While Samsung, Huawei, and Motorola are a few major players to have launched a foldable smartphone, another important name missing from the action is Apple. But it is natural for Apple to stay away from the rat-race as it believes in being perfect rather than first. Eventually, Apple might launch a foldable iPhone and some reports have already been speculating an imminent launch in the next 1-2 years.
Apple usually keeps a tight lid on its upcoming projects and we haven't seen a single leak showing the foldable iPhone in action. But that hasn't stopped Apple fans from imagining what could be in store. Better yet, a fan-made concept phone depicting "iPhone 12 Flip" shows an incredible design that's too good to be true - at least for now.
iPhone 12 Flip
Looking at the foldable iPhone concept is exciting and disappointing at the same time. Exciting because the design is nothing like we've ever seen and disappointing because we won't be seeing it anytime soon. In fact, there's no guarantee we'll ever be seeing this beautifully-crafted concept phone.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to see how the imaginations are running wild with foldable concepts. Hopefully, OEMs take note of such concepts while designing their next phones. As far as the iPhone 12 Flip concept is concerned, the graphic designer has a new take on how the foldable phones could evolve in the future.
The short video shows an ultra-sleek foldable phone with a clamshell-design just like we've seen in the Moto Razr. There's a smaller cover display with a notch, which most likely houses the cameras and FaceID, but its placement doesn't make sense as it is towards the bottom of the cover display.
The most interesting part is a touch slider to unfold the phone, where a bigger, notch-free display is seen. The designer has used iOS interface with iOS stock apps on both screens to add a touch of authenticity.
You can watch the video below:
The folding mechanism looks too easy to handle, which isn't the case with current foldable phones. You'd usually use two hands, but the user in the video uses just a single hand to close and open the foldable iPhone. We don't see that happening any time soon. The video doesn't offer anything else besides this.
The current state of foldable phones
Comparing this foldable iPhone concept to the current foldable phones in the market, there are a lot of discrepancies. Firstly, the sleekness of the foldable iPhone concept is unreal - after all it is a concept. But the current foldable phones such as Samsung Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Z Flip, Huawei Mate X and Moto Razr, are too thick. Over time, we can expect them to trim down, but this is the hard reality.
Another fact about the new foldable phones is that they are not easy to open with a single hand. The hinges used in the foldable phones are strong and for a very good reason. This ensures the foldable phones last long.
Apple's entry into the foldable phone space could change a lot of things, but it doesn't look like something you must hold your breath over.
