries but foldables do not.
It’s a smaller battery than an equivalently sized unfolded device (iPad Mini), but it’s a slightly larger battery than a folded one (it has I think an hour of extra use time over the 18 Pro).
It’s a smaller battery than an equivalently sized unfolded device (iPad Mini), but it’s a slightly larger battery than a folded one (it has I think an hour of extra use time over the 18 Pro).
I don't get why they would simply not make the phone thicker then, getting rid of the camera bump as a side benefit. Do actual users even care about few extra milimeters on an incredibly thin...
I don't get why they would simply not make the phone thicker then, getting rid of the camera bump as a side benefit.
Do actual users even care about few extra milimeters on an incredibly thin phone or is it simply to have something to put on marketing materials in absence of meaningful improvements?
Year over year getting thinner isn’t noticeable. But those year-over-year improvements add up so after 3 years you have a lot more battery or a thinner phone. Also a few extra millimeters matter...
Year over year getting thinner isn’t noticeable. But those year-over-year improvements add up so after 3 years you have a lot more battery or a thinner phone.
Also a few extra millimeters matter if you care about how your clothes fit.
Those are features I couldn't care less. A small phone without AI and other bell and whistles could last longer and do the exactly same things I currently do in my iPhone SE. It's a shame that...
Modern features are battery hogs (on-device AI, computational photography)
Those are features I couldn't care less. A small phone without AI and other bell and whistles could last longer and do the exactly same things I currently do in my iPhone SE. It's a shame that companies don't supply the demand for utilitarian phones. The closest is the iPhone 17e, but that's expensive and could be smaller.
Apple put out a small sized phone for 2 years, iPhone 12 and 13 Minis. They were awesome. I loved my 12 Mini. They sold like butt so the line was discontinued. It turns out that those of us who...
Apple put out a small sized phone for 2 years, iPhone 12 and 13 Minis. They were awesome. I loved my 12 Mini. They sold like butt so the line was discontinued. It turns out that those of us who want a small one-handed phone are a tiny minority.
I think they gave up on smaller phones. I, too, have been waiting and hoping. We’re just not enough of the market share to make it worth their time. It’s onwards to bigger, shinier and more...
I think they gave up on smaller phones. I, too, have been waiting and hoping. We’re just not enough of the market share to make it worth their time. It’s onwards to bigger, shinier and more expensive across the board.
I'm typing this on an Ikko Mind One, it's pretty cool but I'm not sure I like it enough to make it my daily driver. There's also the Bluefox NX1 and the Bluefox Aura A1, and everything from...
I'm typing this on an Ikko Mind One, it's pretty cool but I'm not sure I like it enough to make it my daily driver.
There's also the Bluefox NX1 and the Bluefox Aura A1, and everything from Unihertz. Any of these options will come with compromises, but they are small!
I've literally never used the AI features, like never even opened the mode. For that I just installed Claude. I bought it because it's tiny. More than small, the form factor is just weird, and I...
I've literally never used the AI features, like never even opened the mode. For that I just installed Claude.
I bought it because it's tiny. More than small, the form factor is just weird, and I hard wish more phones were weird.
Compromises: 4g only, Android 15 and you can't count on updates from these small manufacturers, the flip camera feels fragile.
Pluses: form factor, and it doesn't seem glitchy or slow. Everything just works like it should.
Surprised they even bothered with a foldable phone, considering how easily they wear down and break. The only real advantage you get from using one is having double, even triple the screen real...
Surprised they even bothered with a foldable phone, considering how easily they wear down and break. The only real advantage you get from using one is having double, even triple the screen real estate.
At this point they're well and truly aping Samsung and Huawei...
You must have gotten lucky... or maybe I'm just unlucky. I have had the galaxy 5 fold for about two years and have replaced it twice because of the hinge. The first one was definitely from...
You must have gotten lucky... or maybe I'm just unlucky. I have had the galaxy 5 fold for about two years and have replaced it twice because of the hinge. The first one was definitely from falling. The second one I have no idea, the hinge did fail though. Given the quality of the refurbishment on the second and third, I wouldn't be surprised if the hinges were oem
Maybe you're unlucky? (/s) From what I've seen, almost none of my friends or co-workers who have folding phones have had issues with them. Did they charge you for a repair? The only work I had to...
Maybe you're unlucky? (/s)
From what I've seen, almost none of my friends or co-workers who have folding phones have had issues with them.
Did they charge you for a repair? The only work I had to have done was getting them to replace the inner screen protector after my son smeared paint on it and it wouldn't wash off. Samsung just sent me to a repair place and did it for free.
I have insurance on it. I think I had to pay $99(us) for shipping/copay. I honestly think I'd only be on my second, if the refurbished ones were better. The first one it landed on the hinge...
I have insurance on it. I think I had to pay $99(us) for shipping/copay. I honestly think I'd only be on my second, if the refurbished ones were better. The first one it landed on the hinge corner(folded) on tile floor, pretty much worst case scenario.
I realize this is anecdotal, but I've had a foldable for years now and I open it all the time. Whether it's showing off a picture of my dog, watching a movie, or looking at electrical schematics,...
I realize this is anecdotal, but I've had a foldable for years now and I open it all the time. Whether it's showing off a picture of my dog, watching a movie, or looking at electrical schematics, having a tablet that fits in your pocket is insanely handy.
Plus, if one screen goes kaput you still have a fully functional phone.
Yeah this feels like a very silly discussion. The products are popular. They're getting more popular. People say this stuff every time Apple releases a new product.
Yeah this feels like a very silly discussion. The products are popular. They're getting more popular. People say this stuff every time Apple releases a new product.
Same here, owned a Z Fold4, now on a Z Fold7, opened both all the time and make extensive use of split-screen or just watching media on the big screen. The only time I use the outer screen is for...
Same here, owned a Z Fold4, now on a Z Fold7, opened both all the time and make extensive use of split-screen or just watching media on the big screen.
The only time I use the outer screen is for doomscrolling or texting, everything else on the folding screen.
It's quite a bit cheaper than I thought it'd be. Pretty much the same as what Samsung sells the fold for. Would need to see it in person in an apple store, but from the previews it does look...
It's quite a bit cheaper than I thought it'd be. Pretty much the same as what Samsung sells the fold for.
Would need to see it in person in an apple store, but from the previews it does look beautiful. I imagine the app support would be quite a lot better than on Android foldable as well, given the track record with iPad.
Would definitely consider picking one up, if nothing else for apple pencil support.
Compared to other foldables? The software execution looks polished and well thought through. From experience, iOS developers are much more receptive to actually updating their apps to fit new form...
Compared to other foldables? The software execution looks polished and well thought through. From experience, iOS developers are much more receptive to actually updating their apps to fit new form factors (famously iPad has far more applications that don't just stretch the app compared to android tablets). IP68 rating.
Compared to a normal phone? A specific thing I want to do with it is casual plein air painting. I do it today with either the 11in iPad Pro or one of those portable watercolor sets but both are fairly bulky. There's often times I end up somewhere and I'd like to paint something but I didn't really bring anything. This would be something I always have on me.
Besides that, the main thing would be content consumption - watching videos or reading on the bigger screen. Comics/manga would do extremely well in that form factor.
