The iPhone Fold's first major red flag is waving high

Two major Apple-related events have dominated the iPhone realm in the past 24 hours. First, Apple has announced a new CEO; second – the company is rumored to have come up with another killer phone paint.

There's another important iPhone-related bit of news that got my attention, though:

• Apple made a design choice for the iPhone Ultra that might seem confusing at first

It's the kind of change that makes you wonder who asked for this in the first place.

The odd button

As the article above goes, the iPhone Fold (a.k.a. the iPhone Ultra) is now rumored to pack a camera control button on its side, much like the regular, non-folding iPhone 17 models.

This is an unnecessary move, the way I see it.

Will it be used? Yeah. Will there be fans that'll love it? Yeah, sure. Nothing on a phone is 100% "good" or "bad". Even quad-curved display panels have a fanbase.

But a camera control button has no place in a foldable because, frankly said, nobody buys a foldable for its cameras and the overall photography experience.

What is a foldable

For starters, it's an expensive gadget. That's why some people, who otherwise wouldn't want to have anything to do with multitasking, are buying foldables – for them, it's a status toy. That's the way they signal to the world that they don't end the month on instant noodles and tap water.

Beyond that, a foldable is as good as its inner display and hinge are. The magic happens the moment your candy bar device opens to the side (let's leave clamshell out of this right now) and you get twice the screen real estate. It's a revelation.

Photos suddenly appear much more impressive, navigating menus is a breeze, you've got (almost) all of your apps right in front of you (no endless scrolling is needed) – suddenly, your life becomes a bit easier.

When you're done with whatever you're doing, you fold this mini-tablet back to its original candy bar form, you put it in your pocket and you go on with your day.

Speaking of tablets…

Tablets don't need mega cameras, too

The iPhone Fold will not be some sort of iPad, of course – it'll be a true-blooded phone.

But the irony is that people who fancy tablets are naturally drawn to foldables – that big screen real estate is quite something.

And tablets don't prioritize cameras deliberately. That's because they're tools designed mainly for media consumption, not photography or videography. Although on trips abroad I've seen one or two eccentric tourists who've been taking snapshots with tablets…

Tablets are for watching videos, browsing, reading or multitasking. Hence, brands pay more attention to displays, battery life and performance instead of camera hardware.

OK, maybe the selfie camera is important in a tablet, but, honestly, how well does your boss need to see you in your weekly meeting? Does it matter if you're in 720p or in 4K? Joking aside, a stable high-speed internet connection is more important than your front-facing camera if you're using a tablet.

It's too early…

It's too early to try to shape up the iPhone Fold as some sort of excellent photography tool. Not only that, but the iPhone Fold is a first-gen device. As such, it'll probably come with a hiccup or two – and that's only natural.

So, Apple should be concentrating on trucking right. Let's make sure this first-of-its-kind iPhone folds and unfolds properly… without squeaking and creaking sounds. Let's focus on that display crease.

It also needs solid battery life, since larger displays can easily drain power faster than expected.

Durability should be another top priority, as people won't be willing to give Apple $2,000+ for this phone if it looks too fragile.

Also, Apple will have to optimize iOS to properly adapt to a folding layout, not just scale up existing apps.

Sure, we need capable cameras on a foldable. But let's not go into that territory yet – let's leave that for the future.

The competition is heating

Apple has made promises (not official, of course, but that's what Rumorsville has been talking about) about a creaseless display. That's, of course, simply not possible right now, but it's a fact that foldables have been trying really hard to eliminate the crease.

The new Find N6 by Oppo, for example, showed off an impressively shallow crease. Yes, it's there, yes, you can notice it, but it's not as pronounced as on earlier foldables.

That's a nice feature for the iPhone Fold to focus on in its first iteration.

We've got phones for photography

Foldables don't need to excel in the camera department, they don't need camera control buttons, they don't have to offer support for external telephoto adapters, filters, grips or whatnot. They need to fold and unfold effortlessly, they need to last several years before showing nasty signs of wear and tear, they must come with substantial battery life.

They have to, ultimately, perform the very thing they were made for – provide us with a tool for multitasking and great media consumption.

We've already got phones for serious photography and videography; pick any recent Ultra by Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo (or the latest Pro Max by Apple) and you're good to go.

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