How Apple can make a foldable iPhone look good
Iphone 12 mini. The experience of using the smallest flagship
Ever since manufacturers started releasing bigger smartphones, there’s been unabated talk online about the perfect compact flagship.
Meet iPhone Flip | Apple — iPhone Air
This is not surprising. Not everyone’s smartphone has become the only device for both consuming and creating content. Some people just want a handy cell phone that could replace an audio player, a camera, or a reader if necessary.
But here’s the problem. A few months after the appearance of such a compact smartphone, the entire press trumpeted about its complete failure. A really cell phone outside of the Internet forums was of no interest to anyone, as the numbers stubbornly show: for every hundred sold iPhone 12/Pro/Max, there were only 3-4 sales of iPhone 12 mini.
Immediately there started to appear articles in the style of “5 reasons why the iPhone 12 mini did not sell”, which were blamed for the high cost, low battery capacity and even, paradoxically enough, a small screen (it seems not everyone realized that in a compact design it is impossible to place a huge display).
In any case, the iPhone 12 mini is de facto the smallest modern flagship, which is what makes it unique.
But the situation with this smartphone is also unique for another reason. The fact is that the worlds of iOS and Android usually do not intersect. If a person wants to buy an iPhone, the presence of extra megapixels and other “mega” features of Android competitors will have almost no effect on his choice. Equally on the choices of people from the opposite camp.
But with the release of the iPhone 12 mini, some Android users have looked toward the iOS device just because of its size. After all, there’s nothing like it on Android.
In this review, or rather user experience, I’d like to tell you what it’s like to use a miniature smartphone from Apple in late 2021 and what the device actually turned out to be.
Before buying the iPhone 12 mini, my main device for six months was one of the biggest Android flagships, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and that makes the contrast feel even stronger.
Quick deletion of numbers in “Calculator
In the standard calculator on the iPhone, you can delete the last digits you typed. It is a very useful option that helps you not to have to type in numbers all over again for any calculations. If you accidentally typed in the wrong number, just swipe to the left or right on the number line. The superfluous digit is immediately erased.
Gadgets. Main
Since the release of the first clamshells marked the first ideological confrontation. For the number of displays on the body: Samsung has two, Huawei. One.
Each design has its own advantages and disadvantages. One screen makes the case more minimalistic, lightweight and comfortable. However, the display is more vulnerable to external influences. You fold the case with the screen outward, but it is in contact with the hard fabric of jeans and hard surfaces.
With two screens, the problems are opposite. The folding display is protected from all external influences except dust and sand grains, because the housing bends the matrix inward. When folded, a second, smaller screen engages. Only with two sensors it’s thicker and heavier.
There is a third type of design. The body folds horizontally, the screen inwards. So it becomes as similar as possible to the old clamshells. A similar design offered Motorola Razr and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. Only this option is useless.
The mission of the folding smartphone is to offer a tablet screen, as it was not available before. Walking down the street, you can open your phone and follow the route on digital maps with more convenience. Sitting in the subway, watching videos on a big screen instead of taking the tablet out of the backpack. Motorola Razr and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip give only emotion and involvement in a new direction in the development of smartphones. This is not enough, because in exchange for a new experience, the user gets a device that is several times more fragile than the classic smartphone.
Bending a regular smartphone for a longer screen doesn’t make sense either. Sony Xperia 1. A device with a 21:9 screen. It fits in your. And you can easily reach all parts of the screen with your hand.
Bloomberg: Apple has begun exploring the concept of a foldable iPhone
According to Bloomberg, Apple has begun work on an iPhone with a foldable screen. This year, however, only minor changes are planned for the new models.
The company has already developed prototype foldable displays for internal testing, but has not yet approved plans to launch a foldable iPhone. According to a person familiar with the work, Apple does not yet have full prototypes of these smartphones.