For me my main two portable devices are my phone and my tablet. There's always going to be some novelty and value in combining the two into one device so I don't have to manage multiple devices....
For me my main two portable devices are my phone and my tablet. There's always going to be some novelty and value in combining the two into one device so I don't have to manage multiple devices. Having previously tried a foldable (albeit a used older model that I only kept for the summer), it's nice having a bigger screen for looking at the map, watching videos, admiring photos, and even the odd multitasking. For when I wanted to plan a trip while I was away from home, it was cool having maps and my notes app side by side, instead of having to constantly switch between apps
Folding phones will remain a compromised phone and compromised tablet experience, but to some the compromises are outweighed by the benefit of having a tablet in your pocket.
Sharing sentiments with @stu2b50, definitely cheaper than I thought it'd be too. I like what Apple have done here, the UI changes are definitely very Apple. The animation on the screen as you fold...
Sharing sentiments with @stu2b50, definitely cheaper than I thought it'd be too. I like what Apple have done here, the UI changes are definitely very Apple. The animation on the screen as you fold and unfold is a delightful touch. I'm a little iffy on all the UI being on the right side. If you hold the phone in your left hand, you'd have to stretch over to the other side. I imagine it might be adjustable but who knows.
I'm a little torn on if I want to upgrade. I've got a 15 Pro Max that still functions just fine. The battery is a little degraded though, might just end up repairing that in the end. I'm not sure how much I'd need a folding phone, I don't really do much on my phone nowadays. I also have a separate tablet for media consumption. As an American, it is my civic duty to spend money on things I don't really need, our economy relies on it :P
I think they said it can he held in any orientation, so I suspect it will support left handed holding by holding it the other way up? Although I might be wrong with the microphone/speaker for...
I think they said it can he held in any orientation, so I suspect it will support left handed holding by holding it the other way up? Although I might be wrong with the microphone/speaker for using it as an actual phone being the wrong way up if you hold it left handed…
I don’t hate the idea of this tho I’d want to feel it in my hands and play with it at a store before any final opinions. I’ll even go as far as saying it looks pretty cool. But the price point to...
I don’t hate the idea of this tho I’d want to feel it in my hands and play with it at a store before any final opinions. I’ll even go as far as saying it looks pretty cool. But the price point to me is an automatic hard pass. Come on… $3000+ CAD for this? If this is what they price it at, it means people are willing to pay this. I don’t know what’s worse: the blatant corporate greed or the fact that people keep accepting this type of money grab and opening their wallets just to see Instagram and YouTube bigger.
The price is pretty inline with other foldables on the market, I don’t think Apple could’ve really gone much lower here. Even rumors were expecting a price of $2500US/3500 Canadian.
The price is pretty inline with other foldables on the market, I don’t think Apple could’ve really gone much lower here. Even rumors were expecting a price of $2500US/3500 Canadian.
I'd be interested in getting one of these, but...$2000 for a phone is a bit much. Like I know the price is actually decent for newer tech like this. But I paid like $1800 a couple years ago for my...
I'd be interested in getting one of these, but...$2000 for a phone is a bit much. Like I know the price is actually decent for newer tech like this. But I paid like $1800 a couple years ago for my M3 MBP. A full on actual computer. Plus, still got like 9mos to go on my payment plan for my 16 Pro (which I thought was a lot at $1300). Which serves me perfectly well. And I expect it to do so for at least 5yrs (got like 3.5yrs to go).
I do have a friend who has a foldable Samsung. He says he's had no problems with it for the last couple of years or so. But he'll never get another because of how expensive it was. Think it was also as much as my MBP.
True...but I can't do all the things I do on my MBP on my phone. Like game (yes, I game a bit on my MBP). Which has always been a bit weird to me. All this power inside an iPhone, or even an iPad,...
True...but I can't do all the things I do on my MBP on my phone. Like game (yes, I game a bit on my MBP).
Which has always been a bit weird to me. All this power inside an iPhone, or even an iPad, comparable to perhaps a Macbook Air or better, yet for what?
Absolutely agree. For all the computational power these things have, it’s about time the EU mandated a big red “I know of the danger, now give me a terminal/root shell” button on mobile phones.
Absolutely agree. For all the computational power these things have, it’s about time the EU mandated a big red “I know of the danger, now give me a terminal/root shell” button on mobile phones.
It actually looks pretty nice. I’ll check it out in the store. I love how they used the sqrt(2) aspect ratio just like with paper so it has the same ratio when folded in half.
It actually looks pretty nice. I’ll check it out in the store. I love how they used the sqrt(2) aspect ratio just like with paper so it has the same ratio when folded in half.
While the quality of the device looks really good, I was thinking that the root 2 aspect ratio makes the folded up mode (the way it looks when you're not using it as a tablet) essentially a 4:3...
While the quality of the device looks really good, I was thinking that the root 2 aspect ratio makes the folded up mode (the way it looks when you're not using it as a tablet) essentially a 4:3 smartphone, which looks kind of uncanny. I'm so used to smartphones being widescreen that it makes it look kinda chunky.
Seeing this made me realize how much I’m just out of smartphones as a whole. I have one at home, that mostly stays at home, to access banking apps. I also have to use it while travelling. My daily...
Seeing this made me realize how much I’m just out of smartphones as a whole. I have one at home, that mostly stays at home, to access banking apps. I also have to use it while travelling. My daily driver is an old lightphone (I think the number two or number one model, I don’t remember. It’s old and I use it for nothing except texting and making calls.)
Life without smartphone is just so much better. I’m at the point where I can’t imagine anymore why anyone would spend that amount of money for this piece of tech… just seems like the capitalist machine frantically searching for ever more absurd ways of extracting more cash from us.
What an odd form factor. It seems wider than most phones (even other foldables), but maybe it's just shorter? I can see the value of a folding phone much more than I can see the value of an iPad....
What an odd form factor. It seems wider than most phones (even other foldables), but maybe it's just shorter?
I can see the value of a folding phone much more than I can see the value of an iPad. This plus a macbook seems like it would cover most people's non-artistic needs... provided Apple doesn't kneecap iOS's dual-screen functionality in order to maintain the value proposition of the iPad. Not the greatest first impressions of the sidebar UX, but maybe it will work.
I had heard things about this phone having a 'nearly invisible crease' (paraphrasing), but I don't believe it. Will wait for the JerryRigEverything teardown to make any real judgements. It also makes sense that this would come after the iPhone Air, since thickness seems to be the major hurdle for these things.
And as always, the value of new phones always kinda comes down to 'look at these new camera features!'. I wonder if there's any other frontiers for the industry to target? Obviously the other one I can think of is bring back the headphone jack with a super nice DAC, but I can't see a market for that like I can for a good camera.
I think the whole value proposition of this is to not have to buy an iPad. An iPad Mini is $700 for the same storage tier. An iPhone 17 starts at $800. The Duo has way better specs than the former...
I can see the value of a folding phone much more than I can see the value of an iPad. This plus a macbook seems like it would cover most people's non-artistic needs... provided Apple doesn't kneecap iOS's dual-screen functionality in order to maintain the value proposition of the iPad.
