Imagine a 9" iPhone
I’ve been saying for a while now that foldable smartphones need to happen. More and more iPhone users are gravitating to big screens. But yet they also wish to put their phones in their pocket for easy mobility. Flexible screens are the only way to make that happen.
Jordan Kahn is reporting for 9to5Mac that Apple is rumored to be one of LG’s first partners to purchase its future foldable smartphone displays. Nice. Can you imagine an iPhone with a nine-inch screen?
But how would the existence of 7–10" iPhones impact the iPad? You’d really only need the 13-inch iPads at that point. This makes sense, because while the phones are stealing market share from tablets, tablets will be doing the same to laptops. That means that the iPad Pro mix will probably start leaning towards the larger size anyway. I could even envision a 15" iPad Pro that’s intended more for desktop use.
If foldable iPhones started to dominate the 4–10" screen size, it also seems that you’d need something other than just size to distinguish the iPad. My wish list would be for an iPad Pro with 3D Touch, trackpad functionality, and more ports. It would be quite useful to be able to plug in an external monitor and use any keyboard I’d like while seated at a desk. These features would definitely help the iPad stand out from gigantic phone/tablet hybrids and help it take more territory from laptops.
I don’t think that foldable iPhones are going to kill the iPad market. What they would do is push them upmarket, which is good news if you’re already an iPad enthusiast like myself. Perhaps Apple will finally add some of the more powerful software and hardware features we’ve been wanting.
But how would the existence of 7–10" iPhones impact the iPad? You’d really only need the 13-inch iPads at that point. This makes sense, because while the phones are stealing market share from tablets, tablets will be doing the same to laptops. That means that the iPad Pro mix will probably start leaning towards the larger size anyway. I could even envision a 15" iPad Pro that’s intended more for desktop use.
If foldable iPhones started to dominate the 4–10" screen size, it also seems that you’d need something other than just size to distinguish the iPad. My wish list would be for an iPad Pro with 3D Touch, trackpad functionality, and more ports. It would be quite useful to be able to plug in an external monitor and use any keyboard I’d like while seated at a desk. These features would definitely help the iPad stand out from gigantic phone/tablet hybrids and help it take more territory from laptops.
I don’t think that foldable iPhones are going to kill the iPad market. What they would do is push them upmarket, which is good news if you’re already an iPad enthusiast like myself. Perhaps Apple will finally add some of the more powerful software and hardware features we’ve been wanting.
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