Like the Samsung Galaxy Fold or Motorola Razr, the release of the foldable iPhone would allow Apple to create a device with a larger screen in a smaller package. The company has already discussed several options for foldable screen sizes, including one that unfolds to a 6.7-inch display similar to the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Today’s foldable smartphones typically have displays of 6 to 8 inches when deployed.
Apple’s foldable screens work on invisible hinges, and the electronics are located behind the display, source said.
Nevertheless, the foldable iPhone likely won’t arrive until a few years from now. For now, the company is focused on releasing its next-generation flagship iPhone and iPad in late 2021.
According to people familiar with the situation, Apple isn’t planning any major changes to its iPhone lineup this year.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also made product development difficult, with Apple hardware engineers working in the company’s Silicon Valley offices only a few days a week and in limited numbers.
Last year’s pandemic delayed the release of the iPhone 12 by several weeks, but Apple was able to include almost all of the planned features, with the exception of AirTags for finding physical items such as backpacks and keys. The company plans to introduce the feature this year and plans to develop several accessories for it, including a leather keychain.
Apple is still testing a key update for 2021: an in-display fingerprint scanner as an alternative to Face ID facial recognition. Apple began doing away with fingerprint sensors in 2017 with the launch of the iPhone X, but Touch ID was kept on Mac laptops and cheaper iPhones. Qualcomm, which supplies Apple with 5G modems, earlier this month announced a faster fingerprint sensor. The feature would have been handy in a situation where the user can’t remove the mask.
By the way, the corporation itself has already started working on its own cellular modem, which will replace Qualcomm products in future devices.
Apple has also discussed removing the charging port for some iPhone models in favor of wireless charging. The company switched to MagSafe’s magnetic charging system with the iPhone 12 and removed the charger from the box last year.
Finally, Apple is planning a new iPad Pro, which will be similar to the current model, but with a MiniLED display and a much faster processor. A thinner and lighter iPad with a design similar to the 2019 iPad Air is also in development.
Earlier it was reported that after the release of the first chips on the 5-nm process, Apple has already placed orders for the production of 3-nm chips at TSMC facilities in 2022. Sources say the chips are likely to be used in future iPads and MacBooks.
Bloomberg reported on Apple’s work on a foldable iPhone
Apple begins to develop iPhone with foldable screen, Bloomberg has learned. It’s a radical turnaround for the company, which has become one of the most expensive in the world thanks in part to the popularity of its pioneering full-screen smartphones. But for now, the clamshell is at an early stage of development, and whether it will ever come out at all is not clear
Apple has begun work on an iPhone with a folding screen, Bloomberg reported, citing a knowledgeable source. He said that the company has developed prototypes of foldable screens for internal testing, but has not yet moved beyond that. Full-fledged prototypes of foldable smartphones are not currently available to Apple.
The development of a foldable iPhone would allow Apple to get a device with a larger screen, which at the same time will fit more easily into a. Writes Bloomberg. According to the agency, the company has discussed foldable screens of various sizes, including a similar size to the 6.7-inch display of the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Foldable smartphones currently on the market have screens that measure 6 to 8 inches when unfolded, the agency noted. Tested Apple screens in the fold is separated by an almost imperceptible “loop” similar to the Samsung smartphones, source told Bloomberg. Other companies, including Microsoft, have released foldable devices with prominent “hinges” separating the two panels, Bloomberg recalled. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment for the agency.
The release of a foldable smartphone would be a radical turnaround for Apple, Bloomberg writes. The company ranked among the world’s most expensive in part because its pioneering touchscreen full-screen smartphone “has become probably the most successful consumer technology product in history,” the agency points out. Foldable smartphones are now being made by some of the company’s competitors. Particularly Samsung and Huawei.
In this case, a foldable iPhone is likely to appear in a few years, or may not be presented at all, the agency said. Apple is now focused on launching new flagship iPhones and iPads this year, it said. The company is not planning major changes for new smartphones, given that it has already introduced 5G technology and a new design in 2020, knowledgeable sources told Bloomberg. The company’s engineers think the new iPhones are a version with the designation “S”, which is usually given to slightly modified smartphones, the agency said.