I think the whole value proposition of this is to not have to buy an iPad. An iPad Mini is $700 for the same storage tier. An iPhone 17 starts at $800. The Duo has way better specs than the former and decently better than the latter so $500 extra seems like it’d be tolerable. The main trade-off would be it doesn’t have as good a camera as the 18 Pro.
They talked a lot about local AI. I think a properly executed version of this would genuinely be something people would upgrade for. Like if you can bark some procedure at your phone and trust...
They talked a lot about local AI. I think a properly executed version of this would genuinely be something people would upgrade for. Like if you can bark some procedure at your phone and trust it’ll get it right that’s super convenient. “Ask Joe when the BBQ is and add the event to my calendar.”
I’ve been testing the new Siri AI through the developer betas and it works really well so far, at least for my simple usecases. They’ve updated their first-party apps to allow Siri to dig into...
I’ve been testing the new Siri AI through the developer betas and it works really well so far, at least for my simple usecases. They’ve updated their first-party apps to allow Siri to dig into them for context so I’ve been able to very easily just ask Siri to do essentially what you’ve asked. My friends and I have group chats to plan gifts for each others birthdays so I asked Siri “what were some gift ideas we had for X for their birthday last year” and it managed to go through that conversation and give me a list quite easily.
I think we’ll see more casual AI usage and smaller locally-run models become more mainstream (I hope) now that Apple have pushed that into the hands of the public.
I think it's just an optical illusion, but some of the shots of a single hand holding the phone look ridiculous. Like they took a normal phone/hand and stretched them both out. Maybe they found a...
I think it's just an optical illusion, but some of the shots of a single hand holding the phone look ridiculous. Like they took a normal phone/hand and stretched them both out. Maybe they found a long-fingered hand model?
On a 2D plane yeah, but thickness is like 1.5 of my 15 Pro and I already find this think kind of chonky with a case on. If I had the fold I might be tempted to go caseless though.
On a 2D plane yeah, but thickness is like 1.5 of my 15 Pro and I already find this think kind of chonky with a case on.
If I had the fold I might be tempted to go caseless though.
Way more pictures with hands provided here haha - thank you for sharing. It does not look as massive in these photos, but still does not look comfortable one-handed.
Way more pictures with hands provided here haha - thank you for sharing. It does not look as massive in these photos, but still does not look comfortable one-handed.
I find it absolutely fascinating that something niche like a foldable phone exists but no one will ever make any number of phone configurations that a appreciable minority wants. E.g. small phone,...
I find it absolutely fascinating that something niche like a foldable phone exists but no one will ever make any number of phone configurations that a appreciable minority wants. E.g. small phone, no camera bump phone etc.
This cannot have a large potential market, not at these prices. This is at least two times the price of a solid new laptop or about four times of a good used business class one.
Seems like it has a pretty proven market at this point? The Z Fold 8, which has a similar msrp of $1900, has sold an estimate 2.9 million units so far. That’s more than the entire pixel 11 line...
Seems like it has a pretty proven market at this point?
The Z Fold 8, which has a similar msrp of $1900, has sold an estimate 2.9 million units so far. That’s more than the entire pixel 11 line (pixel 11, pro, xl).
Curious about your source for the Pixel 11 sales. I did a quick google with a few word variations and found no concrete data considering it was only recently released.
Curious about your source for the Pixel 11 sales. I did a quick google with a few word variations and found no concrete data considering it was only recently released.
Most of those niche form factors people want they usually want sort of cheap. Like I’d like a mini, but mostly the iPhone Minis are quite expensive with old hardware. This is a result of how...
Most of those niche form factors people want they usually want sort of cheap. Like I’d like a mini, but mostly the iPhone Minis are quite expensive with old hardware. This is a result of how returns to scale work. It costs a lot of money to get these production lines up. At the volumes they sell more niche product lines they can’t set up a new line so they end up using the tooling for older generation products to give those manufacturing lines longer lifespans as they depreciate.
They CAN afford to blow a lot of money on stuff like this because it’s very high margin, so it can justify getting the tooling up. Then they can reuse that tooling now that they’ve figured it out for future product lines.
For example, this very fancy hinge technology? That’s probably gonna be useful for other devices that need durable hinges with a display in them like, perhaps, a folding set of VR goggles. The iPhone Air helped them figure out how to fit all the iPhone’s brains into a tiny thumb-sized chunk of the phone. That came in handy later for the folding phone. It’ll come in handy again for all sorts of wearables they might be experimenting with.
Ooo, I like this. I really do. Yes, it's expensive, and unnecessary, but it's the first time since the original iPhone I got excited about a mobile phone again. I don't care what anyone else...
Ooo, I like this. I really do. Yes, it's expensive, and unnecessary, but it's the first time since the original iPhone I got excited about a mobile phone again.
I don't care what anyone else thinks, this is gonna be my next phone. It's adorable. :)
I honestly would have considered getting a folding/flip iPhone if it were the standard style, just like a regular flip phone. I hate the shape and size of what they put out. I don't understand why...
I honestly would have considered getting a folding/flip iPhone if it were the standard style, just like a regular flip phone. I hate the shape and size of what they put out. I don't understand why they couldn't just keep the standard shape when opened.
This is coming from someone who has Apple devices but isn't a fangirl. I just use them because they're idiot-proof, and I'm really good at breaking software irreparably, so something so closed can't be tinkered with to the point that it needs to be completely reset. I would prefer to use something much more privacy- and open-source-oriented, but I also know that I am not the kind of person that is capable of using those devices without ruining them.
Unfortunately, some apps that I absolutely can't live without (like for my stupid CGM) aren't available for other devices (actually NVM, but leaving it as an example, because this is new to me that it's available on Android), and the app that my dance studio uses to sign up for classes each week.
That said, I'm planning on keeping my phone for as long as I can because it works and it does basically what I need it to do. I love the color of the new 18 pro burgundy, but it isn't calling to me to upgrade my phone right now, since I would rather have had a reasonably shaped flip phone.
Yeah I was surprised at the price, thought it would be at least $2500-$2600 for the base unit. For $2000 I might just pick one up on a lark. If nothing else I was considering an iPad mini as a...
Yeah I was surprised at the price, thought it would be at least $2500-$2600 for the base unit. For $2000 I might just pick one up on a lark. If nothing else I was considering an iPad mini as a sketchbook anyway.
I make more than the average software engineer and i would literally rather be phone less than pay APPLE a MINIMUM of two thousand dollars for a concept they came up with 5 years after its well...
I make more than the average software engineer and i would literally rather be phone less than pay APPLE a MINIMUM of two thousand dollars for a concept they came up with 5 years after its well adapted (and still way too expensive) in the Android Market.
Huh, what price were they expecting? It’s basically the same price as the Samsung fold (Z fold is $1900 and Z fold ultra is $2100) and Samsung has had many years to optimize their offering...
Huh, what price were they expecting? It’s basically the same price as the Samsung fold (Z fold is $1900 and Z fold ultra is $2100) and Samsung has had many years to optimize their offering supply-chain wise, not to mention Samsung usually prices more aggressively.
Another phone also being ridiculously expensive doesn't mean people won't have issues with the price of this one. $2k+ for a phone is too much for most people.
Another phone also being ridiculously expensive doesn't mean people won't have issues with the price of this one. $2k+ for a phone is too much for most people.
