Apple’s foldable iPhone is starting to sound less like a flashy hardware experiment and more like the company’s attempt to rethink what an iPhone can do once it opens up into something closer to a small tablet. A new report from Bloomberg claims that the device will introduce iPad-like layouts and side-by-side app support, giving Apple a more practical reason to ask users to care about a foldable iPhone in the first place.
Apple’s Foldable iPhone May Finally Use A Bigger Screen In A Way That Actually Feels Useful
Note that these software-based features have already existed on the market, and competitors like Samsung have made fun of Apple for not including them on the iPhone. Split-screen on Android is available on almost all handsets, whether they fold in half or not. Apple, on the flip side, has always resisted the feature.
The iPad, on the other hand, has a plethora of features that take advantage of the bigger screen real estate. Apple’s reported approach will be deliberate and follow the same rules, as per the report. What this means is that you will get a foldable iPhone that acts like a normal iPhone when it is closed, but an entirely new interface pointed toward productivity when it is unfolded.
Some of the changes that we should be looking forward to include room for two apps opened side by side and app layouts with left-hand sidebars that look more at home on an iPad. If the rumors hold up, Apple will give the foldable iPhone an iPadOS treatment, but needless to say, it will not run iPadOS, as it will cannabalise the iPad. We still believe that the foldable iPhone will run iOS, and some of its parts will remain identical to what it is today, while the bigger-screen aspect will get a UI overhaul.
The Wider iPad Mini-Like Form Factor Could Be The Real Advantage
The reported shape of the iPhone Fold also helps explain why this could work better than many foldables out in the market. The report mentions that the inner display will be roughly the size of an iPad mini, while earlier reports also point to a 4:3 aspect ratio over a narrower book-like design. For average users, this change could make reading, split-screen work, and video watching feel less compromised and less gimmicky.
It was also previously reported that the foldable iPhone will feature a hole-punch camera on the front, which means that the company is moving away from Face ID and adopting Touch ID. On the back of the device, it will feature a dual-camera setup, unlike the iPhone 17 Pro lineup with a triple-camera array. Apple will not cram every little feature into its foldable to keep the form factor as usable as possible.
While it may be the smart play, the company will charge around $2,000 for the device. The company cannot sell the iPhone based on novelty alone, as the competition has been doing it for more than half a decade and users are already familiar with the mechanism and the technology. With that said, the foldable iPhone has to feel like two categories merging into one useful device.
If the software truly makes the larger screen productive, Apple’s foldable iPhone could end up being less about the folding glass and more about finally making bigger-screen iPhone multitasking make sense.
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