Why Apple Hasn’t Released a Folding iPhone

George Tinari
Adventures in Consumer Technology
4 min readJan 28, 2020

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Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

I just finished reading Ron Amadeo’s abysmal review of the Samsung Galaxy Fold on Ars Technica. He just completely ripped the thing to shreds. I think all of us in tech knew the Galaxy Fold was going to be a bad phone, but for a reviewer to flat-out call it a “failure” and an “ugly disappointment” is next-level.

The review got me thinking about how all the Samsung and Android die-hards rushed to point out the Galaxy Fold to me when it was first announced. “I don’t see Apple releasing anything like this,” they bragged, or so they thought. Of course, anyone who likes Apple products and has been following the company for years and years knows this type of reaction all too well. It’s funny how so many people think we’re all submissive cult members, yet it’s pretty hard to find someone more obsessed with talking about Apple than a passionate Android fan.

On the surface, it’s a valid criticism though. No one can argue that the Galaxy Fold isn’t innovative. Even if it’s a bad phone, it’s still a unique new concept that clearly has potential. But because of all the hype that surrounds new Apple products, and given how radically game-changing the very first iPhone was, there is a constant expectation that Apple needs to regularly outdo itself to stay on top. Where is that shiny new product that leaves the iPhone as we know it totally in the dust? Where is Apple’s folding phone?

I Hope You’re Sitting Down

The answer is you won’t see it at least for a few more years. And I think that’s being generous. There is a very specific reason why Apple hasn’t released a folding iPhone or any other radically new device yet: the technology isn’t nearly ready.

The difference between Apple and Samsung that always surfaces time and again is summed up in one famous quote from Dr. Malcolm in Jurassic Park: “Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is a $2,000 prototype released way too soon. It is so utterly flawed that Amadeo said bluntly in his review that no one should buy this phone. It’s heavy and clunky, it has a long, middle crease that hinders natural ways in which one would interact with the display, and the software is so…

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George Tinari
Adventures in Consumer Technology

Usually writing about Apple, but I get bursts of passion elsewhere too. Seen on MakeUseOf, Engadget, Cult of Mac, Guiding Tech, and others.