Then they won’t buy it? I don’t understand why people seem to be upset about it. I would love to own a Vacheron Constantin but $30k for a watch is too much for my budget so I don’t. Such is life.
Then they won’t buy it? I don’t understand why people seem to be upset about it. I would love to own a Vacheron Constantin but $30k for a watch is too much for my budget so I don’t. Such is life.
Because years of horrible consumer practices that should be punished (planned obsolence, warrenty voided if you look at it wrong, etc etc) means that, for me, it is extremely frustrating to see an...
Because years of horrible consumer practices that should be punished (planned obsolence, warrenty voided if you look at it wrong, etc etc) means that, for me, it is extremely frustrating to see an awful company like this putting out a phone for this much, and tricking consumers into thinking they're getting $2000+ worth of goods when they aren't.
I'm not going to buy it, but I can still be upset and appaled to see this be brought onto the market and it just be okay.
What planned obsolescence are you talking about? ~ sent from my iPhone 11 Pro, a 7 year old phone going strong and still supported in the upcoming iOS release
What planned obsolescence are you talking about?
~ sent from my iPhone 11 Pro, a 7 year old phone going strong and still supported in the upcoming iOS release
Batterygate explicitly wasn’t planned obsolescence. It’s even on the Wikipedia page lol. You can say it’s bad engineering, but it was clearly unintended. It wasn't a "hehe we're secretly slowing...
Batterygate explicitly wasn’t planned obsolescence. It’s even on the Wikipedia page lol. You can say it’s bad engineering, but it was clearly unintended.
It wasn't a "hehe we're secretly slowing down their phones so they buy iphone 7" it's "oh shit we released a phone where the SoC can try to draw more voltage than the battery can supply, and randomly shuts down as a result".
The top-level niche phone is also not a regular consumer good. You can replace it with anything. If you don’t want a $60k BMW you can buy an Accord. It doesn’t make sense to get mad at the...
The top-level niche phone is also not a regular consumer good. You can replace it with anything. If you don’t want a $60k BMW you can buy an Accord. It doesn’t make sense to get mad at the Bavarians for making the BMW, or even for Honda for making an Acura TSX.
None of the $2k foldables from other manufacturers seem to be pissing people off with their mere existence. I think people are just looking for reasons to be angry about something on the internet,...
None of the $2k foldables from other manufacturers seem to be pissing people off with their mere existence.
I think people are just looking for reasons to be angry about something on the internet, as usual.
I was thinking about the same thing reading this thread. I’ve never seen any internet drama when Honor released their triple fold phone, for example… Quite the opposite. There’s so much choice on...
I was thinking about the same thing reading this thread. I’ve never seen any internet drama when Honor released their triple fold phone, for example… Quite the opposite.
There’s so much choice on the smartphone market, that to me it feels really silly how people get so riled about something that doesn’t really impact them in any way whatsoever.
Also I specifically emboldens STARTS FROM This fucking thing STARTS at TWO. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. I can buy a laptop that's more akin to a murder weapon than anything else for that price, AND THATS...
Also I specifically emboldens STARTS FROM
This fucking thing STARTS at TWO. THOUSAND. DOLLARS.
I can buy a laptop that's more akin to a murder weapon than anything else for that price, AND THATS THE BASE FUCKING MODEL.
So uh, yes, you are correct. I was pointing out that it was FUCKING ABSURD.
Absolutely absurd. A little sad seeing so many comments saying “oh this is fine, it’s just like other folding phones”. IF smartphones were more optional these days, and one could buy an OK...
Absolutely absurd. A little sad seeing so many comments saying “oh this is fine, it’s just like other folding phones”.
IF smartphones were more optional these days, and one could buy an OK smartphone for say $200, I’d say, sure! Apple, Samsung, are luxury items for those who want the ultra top end and have all the cash to spend. But it’s not like that. You can barely find anything decent for under $700-$1000. Half the brands disappeared. Motorola used to have good options. Sony had so many cool affordable Android phones early on. The Pixel used to be more affordable. Etc.
A smartphone is practically mandatory these days. They created a product that is mandatory and now they keep making it more and more expensive. I’m very curious what the regular iPhone 18 will be “starting at” come spring. $2000?
Moto still has good options. I just bought my wife a 2024 G Power (had more RAM than the newer ones) for $137 back in April. I have a Pixel 7 Pro (which I myself received for free as a hand me...
Moto still has good options. I just bought my wife a 2024 G Power (had more RAM than the newer ones) for $137 back in April.
I have a Pixel 7 Pro (which I myself received for free as a hand me down) and the G Power seems basically the same and has features I miss from my other Motorola phones.
In the history of Smart Phones I think I only ever bought one Flagship Phone, which was a $800 HTC in like 2010 or something. That phone showed me there was no real benefit to buying an extremely expensive phone over a cheap ass one; they're functionally the same and they last, in terms of usefulness, the same amount of time.
Preach. I've been rocking a Moto G Power for like six or seven years now, and they suit me just fine. I've never needed to fix the charge port or replace a display or anything. Methinks there's a...
Preach. I've been rocking a Moto G Power for like six or seven years now, and they suit me just fine. I've never needed to fix the charge port or replace a display or anything.
Methinks there's a bit of an assumption about price vis a vis quality going into that statement.
This isn’t a mystery. Apple keeps the prices on its product classes pretty constant. The 18 will sell for about what the 17 sells for now, which is ~$900 to start. Then the 17 will sell for about...
A smartphone is practically mandatory these days. They created a product that is mandatory and now they keep making it more and more expensive. I’m very curious what the regular iPhone 18 will be “starting at” come spring. $2000?
This isn’t a mystery. Apple keeps the prices on its product classes pretty constant. The 18 will sell for about what the 17 sells for now, which is ~$900 to start. Then the 17 will sell for about what a new 16 sells for now, which is about $800. Why on Earth do you think they’d be selling the base model phone for the same price as a luxury model, bleeding edge product?
I buy all my tech second hand, directly from the previous owner. This is especially easy with Apple devices because there are so many people discarding nearly pristine items as soon as they can...
I buy all my tech second hand, directly from the previous owner. This is especially easy with Apple devices because there are so many people discarding nearly pristine items as soon as they can get their hands on a newer model. It's a bit more work and you have to develop an eye for potential scammers and check the device diligently, but it's fun! And doing the extra work leads to my appreciating my device more. It feels special, one of a kind, even though obviously it isn't. Because it's the one I managed to hunt down from the confines of the www, the one that had the exact specs and colour I was after, an attractive price tag to boot and that was previously owned by a nice person.
I think it satisfies my hunting instinct, which is another plus really: I won't have to waste money and my mental health on a trophy hunting spree somewhere in Africa.
The ultimate upside is of course that Apple gets 0 euros of my hard earned money.
You realize silicon and RAM costs have skyrocketed due to data center demand right? You can still get featurephones that are much cheaper than the flagship smartphones, but the ones that can still...
You realize silicon and RAM costs have skyrocketed due to data center demand right?
You can still get featurephones that are much cheaper than the flagship smartphones, but the ones that can still run Android apps that are any good will still run you about $300-$500.
I do realize and frankly I don't care. The way I see it the big corporation will use any excuse - this one included - to make us pay ten-fold for their shitty gadgets.