While the overall changes will be small, Apple is testing a key upgrade that it plans to unveil in 2021, Bloomberg stresses. We’re talking about reading fingerprints through the screen to unlock the smartphone. The feature could prove handy in a coronavirus pandemic where users wear masks that prevent them from applying facial recognition, the agency points out. In addition, the company, according to Bloomberg, plans to release an accessory this year that will allow it to find items like a backpack or keys. It plans to release several accessories for it, including a leather keychain.
Apple plans to expand its line of tablets with a new iPad Pro, which will be similar to the current model, but will get a MiniLED display and a much faster processor, Bloomberg says. The company is also developing a thinner and lighter version of the iPad, using the same design as the 2019 iPad Air, the agency points out.
Apple started sending foldable iPhones to assembly partner Foxconn for testing purposes. The release of new devices is scheduled for September 2022. The website Macrummors reported this, citing a Chinese report.
Testing reportedly includes evaluating the use of OLED or microLED display technologies, as the choice of screen will affect subsequent assembly methods. Apple asked Foxconn to evaluate the devices’ folding mechanism with more than 100,000 opening and closing tests. The report notes that similar tests for conventional laptops require them to open and close 20,000 to 30,000 times.
The report doesn’t provide additional information about the foldable device’s design, but it does note that Samsung will provide a panel for the screen. This, in turn, potentially confirms rumors that Apple has ordered sample foldable displays from the Korean company.
According to John Prosser, the Cupertinians are working on a foldable iPhone prototype that features two separate display panels joined by a hinge, rather than a single screen like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
A blogger reports that the foldable iPhone has rounded stainless steel edges, like the iPhone 11. There is no notch and the Face ID sensors are hidden in the top above the outer display.
Rumors that Apple was working on a foldable iPhone appeared back in 2016, as the company received a number of patents on such devices. One described a gadget with two separate screens that can be combined into a single flexible device with a hinge. However, it is too early to judge whether something similar will be released on the market.
It is known that Apple is developing a foldable smartphone to counteract similar gadgets from Samsung and Huawei. Russian designer Svyatoslav Alexandrov has fantasized about what this device could look like. What’s more, the 3D rendering he created can be bought.
This is how the foldable iPhone according to Svyatoslav Alexandrov turned out:
The smartphone has an external screen of 6.3 inches with a reduced “bangs”, which includes a front camera and Face ID scanner. The inner screen turns out to be an 8-inch screen when fully expanded, almost like an iPad mini. It has no bangs or any notches, and due to the thin frame it takes up almost all the space of the case.
Face ID fingerprint scanner is built into the entire outer screen, you can unlock the device by swiping up or opening the device. On the back side there is a camera with three modules and LiDAR sensor. There’s another front camera built into the 8-inch screen, it’s invisible. Four speakers are responsible for the spatial sound.
This fictional model uses the A15 Bionic processor based on 5-nanometer technology and with 5G support. A choice of five colors of the body. The smartphone supports MagSafe wireless magnetic charging and charges up to 50% in 15 minutes.
The concept is pretty interesting, and there’s nothing unrealizable about it. All of the designer’s proposed technologies exist in one form or another in actual devices, so all Apple has to do is combine them. Although it is unlikely that a company would release such a frankenstein without making sure that all the components are working properly.
Svyatoslav Alexandrov sells this rendering on his website. For 49.99, you can buy a file for the program Blender, where this project was created. With the ability to realistically insert a smartphone into various scenes.
Someone is making a foldable iPhone right now, but not Apple
Apple, like any other company, is working on its own foldable smartphones. Several leaks over the past few months have claimed that Apple is testing several versions of foldable iPhones. One model supposedly has two displays connected by some kind of hinge, so it doesn’t have a single continuous folding screen. Apple is also testing foldable screens, which would allow it to create a foldable clamshell like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, or a foldable tablet like the Galaxy Fold devices.
