Commentary: A folding iPhone could help Apple dominate, and revitalize, the flexible phone category. I need it to happen.
Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro launch brought some key changes, including updated cameras, titanium designs and USB-C. But we didn’t get a folding iPhone. At least, not one you can fold without snapping it in half and ruining it. But with many mobile firms including Samsung, Google and OnePlus already selling folding devices, it’s beginning to feel like Apple is late to the party. And that might be a problem.
Apple dominates in the premium phone category, but foldables — which fit into the premium space in terms of price — are already nipping at its heels, with Motorola telling CNET that 20% of customers buying its Razr foldable jumped ship from Apple. Samsung meanwhile is in the fifth generation of its Flip and Fold series, and as CNET Editor Lisa Eadicicco found out during a visit to Seoul, South Korea, « foldables are everywhere. »
Would Apple go with a smaller format like the Galaxy Z Flip 5?
With both Google and OnePlus getting in on the foldable phone game last year, Apple runs the risk of not just losing out on potential customers, but allowing rivals like Samsung to become the go-to name for the category, which could make it harder for Apple to make an impact if it eventually launches its own folding product. Furthermore, early foldable adopters attracted by the fancy bending tech may be too entrenched in the Android ecosystem by the time Apple’s phone arrives to want to switch to iOS.
But Apple is unlikely to be worried. It’s predicted that around 20 million foldables from all manufacturers were sold worldwide in 2023, while Apple reportedly sold 26.5 million iPhone 14 Pro Max handsets in the first half of the year alone.