I do realize and frankly I don't care. The way I see it the big corporation will use any excuse - this one included - to make us pay ten-fold for their shitty gadgets.
My very powerful PC bought 4 months ago - RX 9070 XT, 9800X3D, 32GB RAM - costed less than the cheapest iPhone Duo. Paid 17800 DKK for the PC and the cheapest iPhone Duo costs 17999.
My very powerful PC bought 4 months ago - RX 9070 XT, 9800X3D, 32GB RAM - costed less than the cheapest iPhone Duo. Paid 17800 DKK for the PC and the cheapest iPhone Duo costs 17999.
I checked the local store just to see what the upper end of that price range is. They have one for 43 990 SEK, about €3900. Seems absolutely absurd to me. What are some good phone options nowadays...
I checked the local store just to see what the upper end of that price range is. They have one for 43 990 SEK, about €3900. Seems absolutely absurd to me.
What are some good phone options nowadays in the €200-300 range if I don't want a giant screen?
Kind of off-topic and more a thought process question than a discussion of the iPhone, but what's the point of using a quotation, typing something that doesn't appear exactly that way on the page,...
Kind of off-topic and more a thought process question than a discussion of the iPhone, but what's the point of using a quotation, typing something that doesn't appear exactly that way on the page, and then still feeling the need to include "(emphasis mine)"? I find that note is usually more of a distraction and this feels like an especially odd case for it.
It's good etiquette to clearly state any alterations you've made to a quote. In this case, since Noox was adding emphasis that wasn't in the original source, they have added that note. It helps...
It's good etiquette to clearly state any alterations you've made to a quote. In this case, since Noox was adding emphasis that wasn't in the original source, they have added that note.
It helps make it clear to anyone that didn't previously read the original source to be able to compare that the emphasis was not last of the original.
I get it when you're copying a passage and you want it to be clear that this is not the way an author wrote it. But corporate ad copy where you're emphasizing a word that wasn't even in the...
I get it when you're copying a passage and you want it to be clear that this is not the way an author wrote it.
But corporate ad copy where you're emphasizing a word that wasn't even in the original ad doesn't really fall into etiquette. When "(emphasis mine)" is good etiquette, changing the wording and presenting it as an exact quote is much worse. And it's not bad in this case 🤷
They do, it's just more rare over the past few years since Apple became the iPhone company and stopped actually making new kinds of devices. I still encounter people to this day who insist that...
They do, it's just more rare over the past few years since Apple became the iPhone company and stopped actually making new kinds of devices.
I still encounter people to this day who insist that Apple invented the smartphone, even though I knew people with them for years before the iPhone was released.
Tangentially related: I am disappointed that the foldable phones seem to have eaten up the market for small pocket-sized phones. I want a reliable phone with modern features and a 4 inch screen. I don't want a tablet in my pocket. I don't want a tablet at all. If anything I want to spend less time on my phone. I do rely on my phone to look up transit schedules and order at restaurants with a QR code, so alas, I am stuck with a 6-inch-plus smart phone for now.
I really (probably naively) hoped that apple would release a new iphone mini this year. It's been five years now.
On one hand, I really wish I could buy a modern mini. On the other hand: when no major phonemaker caters to your device preference for 5 years, you do save an awful lot of money on upgrades and time on (lack of) big screen phone addiction.
I am worried about what to do if something happens to my 13 mini, though -- the used market is way more expensive than when I originally got mine a couple of years ago. And I would literally rather go phoneless than buy the smallest modern iPhone, it just doesn't fit my hand, pocket, or life.
I often wish my brain had accepted the size of the 6S all those years ago. I downgraded to the SE 2016 just a year into my 6S' life because the size drove me crazy. Fortunately my 13 mini is right in between the two in size, but good lord every modern phone feels like a brick to me. How on earth do people run or even walk comfortably with these things?
My battery health is getting into the low 80s and I’d have liked to replace the 13 mini with a n mini. I guess I’ll just keep waiting. I respect foldable phones, but it’s not the product for me.
The Apple Store will do a battery replacement for, like, $100.
As somebody who lives in an area where the nearest Apple store is almost 2 hours away and in another country I wish that this wasn't the stock answer.
Speaking of which, I broke my screen last week while in that other country, but still far from an Apple store, and had to stop into a local repair shop to get a refurb screen installed to be able to navigate, use translation, etc. And even though it's a real Apple display, the phone still warns me that it's been replaced and the startup animation is not as smooth (I accidentally cancelled the option to finish setup and pair the new display, and cannot get back into it).
Yeah I basically wouldn’t buy an Apple product if there wasn’t at least a licensed service center within a tolerable distance.
At least a battery servicing is a non-essential thing though. So you can sort of drop in if you’re ever in a city if you can plan ahead enough to set up an appointment. I’m planning on taking my 15 Pro instead of upgrading this year.
Yeah no phone company wants that and don’t give a fuck about you or your wellbeing
Modern features are battery hogs (on-device AI, computational photography) and a folding screen lets you pack 2x the battery in something that occupies the same footprint.
It’s the same reason phablets/big phones initially became popular, it was a way to get all day battery life even with poorly optimized software without making it too fat to hold comfortably.
If you want a phone that was “modern” 5 years ago I think the assumption is you’d be better off with a dumbphone, many of which run Android now and can call you an Uber or load a browser.
That would be great if it were true but foldables don't really have larger batteries. They often have smaller ones because they have to be split in the half, they have to accommodate the hinge, etc. Bigger screens allow bigger batteries but foldables do not.
It’s a smaller battery than an equivalently sized unfolded device (iPad Mini), but it’s a slightly larger battery than a folded one (it has I think an hour of extra use time over the 18 Pro).
I don't get why they would simply not make the phone thicker then, getting rid of the camera bump as a side benefit.
Do actual users even care about few extra milimeters on an incredibly thin phone or is it simply to have something to put on marketing materials in absence of meaningful improvements?
Year over year getting thinner isn’t noticeable. But those year-over-year improvements add up so after 3 years you have a lot more battery or a thinner phone.
Also a few extra millimeters matter if you care about how your clothes fit.
Which feeds into celebrity and influencer marketing.
Those are features I couldn't care less. A small phone without AI and other bell and whistles could last longer and do the exactly same things I currently do in my iPhone SE. It's a shame that companies don't supply the demand for utilitarian phones. The closest is the iPhone 17e, but that's expensive and could be smaller.
Then you don’t want “modern” features. You want a 5 year old phone.
Mine is 4,5 years old, but yeah.
Apple put out a small sized phone for 2 years, iPhone 12 and 13 Minis. They were awesome. I loved my 12 Mini. They sold like butt so the line was discontinued. It turns out that those of us who want a small one-handed phone are a tiny minority.
They sold really well by the standards of every other phone manufacturer.
I think they gave up on smaller phones. I, too, have been waiting and hoping. We’re just not enough of the market share to make it worth their time. It’s onwards to bigger, shinier and more expensive across the board.
I'm typing this on an Ikko Mind One, it's pretty cool but I'm not sure I like it enough to make it my daily driver.
There's also the Bluefox NX1 and the Bluefox Aura A1, and everything from Unihertz. Any of these options will come with compromises, but they are small!
