While Samsung seems to be having a little success with its range of folding smartphones, Will Apple follow in the footsteps of its competitor? We take stock.
The folding format is perhaps the next major evolution in the now very flat-packed world of the smartphone, and Samsung has been pushing hard in this direction for several years.
The folding smartphone: future form factor market benchmark?
On August 10, the Korean brand will announce its Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 and has ambitious sales targets: 15 million copies sold over their marketing year. Samsung may have suffered the plaster with the failed launch of the first Galaxy Fold and its many design problems, it still managed to sell no less than 10 million devices in 2021. A nice success.
Apple remains conservative and does not seem to want to follow the trend initiated by its best enemy in the smartphone market. The iPhone 14 will retain a traditional format and will visibly offer incremental improvements in terms of the photo or the power delivered.
This does not mean that the Apple does not look at what the competition is doing. For several months, several corridor noises evoke the development of a device with a folding screen which could materialize in a finished product in the coming years.
Several patents already filed by Apple
According to the famous leaker Jon Prosser, Apple would have tested two distinct formats.
The manufacturer has first and in recent years filed several patents relating to folding screen smartphone models joined by a metal structure or another model covered with a layer of heating material to avoid problems in cold weather. .
Another concept studied by Apple: two devices connected by a hinge, like a Microsoft Surface Duo, or even a protective layer for a foldable screen in order to avoid creaks when unfolding the device.
Apple would not have locked a specific design to date and would continue to explore different possibilities before making its final choice.
What features for the folding iPhone?
Regarding the screens, Apple could call on LG to provide it with folding OLED screens and the manufacturer would target a device close to a size between 8 and 9 inches, which could ultimately cannibalize the iPad mini, equipped with a screen of 8.3 inches, although the uses of the two devices would be quite different.
Apple would also be tempted to add a screen to the front of the folded iPhone and would explore color e-ink technology to display information without affecting the device’s battery life.
With a premium smartphone, first choice components and Apple could be tempted to go beyond its AX processors to integrate an M1 or M2 processor in order to offer the maximum power in these devices, and thus separate its folding model from the other iPhones in its range.
The large screen of this folding iPhone could push Apple to make it compatible with the Apple Pencil and allow note taking or sketching on the move. The format of the current Apple Pencil is quite large and the manufacturer could, in our opinion, be well advised to offer a more compact variant that would fit more easily in a pocket.
The folding iPhone, when is it?
If Apple decides to take the plunge and offer a new folding iPhone model, do not expect to see it arrive in stores in the coming months.
The most optimistic rumors evoke a launch for 2024 but Ming-Chi Kuo, the financial analyst specializing in the study of the Californian brand, considers more likely that Apple does not wish, as usual, to engage in a speed race and is aiming for a launch in 2025. The manufacturer also has other hot topics to deal with before that, and in the first place the launch of its first augmented reality and virtual reality headset.
Finally, concerning the price, it is impossible to give a precise indication, but our forecasts would go towards a price higher than 2,000 euros. Indeed, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, which comes closest to Apple’s plans for a folding smartphone, was launched in the summer of 2021 at a public price of 1,799 euros and it seems highly unlikely that the brand American slashes prices, if only to maintain its premium reputation.
Source : Tom’s Guide
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