The Obvious Solution
When Apple unveiled their newly svelte 13" iPad Pro, they created a problem for me to which there is currently no solution. Granted, it’s a good problem. I’m having a terrible time deciding whether to stick with the same size (I currently use a 10.5"iPad Pro) or try and go big and order the larger one.
In the past, I never had any problems deciding which one to buy because the 13"iPad Pro was just too large. Sure the 13-incher would be great to use at a desk when I want to multitask, but for carrying around the country to use as my e-reader? Mmm, not so much. But I would love that extra screen size for split screen comfort in landscape mode. What to do?
I suppose I could get two iPads. Use one for reading in bed or on an airplane and the other when I’m sitting on the couch or at a desk. But I’d hate to start juggling another device in my life. Especially when my iPhone already costs over $1,000 and now so does my iPad.
A foldable iPhone seems to solve my problem. The current XS Max is too small for me to use for long periods of time before I wish I had a bigger screen to read on. But if it could open up close to the size of an iPad, that would be good enough to free me from the desire to buy an 11"-screened device. I would then be free to get the big 13" iPad, and I could enjoy the best of both worlds. An e-reader tablet for bed or travel and a big iPad for more serious reading or work. Plus, you can’t put your iPad Pro into your pocket. A foldable iPhone you probably could.
I put my iPhone XS next to my wife’s iPhone and measure the diagonal width. It came out to over 7.7”. A XS Max would be over 9”. Sure, it wouldn’t be as big as the iPad Pro, but it would be big enough that I wouldn’t feel like I ever needed to buy the mid-sized iPad. I could go for the more expensive 13". Music to Apple’s ears.
Then there’s the whole benefit of connectivity. How many people spring for the cheaper non-cellular iPads just to save $130? If your iPhone could fold out into a 9" tablet, you wouldn’t have to pay for two lines of cellular service. Two for the price of one.
And better yet, the aspect ratio would be much closer to the wide screen formats that we use on our laptops. One of my few gripes when the iPhone X came out was that the aspect ratio became taller and narrower. I liked the wider format of the Plus iPhones. Mark my words, if Samsung can get a decent foldable phone, they will spend a billion dollars a month comparing their wide-screen phones to Apple’s skinny narrow iPhones and poking fun at Apple enthusiasts reading their grocery receipt shaped phones.
The only drawback I can think of is that the iPhone would get both thicker and heavier by a large factor. However, I suspect that Apple has doggedly been pursuing making both their iPads and iPhones thinner and lighter in order to make them foldable in the future. No one wants to carry a nearly one-inch-thick device in their pocket. Well, unless you’re a 10-year-old kid with a Nintendo 3DS.
I’ve heard many Apple pundits discussing the same predicament of trying to decide which sized iPad to buy. The obvious solution to this problem seems to be that Apple needs to make a foldable iPhone so that there is no need for a midsize iPad any more. Some of these same Apple pundits can also see no reason for a foldable iPhone. That I find flabbergasting.
I suppose I could get two iPads. Use one for reading in bed or on an airplane and the other when I’m sitting on the couch or at a desk. But I’d hate to start juggling another device in my life. Especially when my iPhone already costs over $1,000 and now so does my iPad.
A foldable iPhone seems to solve my problem. The current XS Max is too small for me to use for long periods of time before I wish I had a bigger screen to read on. But if it could open up close to the size of an iPad, that would be good enough to free me from the desire to buy an 11"-screened device. I would then be free to get the big 13" iPad, and I could enjoy the best of both worlds. An e-reader tablet for bed or travel and a big iPad for more serious reading or work. Plus, you can’t put your iPad Pro into your pocket. A foldable iPhone you probably could.
I put my iPhone XS next to my wife’s iPhone and measure the diagonal width. It came out to over 7.7”. A XS Max would be over 9”. Sure, it wouldn’t be as big as the iPad Pro, but it would be big enough that I wouldn’t feel like I ever needed to buy the mid-sized iPad. I could go for the more expensive 13". Music to Apple’s ears.
Then there’s the whole benefit of connectivity. How many people spring for the cheaper non-cellular iPads just to save $130? If your iPhone could fold out into a 9" tablet, you wouldn’t have to pay for two lines of cellular service. Two for the price of one.
And better yet, the aspect ratio would be much closer to the wide screen formats that we use on our laptops. One of my few gripes when the iPhone X came out was that the aspect ratio became taller and narrower. I liked the wider format of the Plus iPhones. Mark my words, if Samsung can get a decent foldable phone, they will spend a billion dollars a month comparing their wide-screen phones to Apple’s skinny narrow iPhones and poking fun at Apple enthusiasts reading their grocery receipt shaped phones.
The only drawback I can think of is that the iPhone would get both thicker and heavier by a large factor. However, I suspect that Apple has doggedly been pursuing making both their iPads and iPhones thinner and lighter in order to make them foldable in the future. No one wants to carry a nearly one-inch-thick device in their pocket. Well, unless you’re a 10-year-old kid with a Nintendo 3DS.
I’ve heard many Apple pundits discussing the same predicament of trying to decide which sized iPad to buy. The obvious solution to this problem seems to be that Apple needs to make a foldable iPhone so that there is no need for a midsize iPad any more. Some of these same Apple pundits can also see no reason for a foldable iPhone. That I find flabbergasting.
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