What made you purchase a self-described ai phone?
I've literally never used the AI features, like never even opened the mode. For that I just installed Claude.
I bought it because it's tiny. More than small, the form factor is just weird, and I hard wish more phones were weird.
Compromises: 4g only, Android 15 and you can't count on updates from these small manufacturers, the flip camera feels fragile.
Pluses: form factor, and it doesn't seem glitchy or slow. Everything just works like it should.
DAE smol hands
Surprised they even bothered with a foldable phone, considering how easily they wear down and break. The only real advantage you get from using one is having double, even triple the screen real estate.
At this point they're well and truly aping Samsung and Huawei...
I’ve owned a few and used them caseless for extended periods of time…never had one break on me. They’re really not that fragile.
You must have gotten lucky... or maybe I'm just unlucky. I have had the galaxy 5 fold for about two years and have replaced it twice because of the hinge. The first one was definitely from falling. The second one I have no idea, the hinge did fail though. Given the quality of the refurbishment on the second and third, I wouldn't be surprised if the hinges were oem
Maybe you're unlucky? (/s)
From what I've seen, almost none of my friends or co-workers who have folding phones have had issues with them.
Did they charge you for a repair? The only work I had to have done was getting them to replace the inner screen protector after my son smeared paint on it and it wouldn't wash off. Samsung just sent me to a repair place and did it for free.
I have insurance on it. I think I had to pay $99(us) for shipping/copay. I honestly think I'd only be on my second, if the refurbished ones were better. The first one it landed on the hinge corner(folded) on tile floor, pretty much worst case scenario.
Yeah, I could see bending that corner throwing everything out of alignment. Definitely a weak point in the design of basically all folding phones.
Yeah it feels like a failed category of product already. I've heard people who have them don't even unfold them that much
I realize this is anecdotal, but I've had a foldable for years now and I open it all the time. Whether it's showing off a picture of my dog, watching a movie, or looking at electrical schematics, having a tablet that fits in your pocket is insanely handy.
Plus, if one screen goes kaput you still have a fully functional phone.
Yeah this feels like a very silly discussion. The products are popular. They're getting more popular. People say this stuff every time Apple releases a new product.
Same here, owned a Z Fold4, now on a Z Fold7, opened both all the time and make extensive use of split-screen or just watching media on the big screen.
The only time I use the outer screen is for doomscrolling or texting, everything else on the folding screen.
It's quite a bit cheaper than I thought it'd be. Pretty much the same as what Samsung sells the fold for.
Would need to see it in person in an apple store, but from the previews it does look beautiful. I imagine the app support would be quite a lot better than on Android foldable as well, given the track record with iPad.
Would definitely consider picking one up, if nothing else for apple pencil support.
Can you expand on what you like about it? I don't really see it offering much more for that extra 1k.
Compared to other foldables? The software execution looks polished and well thought through. From experience, iOS developers are much more receptive to actually updating their apps to fit new form factors (famously iPad has far more applications that don't just stretch the app compared to android tablets). IP68 rating.
Compared to a normal phone? A specific thing I want to do with it is casual plein air painting. I do it today with either the 11in iPad Pro or one of those portable watercolor sets but both are fairly bulky. There's often times I end up somewhere and I'd like to paint something but I didn't really bring anything. This would be something I always have on me.
Besides that, the main thing would be content consumption - watching videos or reading on the bigger screen. Comics/manga would do extremely well in that form factor.
Thank you, that helps me understand, if you do end up picking it up I hope it works out great :)
For me my main two portable devices are my phone and my tablet. There's always going to be some novelty and value in combining the two into one device so I don't have to manage multiple devices. Having previously tried a foldable (albeit a used older model that I only kept for the summer), it's nice having a bigger screen for looking at the map, watching videos, admiring photos, and even the odd multitasking. For when I wanted to plan a trip while I was away from home, it was cool having maps and my notes app side by side, instead of having to constantly switch between apps
Folding phones will remain a compromised phone and compromised tablet experience, but to some the compromises are outweighed by the benefit of having a tablet in your pocket.
Sharing sentiments with @stu2b50, definitely cheaper than I thought it'd be too. I like what Apple have done here, the UI changes are definitely very Apple. The animation on the screen as you fold and unfold is a delightful touch. I'm a little iffy on all the UI being on the right side. If you hold the phone in your left hand, you'd have to stretch over to the other side. I imagine it might be adjustable but who knows.
I'm a little torn on if I want to upgrade. I've got a 15 Pro Max that still functions just fine. The battery is a little degraded though, might just end up repairing that in the end. I'm not sure how much I'd need a folding phone, I don't really do much on my phone nowadays. I also have a separate tablet for media consumption. As an American, it is my civic duty to spend money on things I don't really need, our economy relies on it :P
I think they said it can he held in any orientation, so I suspect it will support left handed holding by holding it the other way up? Although I might be wrong with the microphone/speaker for using it as an actual phone being the wrong way up if you hold it left handed…
I don’t hate the idea of this tho I’d want to feel it in my hands and play with it at a store before any final opinions. I’ll even go as far as saying it looks pretty cool. But the price point to me is an automatic hard pass. Come on… $3000+ CAD for this? If this is what they price it at, it means people are willing to pay this. I don’t know what’s worse: the blatant corporate greed or the fact that people keep accepting this type of money grab and opening their wallets just to see Instagram and YouTube bigger.
The price is pretty inline with other foldables on the market, I don’t think Apple could’ve really gone much lower here. Even rumors were expecting a price of $2500US/3500 Canadian.
I'd be interested in getting one of these, but...$2000 for a phone is a bit much. Like I know the price is actually decent for newer tech like this. But I paid like $1800 a couple years ago for my M3 MBP. A full on actual computer. Plus, still got like 9mos to go on my payment plan for my 16 Pro (which I thought was a lot at $1300). Which serves me perfectly well. And I expect it to do so for at least 5yrs (got like 3.5yrs to go).
I do have a friend who has a foldable Samsung. He says he's had no problems with it for the last couple of years or so. But he'll never get another because of how expensive it was. Think it was also as much as my MBP.
The mobile processors are basically equivalent to the m series, so they're increasingly technically equivalent to their laptops.
True...but I can't do all the things I do on my MBP on my phone. Like game (yes, I game a bit on my MBP).
Which has always been a bit weird to me. All this power inside an iPhone, or even an iPad, comparable to perhaps a Macbook Air or better, yet for what?
Absolutely agree. For all the computational power these things have, it’s about time the EU mandated a big red “I know of the danger, now give me a terminal/root shell” button on mobile phones.
Mobile gaming is huge and can be surprisingly intensive. Though it's not really my thing either.
It actually looks pretty nice. I’ll check it out in the store. I love how they used the sqrt(2) aspect ratio just like with paper so it has the same ratio when folded in half.
While the quality of the device looks really good, I was thinking that the root 2 aspect ratio makes the folded up mode (the way it looks when you're not using it as a tablet) essentially a 4:3 smartphone, which looks kind of uncanny. I'm so used to smartphones being widescreen that it makes it look kinda chunky.
Seeing this made me realize how much I’m just out of smartphones as a whole. I have one at home, that mostly stays at home, to access banking apps. I also have to use it while travelling. My daily driver is an old lightphone (I think the number two or number one model, I don’t remember. It’s old and I use it for nothing except texting and making calls.)
