Apple isn’t making a foldable phone because there’s no good reason to buy one yet

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z-Flip 6 They’re here, but you’re not alone if you feel like you’ve seen these devices before. While Samsung has made minor tweaks to improve, the supposedly innovative foldable formula feels familiar if we’re being kind and outdated if we’re not. If I’m honest, the galaxy ring and other wearables are a little more interesting.

AI of the galaxy breathes new life into the series, but while these features felt novel with the Galaxy S24, we’re quickly approaching AI saturation point if we haven’t already. Worse yet, many of the newer AI features Samsung talked about They are not even available at launchThey’ll arrive in an update at some undisclosed time before the end of 2024 (if all goes according to plan). In an attempt to have something interesting to show, Samsung has desperately resorted to dropping promises that might be delayed or never materialise. That seems like a pretty damning critique of the entire launch.

We’ve seen so much of what’s been announced before that it’s hard not to feel that way. flip phones It may already be a dead end. While Samsung has been the poster child, recent attempts by Motorola, Google, OnePlus, and others have also failed to turn things around. It’s not that there aren’t good phones available in this market — both the clamshell foldables and book-style foldables on the market today won’t disappoint. But why you should spend so much money on a phone that doesn’t offer much else is a question no one has been able to answer. Just buy the $799 Galaxy S24, which is what most people do. Apple’s decision not to participate in this trend is starting to look like inspired thinking rather than a lack of innovation.

Looking back at the announcement, I’m not even sure Samsung knows how to sell the Flip and Fold to new customers. Yes, the Flip is still the trendy option, while the Fold is marketed as a workhorse for businesses, but what has fundamentally changed with the sixth generation? Well, not much, which leaves Samsung scrambling to defend its position. One speaker suggested that Samsung’s impressive AI transcription tools, now nestled directly into Notes, could be used to keep up with class notes. When I was a student (a few years ago, I admit) I barely had enough money to buy pens and notebooks. $1,899 to spare for a state-of-the-art notepad wasn’t even a pipe dream. I don’t think students will be rushing to blow their loans on the Fold 6 — sorry, Samsung.

The keynote presentation moved between small boasts like the thinnest foldable Samsung has ever produced (but let’s not say anything about its rivals) and gadgets like generative AI wallpapers and artistic portraits from your selfies. There’s not enough new hardware on display to wow typical Fold enthusiasts, and many of the Flip’s software features are hard to get excited about (not to mention Good lock and Cover screen To my colleague, Ryan).

Instead, Samsung is leaning heavily on its AI tools, like Circle to Search, Sketch to Image, and the growing number of languages ​​supported for Conversation Mode translations. These are all nice features that elevate the Galaxy experience, don’t get me wrong, but you can have them on the cheaper S24 series. The foldable-only merits of these latest models, if any, are buried under the sleep-inducing beam of AI features that are quickly becoming industry mainstays anyway. The best the Flip can say about its hardware upgrades is that it has a slightly larger battery, and its main camera is now on par with the Galaxy S24. Fine, but if you’re serious about photos, buy the S24 for the telephoto lens. And the Fold, well, it’s a strictly worse Ultra in the camera, IP rating, and S Pen storage departments, but Samsung has made strides to close the display gap (yay!) and make the front panel wider (also, yay!).

I guess what I’m saying is that no matter where you look, people like me are still shrugging, waiting for that amazing foldable app that will make us drop our slabs of glass.

To be fair to Samsung, it’s not the only company struggling to make its foldable devices stand out. It has to deal with dodgy software on the OnePlus Opendubious applications and an old chip with the Pixel foldand the last triple folding screen Huawei’s idea won’t be coming to the U.S., again. With prices starting at $1,699 for these high-flying models, I’m still a long way from being convinced to spend more than my rental price on a phone that comes with a list of caveats.

But even the price doesn’t seem to be the biggest obstacle. The $699 price tag Motorola Razr (2024) It’s a bold choice that costs a bit less than an entry-level flagship phone, but again you’re sacrificing performance, battery life, and updates in the long run. Still, it’s probably the closest we’ve come to a blanket recommendation for a foldable phone, but there’s always a compromise or two that make sticking with a traditional phone the safer bet. My wife loves her clamshell OPPO, for example, though she often complains that photos taken with my Pixel 8 Pro look so much better.

I don’t think any of us thought we’d still be arguing about plastic versus glass. dust resistancecamera, battery life, and other drawbacks over the six years since the Fold made its debut. Historically, it seemed like these kinds of issues were ironed out over time, and while the initial design and display issues are now resolved, the bigger picture is still one of compromise.

Maybe that’s why Apple has refused to wade into this mess. If Cupertino were to launch a foldable iPhone today, what would the sales pitch be (besides “here’s how you can spend even more money on an iPhone”)? I can’t even begin to think of how iOS would improve with more screen real estate — it just has movable icons, for crying out loud! The iPhone series and sales are doing just fine without a foldable, which begs the question of why everyone else is so persistent with the form factor.

Maybe Apple is secretly perfecting a foldable version of iOS or waiting for flexible display technology to be totally wrinkle-free before it crashes the party. Maybe it doesn’t care at all and will never venture into the world of foldable devices. But for now, it’s happily eating popcorn on the sidelines, watching its rivals fight over the rope that isn’t even tied to the tree.