I think it looks awesome and has very cool features, but that crease is gonna happen, and as another commenter said, I’ll let others be the guinea pigs.
And that price is absolutely goddamn bananas. It’s basically an iPad mini that folds. And I don’t need an iPad mini.
Look, Apple‘s build quality just can’t be beat. They make a solid goddamn product. I have been buying Apple products for over 25 years, and I have never had a single Apple product fail on me. Not once.
Now you can complain all you want about the software, but that’s mostly a matter of personal opinion, and some matter of weirdness. But the software is also pretty solid, saved for some odd choices here and there.
It’s all BSD/UNIX after all (or, a rather odd derivative akin to the likes of Solaris, but that’s another conversation)
However, recently, the corporate philosophy and my own philosophy has become divergent, and Linux has become a lot more attractive. And, finally, far more capable than it has been in the past. finally, a worthy replacement.
That’s what macOS always was: what Linux wasn’t yet. But it is now. and Apple has run the fuck out of time.
For example, until the last five or eight years or so, Apple used to be a major contributor to some of the most important open source projects on earth,… Until the last five or eight years or so… Not so much anymore. There are a lot more examples, but I don’t think you wanna hear it.
For all of the awesomeness that Apple once held, it really was Tim Cook that took a shit on all of it
Unrepairable-by-design machines which (for the few parts that can be replaced) explicitly require you to buy Apple branded parts at a premium… we must have different definitions of build quality, because using good materials on a poorly designed product still makes a poor product.
And yes, it’s true that everyone just solders RAM to the board and calls it a day now; Apple started that trend too. I agree they look nice. But they are not designed with the best interests of the consumer. They’re designed to maximize profits for Apple, despite the consumer also paying more for it.
But, to each their own. I also used to really enjoy their machines, but it was a long time ago (before they switched from PPC to Intel). Back in those days, Apple’s pricing was not nearly as batshit crazy as it is now. Since then, you consistently get less machine for more money. Doesn’t matter which device.
If I’m rich enough to buy an Apple product, I will never need to repair it, because I’ll just buy a new one in a year or two. QED. That is the entire product model, thus the point.
Apple products are extremely well built. There is no debate on that subject. They are extremely unrepairable. There is no debate on that subject. And this is not a conversation for the debate between those two subjects.
I will say this: I wish for repairable (or at least more repairable) products from Apple, but this is a very different conversation than “well-built products”
Edit: if I had said “well designed products”, then we might have a debate on the subject, but I didn’t.
I get where you’re coming from, and I get where you’re going, but the intersection you’re looking for just isn’t there
Certainly better than my 2023 Pixel Fold but mine’s 3 years old. Youtube reviewers said the crease wouldn’t be noticeable once there’s content on it but I can always feel it when I scroll and text doesn’t look perfect over those pixels. I do like having a bigger screen for my failing vision but I waited 2 years and got my open box/refurb unit for $350 last year, I don’t expect that kind of depreciation on this thing.
I carry a phone and an iPad mini. When both are due to be upgraded for me in a couple or three years, I may consider this.
I’ve been skeptical of a folding iPhone, but the aspect ratio of the duo hits just right for me. And the exterior screen. Of course I’m not gonna jump on gen 1.
I’ve been waiting on the idea of a folding phone until Apple did it, cause I pretty much was sure only they could do it right. It looks like I was right, but I’m still not convinced that they can/have solve(d) the crease problem.
I can’t afford to upgrade right now, especially at these prices, and I probably wouldn’t just because I want other people to test it out first. Also, we’re at the era when iPhones last for years and years. I’m still on my iPhone 14 Pro and perfectly happy with it. If I got the iPhone duo now, and it wasn’t built to last like my iPhone 14 Pro, I’d be pretty pissed. So I’m perfectly happy to let others test it out, or even wait until the iPhone duo two or three before I commit, again, especially at these prices. (holy banana boobies!)
I used to upgrade every year until my 11 Pro, then a few years until my 14 Pro, and now I haven’t upgraded since because Apple makes their phone so goddamn well. The only reason I’m even considering upgrading at this point is because I want a USB-C port, and I have finally dropped my iPhone so many times, that it has lost it waterproofness. Because I never owned an iPhone more than a year, this hasn’t happened before, but after year 4, I’m in a bit of a tough spot.
Math is like that…
Edit: oh shit, like seven people made comments while I was editing this. Sorry!
Every three or four years seems to be the sweet spot now, especially when that aligns with carrier incentives. I think that’s the iPhone business model now, get 25–33% of iPhone users to upgrade each year.
It was very different back in the early days, when the phone was $500. At four times the price, even with carrier incentives and payment plans, I just don’t see the point.
But, as I said, Apple really builds them to last now, and the software really supports the hardware for quite some time. Even the upcoming version of iOS will still support the iPhone 12.
As someone who is on my second foldable, I don’t get why everyone fixates on the crease. It’s seriously not a big deal and you don’t notice it in day to day use.
I think it looks awesome and has very cool features, but that crease is gonna happen, and as another commenter said, I’ll let others be the guinea pigs.
And that price is absolutely goddamn bananas. It’s basically an iPad mini that folds. And I don’t need an iPad mini.
Apple gonna Apple. People keep paying for some reason, so I’m not blaming the big corporation, for once.
That’s… the pretty standard rate for a book style foldable. Not Apple being Apple.