Life without smartphone is just so much better. I’m at the point where I can’t imagine anymore why anyone would spend that amount of money for this piece of tech… just seems like the capitalist machine frantically searching for ever more absurd ways of extracting more cash from us.
What an odd form factor. It seems wider than most phones (even other foldables), but maybe it's just shorter?
I can see the value of a folding phone much more than I can see the value of an iPad. This plus a macbook seems like it would cover most people's non-artistic needs... provided Apple doesn't kneecap iOS's dual-screen functionality in order to maintain the value proposition of the iPad. Not the greatest first impressions of the sidebar UX, but maybe it will work.
I had heard things about this phone having a 'nearly invisible crease' (paraphrasing), but I don't believe it. Will wait for the JerryRigEverything teardown to make any real judgements. It also makes sense that this would come after the iPhone Air, since thickness seems to be the major hurdle for these things.
And as always, the value of new phones always kinda comes down to 'look at these new camera features!'. I wonder if there's any other frontiers for the industry to target? Obviously the other one I can think of is bring back the headphone jack with a super nice DAC, but I can't see a market for that like I can for a good camera.
I think the whole value proposition of this is to not have to buy an iPad. An iPad Mini is $700 for the same storage tier. An iPhone 17 starts at $800. The Duo has way better specs than the former and decently better than the latter so $500 extra seems like it’d be tolerable. The main trade-off would be it doesn’t have as good a camera as the 18 Pro.
The lack of telephoto would kill it for me. I like my folding phone with a telephoto lens.
They talked a lot about local AI. I think a properly executed version of this would genuinely be something people would upgrade for. Like if you can bark some procedure at your phone and trust it’ll get it right that’s super convenient. “Ask Joe when the BBQ is and add the event to my calendar.”
I’ve been testing the new Siri AI through the developer betas and it works really well so far, at least for my simple usecases. They’ve updated their first-party apps to allow Siri to dig into them for context so I’ve been able to very easily just ask Siri to do essentially what you’ve asked. My friends and I have group chats to plan gifts for each others birthdays so I asked Siri “what were some gift ideas we had for X for their birthday last year” and it managed to go through that conversation and give me a list quite easily.
I think we’ll see more casual AI usage and smaller locally-run models become more mainstream (I hope) now that Apple have pushed that into the hands of the public.
I don't understand how anyone could comfortably hold this. I for sure cannot comfortably hold a phone this size.
I think it's just an optical illusion, but some of the shots of a single hand holding the phone look ridiculous. Like they took a normal phone/hand and stretched them both out. Maybe they found a long-fingered hand model?
Exactly! I didn't see any photos of the phone in the hand, except for one and the fingers looked absurdly long..
Reviewers have hands on photos. Holding it seems fine, but it looks a bit fat for carrying around in a pocket.
It's roughly passport size, and those are pretty reasonable.
On a 2D plane yeah, but thickness is like 1.5 of my 15 Pro and I already find this think kind of chonky with a case on.
If I had the fold I might be tempted to go caseless though.
Way more pictures with hands provided here haha - thank you for sharing. It does not look as massive in these photos, but still does not look comfortable one-handed.
Pencil support! I would have bought pretty much any new phone that supported the pencil.
I find it absolutely fascinating that something niche like a foldable phone exists but no one will ever make any number of phone configurations that a appreciable minority wants. E.g. small phone, no camera bump phone etc.
This cannot have a large potential market, not at these prices. This is at least two times the price of a solid new laptop or about four times of a good used business class one.
Seems like it has a pretty proven market at this point?
The Z Fold 8, which has a similar msrp of $1900, has sold an estimate 2.9 million units so far. That’s more than the entire pixel 11 line (pixel 11, pro, xl).
Curious about your source for the Pixel 11 sales. I did a quick google with a few word variations and found no concrete data considering it was only recently released.
Most of those niche form factors people want they usually want sort of cheap. Like I’d like a mini, but mostly the iPhone Minis are quite expensive with old hardware. This is a result of how returns to scale work. It costs a lot of money to get these production lines up. At the volumes they sell more niche product lines they can’t set up a new line so they end up using the tooling for older generation products to give those manufacturing lines longer lifespans as they depreciate.
They CAN afford to blow a lot of money on stuff like this because it’s very high margin, so it can justify getting the tooling up. Then they can reuse that tooling now that they’ve figured it out for future product lines.
For example, this very fancy hinge technology? That’s probably gonna be useful for other devices that need durable hinges with a display in them like, perhaps, a folding set of VR goggles. The iPhone Air helped them figure out how to fit all the iPhone’s brains into a tiny thumb-sized chunk of the phone. That came in handy later for the folding phone. It’ll come in handy again for all sorts of wearables they might be experimenting with.
Ooo, I like this. I really do. Yes, it's expensive, and unnecessary, but it's the first time since the original iPhone I got excited about a mobile phone again.
I don't care what anyone else thinks, this is gonna be my next phone. It's adorable. :)
Proportions look silly.
Perhaps a slight… irrational!
I’ll see myself out
I honestly would have considered getting a folding/flip iPhone if it were the standard style, just like a regular flip phone. I hate the shape and size of what they put out. I don't understand why they couldn't just keep the standard shape when opened.
This is coming from someone who has Apple devices but isn't a fangirl. I just use them because they're idiot-proof, and I'm really good at breaking software irreparably, so something so closed can't be tinkered with to the point that it needs to be completely reset. I would prefer to use something much more privacy- and open-source-oriented, but I also know that I am not the kind of person that is capable of using those devices without ruining them.
Unfortunately, some apps that I absolutely can't live without (like for my stupid CGM) aren't available for other devices (actually NVM, but leaving it as an example, because this is new to me that it's available on Android), and the app that my dance studio uses to sign up for classes each week.
That said, I'm planning on keeping my phone for as long as I can because it works and it does basically what I need it to do. I love the color of the new 18 pro burgundy, but it isn't calling to me to upgrade my phone right now, since I would rather have had a reasonably shaped flip phone.
Unbelievable.
Yeah I was surprised at the price, thought it would be at least $2500-$2600 for the base unit. For $2000 I might just pick one up on a lark. If nothing else I was considering an iPad mini as a sketchbook anyway.
I’m not sure that parent comment was suggesting that $2000 was lower than expected.
Sometimes you forget how many software engineers are on this site until comments like that 😅
I make more than the average software engineer and i would literally rather be phone less than pay APPLE a MINIMUM of two thousand dollars for a concept they came up with 5 years after its well adapted (and still way too expensive) in the Android Market.
It's less about the phone itself and more about being able to spend 2k "on a lark" 🥲
Huh, what price were they expecting? It’s basically the same price as the Samsung fold (Z fold is $1900 and Z fold ultra is $2100) and Samsung has had many years to optimize their offering supply-chain wise, not to mention Samsung usually prices more aggressively.
Another phone also being ridiculously expensive doesn't mean people won't have issues with the price of this one. $2k+ for a phone is too much for most people.
Then they won’t buy it? I don’t understand why people seem to be upset about it. I would love to own a Vacheron Constantin but $30k for a watch is too much for my budget so I don’t. Such is life.