If you’ve been following the Strange Parts channel on YouTube, you know who Scotty Allen is. All you need to know about it is that the youtuber went to China to build an iPhone from parts in 2017. It’s something anyone with access to the Internet, access to China’s huge electronics supply industry, and a little technical savvy needs. But Allen’s more impressive achievement was the addition of a functional 3.5mm headphone jack to the iPhone 7. It was the first iPhone to come without a headphone jack.
A few days ago, Allen released a new clip showing us iOS running on a flexible display. The entire design uses foldable screens, which sell for about 500 apiece, and a Raspberry Pi that connects wirelessly to the iPhone to mirror the display. Obviously, it’s not a foldable iPhone, but the foldable display will be a key component of a foldable phone.
DALL-E 2 Recap and the Perfect Mini-Android Phone
As you’ll see in the clip at the end of this post, Allen got two different foldable screens that were produced by Chinese display manufacturer BOE. The company has been striving for years to win Apple’s bid to produce OLED displays. BOE also supplies foldable displays for the Huawei Mate X2 phone, which was just unveiled in China.
Folding screens are relatively easy to bend. Unfortunately, the thinner one is quite sensitive and prone to breakage. Unlike his previous iPhone hardware hacks, Allen’s dream of a foldable iPhone may not be possible. Blogger explains that getting foldable displays is not enough. He has to find a way to make the screens and the phone talk to each other. Even if he succeeds, he still has to find a foldable case and move all the components of a regular iPhone into it.
Given the type of display he chose, he chose an “iPhone Flip” design that would be similar to the Galaxy Z Flip phone. One thing he could do is move all the internal parts of the regular iPhone inside the Galaxy Z Flip case, but that’s easier said than done. At this point, I’m just speculating, as Allen has yet to explain what his foldable iPhone might look like.
If Ming-Chi Kuo’s report is correct, Allen has until 2023 if he wants to beat Apple.
First look at the foldable iPhone (iPhone Flip)
Over the past few months, there have been numerous reports about the world’s first foldable phone from Apple. According to a recent report, Apple is working on its first foldable phone, which will not appear until 2023. John Prosser’s latest report shows that Apple is “done” with the form factor of the new foldable iPhone. In the video, we see the “iPhone Flip.”. In addition, the surprise will be the launch strategy for this device.
According to Prosser, Apple will not use the popular “tablet phone” design for its first foldable phone. “[Apple] is leaning heavily in favor of the clamshell [iPhone design] My sources aren’t quite sure why, all they know is the clamshell, which now has most of the attention behind the scenes One goal of this foldable clamshell-style iPhone is to offer it in several colors, like fun colors similar to the base iPhone models “
The seemingly insignificant colors are probably one of the most interesting aspects of this latest leak. As for the price, there’s a bit of a surprise here. According to John Prosser, the foldable iPhone could cost 1,499. That’s cheaper than some foldable smartphones on the market. However, this price tag is too good to be true. Given that the top-of-the-line iPhone 13 model could cost as much as 1,500, such a price is unlikely. Nevertheless, a “cheap” folding iPhone could be a game changer for Apple.
Could this be the reason for the company’s choice of a cot (flip)? The size of the device could be an iPhone 12 mini, and once flipped, it gets bigger.
As for the launch date, John Prosser’s previous launch announcement was for September 2022. However, he also believes that Apple’s plan may change.
At this point, all reports claim that the first foldable iPhone will feature Samsung’s flexible OLED panel. In addition, Apple will do away with the notch it introduced in the iPhone X in 2017. The entire front is completely free of any sensors. In addition, the front panels on all four sides are essentially the same. However, it is important to note that this description is not from the official image. The actual novelty may be significantly different.
