Apple’s foldable iPhone just lost me, because what is that?

*Image credit — Scene

Everything seemed to be advancing perfectly. Apple has finally decided to release its long-awaited foldable iPhone next year. The fans are waiting with bated breath, and Samsung is ramping up its efforts to make the Galaxy Z Fold 8 a one-of-a-kind flagship foldable.

Even those of us who weren’t planning on getting the foldable iPhone were still excited. Apple is finally entering the foldable segment! What innovations is it going to bring? Has the company really managed to perfect a foldable smartphone that has no crease across its display?

So many questions, so much anticipation. And then…we found out what the phone is apparently going to look like. I don’t know about you, but I can’t ever see myself using this as a daily driver.

What is this, Apple?

Previous reports had already let us know that Apple’s foldable iPhone was going to be a bit wider than most other foldables currently on the market. Though not a new design, it’s not one that is commonly seen in this segment. I thought that Apple would just do something a bit different, but still make its phone look like what we’d broadly expect it to look like.

Well, Apple seems to have gone a step further with the design of the foldable iPhone than most people anticipated. Apparently, this thing is going to wider than it is tall when unfolded, and that means that it is going to look very awkward as a device, let alone as a phone.

This is the foldable iPhone?

If these new leaks are accurate, then the foldable iPhone looks unlike any modern popular foldable smartphone. Furthermore, the external display is apparently tiny, and measures in at 5.49 inches.

Other reports have claimed that Apple will market the foldable iPhone as the best iPhone model going forward, a step above the Pro Max model of that year. It’s also going to cost around $2,400, give or take a couple hundred bucks. But when it’s looking like that, will anyone even want it?

I wouldn’t.

Samsung, please don’t copy this

First the Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Watch Ultra, then the Galaxy XR, and then the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung has been on a copying spree when it comes to Apple products. Reports have already come in about the company exploring wide foldable smartphone designs, similar to the foldable iPhone and other niche foldables.

Samsung, I think I speak for a large portion of your consumer base, if not the majority of it, when I say this: please do not copy this design. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a superb foldable, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8 can be too. In fact, the Fold 7 is so good that Samsung is raising sales expectations for its foldables for the first time in generations. Do not kill this surge in popularity by copying such an awkward design.

I’m no longer looking forward to the foldable iPhone

After months of mounting excitement as more and more details emerged about the foldable iPhone, I suddenly find myself not excited for it anymore. I still want to see what Apple brings to the table, of course, but this just isn’t it. At least not for me.

Who knows, perhaps there is a large subset of the Apple fan base that will love this design. After all, the iPhone 17 Pro was ridiculed mercilessly when its design leaked prior to its launch, but people still bought it. Those who did now claim that the design grew on them, or that they always thought it was a welcome change.

But me? I think Samsung and Oppo are making great foldables, and Google still has some ways to go when it comes to design. Hopefully the successor to the foldable iPhone will be different, more traditional.

But if this is how the foldable iPhone is going to look like each year, I can safely cross it off my list of devices I absolutely must get my hands on. I think I’ll just appreciate it from afar.