Because years of horrible consumer practices that should be punished (planned obsolence, warrenty voided if you look at it wrong, etc etc) means that, for me, it is extremely frustrating to see an awful company like this putting out a phone for this much, and tricking consumers into thinking they're getting $2000+ worth of goods when they aren't.
I'm not going to buy it, but I can still be upset and appaled to see this be brought onto the market and it just be okay.
I don’t think you’re speaking from a rational basis here.
What planned obsolescence are you talking about?
~ sent from my iPhone 11 Pro, a 7 year old phone going strong and still supported in the upcoming iOS release
Look I wasn't gonna engage in this thread anymore, but I'm not making this up:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batterygate.
Batterygate explicitly wasn’t planned obsolescence. It’s even on the Wikipedia page lol. You can say it’s bad engineering, but it was clearly unintended.
It wasn't a "hehe we're secretly slowing down their phones so they buy iphone 7" it's "oh shit we released a phone where the SoC can try to draw more voltage than the battery can supply, and randomly shuts down as a result".
$30k watches are not regular consumer goods like an iPhone is, of course it's not gonna draw the same criticism.
The top-level niche phone is also not a regular consumer good. You can replace it with anything. If you don’t want a $60k BMW you can buy an Accord. It doesn’t make sense to get mad at the Bavarians for making the BMW, or even for Honda for making an Acura TSX.
None of the $2k foldables from other manufacturers seem to be pissing people off with their mere existence.
I think people are just looking for reasons to be angry about something on the internet, as usual.
I was thinking about the same thing reading this thread. I’ve never seen any internet drama when Honor released their triple fold phone, for example… Quite the opposite.
There’s so much choice on the smartphone market, that to me it feels really silly how people get so riled about something that doesn’t really impact them in any way whatsoever.
The alternative is that these devices simply don't exist, so I don't understand the complaining.
Also I specifically emboldens STARTS FROM
This fucking thing STARTS at TWO. THOUSAND. DOLLARS.
I can buy a laptop that's more akin to a murder weapon than anything else for that price, AND THATS THE BASE FUCKING MODEL.
So uh, yes, you are correct. I was pointing out that it was FUCKING ABSURD.
Absolutely absurd. A little sad seeing so many comments saying “oh this is fine, it’s just like other folding phones”.
IF smartphones were more optional these days, and one could buy an OK smartphone for say $200, I’d say, sure! Apple, Samsung, are luxury items for those who want the ultra top end and have all the cash to spend. But it’s not like that. You can barely find anything decent for under $700-$1000. Half the brands disappeared. Motorola used to have good options. Sony had so many cool affordable Android phones early on. The Pixel used to be more affordable. Etc.
A smartphone is practically mandatory these days. They created a product that is mandatory and now they keep making it more and more expensive. I’m very curious what the regular iPhone 18 will be “starting at” come spring. $2000?
Moto still has good options. I just bought my wife a 2024 G Power (had more RAM than the newer ones) for $137 back in April.
I have a Pixel 7 Pro (which I myself received for free as a hand me down) and the G Power seems basically the same and has features I miss from my other Motorola phones.
In the history of Smart Phones I think I only ever bought one Flagship Phone, which was a $800 HTC in like 2010 or something. That phone showed me there was no real benefit to buying an extremely expensive phone over a cheap ass one; they're functionally the same and they last, in terms of usefulness, the same amount of time.
Preach. I've been rocking a Moto G Power for like six or seven years now, and they suit me just fine. I've never needed to fix the charge port or replace a display or anything.
Methinks there's a bit of an assumption about price vis a vis quality going into that statement.
This isn’t a mystery. Apple keeps the prices on its product classes pretty constant. The 18 will sell for about what the 17 sells for now, which is ~$900 to start. Then the 17 will sell for about what a new 16 sells for now, which is about $800. Why on Earth do you think they’d be selling the base model phone for the same price as a luxury model, bleeding edge product?
I buy all my tech second hand, directly from the previous owner. This is especially easy with Apple devices because there are so many people discarding nearly pristine items as soon as they can get their hands on a newer model. It's a bit more work and you have to develop an eye for potential scammers and check the device diligently, but it's fun! And doing the extra work leads to my appreciating my device more. It feels special, one of a kind, even though obviously it isn't. Because it's the one I managed to hunt down from the confines of the www, the one that had the exact specs and colour I was after, an attractive price tag to boot and that was previously owned by a nice person.
I think it satisfies my hunting instinct, which is another plus really: I won't have to waste money and my mental health on a trophy hunting spree somewhere in Africa.
The ultimate upside is of course that Apple gets 0 euros of my hard earned money.
This is a great approach and given how high these prices are getting, I think I'll be adopting this route too.
You realize silicon and RAM costs have skyrocketed due to data center demand right?
You can still get featurephones that are much cheaper than the flagship smartphones, but the ones that can still run Android apps that are any good will still run you about $300-$500.
I do realize and frankly I don't care. The way I see it the big corporation will use any excuse - this one included - to make us pay ten-fold for their shitty gadgets.
So what's your preference? They just don't make things?
That’s not a bad idea, actually! Yes, fewer things would be great. New iPhone every 5 years.
Phones are mandatory, yes. Folding phones are not.
Why would you pay gaming desktop money for a phone.
2024* gaming desktop money
My very powerful PC bought 4 months ago - RX 9070 XT, 9800X3D, 32GB RAM - costed less than the cheapest iPhone Duo. Paid 17800 DKK for the PC and the cheapest iPhone Duo costs 17999.
$3000 Canadian dollars!
NZ$4200 but this all basically matches currency conversion + gst etc + rounding up to nice numbers.
Isn't this in line with other high end foldables? The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is $1900
I checked the local store just to see what the upper end of that price range is. They have one for 43 990 SEK, about €3900. Seems absolutely absurd to me.
What are some good phone options nowadays in the €200-300 range if I don't want a giant screen?
Kind of off-topic and more a thought process question than a discussion of the iPhone, but what's the point of using a quotation, typing something that doesn't appear exactly that way on the page, and then still feeling the need to include "(emphasis mine)"? I find that note is usually more of a distraction and this feels like an especially odd case for it.
It's good etiquette to clearly state any alterations you've made to a quote. In this case, since Noox was adding emphasis that wasn't in the original source, they have added that note.
It helps make it clear to anyone that didn't previously read the original source to be able to compare that the emphasis was not last of the original.
I get it when you're copying a passage and you want it to be clear that this is not the way an author wrote it.
But corporate ad copy where you're emphasizing a word that wasn't even in the original ad doesn't really fall into etiquette. When "(emphasis mine)" is good etiquette, changing the wording and presenting it as an exact quote is much worse. And it's not bad in this case 🤷
Nice, I can't wait for all the breathless reviews and comments online implying that Apple invented folding phones.
Do people actually still do this? I feel as though I see vastly more Apple hate than Apple fanboyism nowadays.
They do, it's just more rare over the past few years since Apple became the iPhone company and stopped actually making new kinds of devices.
I still encounter people to this day who insist that Apple invented the smartphone, even though I knew people with them for years before the iPhone was released.
They don’t let you hate Apple anymore because of woke. Haven’t you heard?