On Tuesday, South Korean dishwasher maker Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Z Flip, a new $1,400 phone that unfolds into a full-size display, or into a split-screen dual display with a visible seam when open down the fold, prompting some to ask, “Where’s Apple’s foldable iPhone?” The convicted Apple patent infringer is no doubt hopeful that the Z Flip will be more successful than the faulty, easily-breakable Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Fold 2, which it released last year to remarkably horrible reviews as the junky, poorly-designed products tended to break within days, if not hours, of real-world use.
Peter Jarich of GSMA Intelligence… noted that among network operators he’s heard from, a strong majority expect that folding phones will be offered through their channels. It’s less clear when, or if, folding phones will go mainstream among smartphone vendors.
As for Apple, Samsung’s chief rival, a collection of patent filings spurred speculation that the iPhone giant could someday release a foldable device of its own.
In early February, as spotted by AppleInsider, Apple filed a patent for a folding mechanism that doesn’t leave a crease. And last year, analysts at UBS analyzed intellectual property filings by Apple and predicted that it could release a folding device — likely a tablet, rather than a phone — by 2021. The UBS analysts also conducted a survey indicating “generally higher interest among Apple buyers for foldable products.”
MacDailyNews Take: Is that a Galaxy Z Flip in your pocket or a hockey puck? “Too thick when folded” is why it makes perfect sense for Apple to do a foldable display first with iPad, a device that is not carried in pockets and where thickness when folded is therefore not an issue.