Apple’s lies somewhere in between the $1900 Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the $2100 Galazy Z Fold 8 Ultra. And the price is right in the middle at $2000.
The Pixel Fold 11 Pro is $1900.
The Razr Fold is $1900.
The Oppo Find N6 is $1900.
Look, Apple‘s build quality just can’t be beat. They make a solid goddamn product. I have been buying Apple products for over 25 years, and I have never had a single Apple product fail on me. Not once.
Now you can complain all you want about the software, but that’s mostly a matter of personal opinion, and some matter of weirdness. But the software is also pretty solid, saved for some odd choices here and there.
It’s all BSD/UNIX after all (or, a rather odd derivative akin to the likes of Solaris, but that’s another conversation)
However, recently, the corporate philosophy and my own philosophy has become divergent, and Linux has become a lot more attractive. And, finally, far more capable than it has been in the past. finally, a worthy replacement.
That’s what macOS always was: what Linux wasn’t yet. But it is now. and Apple has run the fuck out of time.
For example, until the last five or eight years or so, Apple used to be a major contributor to some of the most important open source projects on earth,… Until the last five or eight years or so… Not so much anymore. There are a lot more examples, but I don’t think you wanna hear it.
For all of the awesomeness that Apple once held, it really was Tim Cook that took a shit on all of it
Apple really did used to be great 😢
Unrepairable-by-design machines which (for the few parts that can be replaced) explicitly require you to buy Apple branded parts at a premium… we must have different definitions of build quality, because using good materials on a poorly designed product still makes a poor product.
And yes, it’s true that everyone just solders RAM to the board and calls it a day now; Apple started that trend too. I agree they look nice. But they are not designed with the best interests of the consumer. They’re designed to maximize profits for Apple, despite the consumer also paying more for it.
But, to each their own. I also used to really enjoy their machines, but it was a long time ago (before they switched from PPC to Intel). Back in those days, Apple’s pricing was not nearly as batshit crazy as it is now. Since then, you consistently get less machine for more money. Doesn’t matter which device.
A strawman argument upon which I will not engage
If I’m rich enough to buy an Apple product, I will never need to repair it, because I’ll just buy a new one in a year or two. QED. That is the entire product model, thus the point.
Apple products are extremely well built. There is no debate on that subject. They are extremely unrepairable. There is no debate on that subject. And this is not a conversation for the debate between those two subjects.
I will say this: I wish for repairable (or at least more repairable) products from Apple, but this is a very different conversation than “well-built products”
Edit: if I had said “well designed products”, then we might have a debate on the subject, but I didn’t.
I get where you’re coming from, and I get where you’re going, but the intersection you’re looking for just isn’t there
The crease:
Certainly better than my 2023 Pixel Fold but mine’s 3 years old. Youtube reviewers said the crease wouldn’t be noticeable once there’s content on it but I can always feel it when I scroll and text doesn’t look perfect over those pixels. I do like having a bigger screen for my failing vision but I waited 2 years and got my open box/refurb unit for $350 last year, I don’t expect that kind of depreciation on this thing.
Is this an actual production iPhone Duo?
Yep
Damn
I carry a phone and an iPad mini. When both are due to be upgraded for me in a couple or three years, I may consider this.
I’ve been skeptical of a folding iPhone, but the aspect ratio of the duo hits just right for me. And the exterior screen. Of course I’m not gonna jump on gen 1.
I’ve been waiting on the idea of a folding phone until Apple did it, cause I pretty much was sure only they could do it right. It looks like I was right, but I’m still not convinced that they can/have solve(d) the crease problem.
I can’t afford to upgrade right now, especially at these prices, and I probably wouldn’t just because I want other people to test it out first. Also, we’re at the era when iPhones last for years and years. I’m still on my iPhone 14 Pro and perfectly happy with it. If I got the iPhone duo now, and it wasn’t built to last like my iPhone 14 Pro, I’d be pretty pissed. So I’m perfectly happy to let others test it out, or even wait until the iPhone duo two or three before I commit, again, especially at these prices. (holy banana boobies!)
I used to upgrade every year until my 11 Pro, then a few years until my 14 Pro, and now I haven’t upgraded since because Apple makes their phone so goddamn well. The only reason I’m even considering upgrading at this point is because I want a USB-C port, and I have finally dropped my iPhone so many times, that it has lost it waterproofness. Because I never owned an iPhone more than a year, this hasn’t happened before, but after year 4, I’m in a bit of a tough spot.
Math is like that…
Edit: oh shit, like seven people made comments while I was editing this. Sorry!
Every three or four years seems to be the sweet spot now, especially when that aligns with carrier incentives. I think that’s the iPhone business model now, get 25–33% of iPhone users to upgrade each year.
It was very different back in the early days, when the phone was $500. At four times the price, even with carrier incentives and payment plans, I just don’t see the point.
But, as I said, Apple really builds them to last now, and the software really supports the hardware for quite some time. Even the upcoming version of iOS will still support the iPhone 12.
As someone who is on my second foldable, I don’t get why everyone fixates on the crease. It’s seriously not a big deal and you don’t notice it in day to day use.
As someone who hasn’t actually had one ever, that should probably answer your question
But I do have a not-tiny amount of OCD, so it’s a type of thing that would annoy me insanely, even though it didn’t really matter that much