The world’s most valuable smartphone company, Apple, despite being late to the party, is finally planning on introducing its first foldable smartphone, signaling a dramatic shift for the iPhone maker as it enters a field previously dominated by Android competition.
For years, companies like Samsung have dominated the folding field, launching numerous generations of products like the Galaxy Fold series and iteratively improving the technology.
Samsung released its first foldable smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, in 2019, ushering in a new era of mobile design.
Although the aforementioned device is recognized as the initial commercially successful foldable smartphone, it is widely acknowledged within the tech industry that the first iteration of a foldable smartphone was introduced by the Kyocera Echo in 2011.
This would mean that Apple is only adopting the idea, 15 years after it was initially envisioned.
However, Apple is famous for taking its time with introducing new features, as the company prioritizes providing air-tight functionalities with little to no hiccups, rather than being the first to roll out a feature.
Apple: Perfection over pioneering
A recent example is Apple’s delay on Apple Intelligence, an AI-integrated feature that was first announced in 2024, but fell months behind Samsung’s AI integration.
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Other examples include Apple’s delay on OLED screens, introduction of widgets, App drawer, stylus pen, video stabilization, and more, all of which its iPhone users clamored for, before Apple decided to integrate.
Android devices like Samsung and Pixel beat Apple to these innovations; however, users have come out to admit that while Apple delayed on said features, they eventually did it better.
The question users now have in mind is whether this same attention to detail and excellence would be brought to the Apple foldable phone, and if complaints about prior foldable devices would be addressed, especially considering that Apple has pushed forward its release date for its foldable phone.
If Apple releases its foldable gadget as expected, it would not only enter a competitive area but also aim to change it, years after the first foldable cellphones transformed the industry.
