Zhi DongXi (public number: zhidxcom)
Compile the | Zhihuai
Edit | Yunpeng
According to foreign media Pocketnow, Apple is about to launch its first folding screen device, but the specific release time is still unknown. Pocketnow believes that although the launch of folding screen devices at this point in time has been a little slower than the pace of the market, Apple has never given up the development of folding screen products, and will definitely launch them at a suitable time, and Apple CEO Tim Cook does not want to miss the early consumers of folding screen products.
▲Folding screen iPhone concept map
With the release of vivo X Fold, so far, Samsung, Huawei, Honor, OPPO and other head mobile phone manufacturers have already owned their own folding screen products, and Samsung, which was the first to participate in the folding screen market, has even launched the third generation of folding screen mobile phones. However, in these folding screen manufacturers, we have not found the shadow of Apple for a long time, and Apple, which has always been at the forefront of the industry, seems to have slowed down the opponent when entering the folding screen field this time.
But now Apple needs to face the problem: late entry into the folding screen market, how to find a new breakthrough point to lead the new trend of folding screen products?
First, touch screen smart phones and smart watches are not "Apple's first"
Before the folding screen device entered the public eye, Apple has told us with many practical actions that it is not the kind of brand that blindly follows competitors to launch fresh products, on the contrary, it will always release better products later than the opponents, observe and wait for the products of the category to mature.
For example, the iPhone, which is often considered the pioneering work of the "touchscreen smartphone", in fact, before it, LG has joined hands with the famous luxury brand Prada to create the first capacitive screen mobile phone LG Prada (also known as LG KE850 Prada). LG Prada was released on December 15, 2006, while the first iPhone was released on January 9, 2007. Even LG Prada went on sale in May 2007, and the first iPhone was first released in June of the same year.
LG Prada (also known as LG KE850 Prada)
The reason why the iPhone is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people is that in the final analysis, Steve Jobs permanently changed the smartphone industry through the first generation of the iPhone.
Also not "Apple's first" is the smart watch. Before the Apple Watch, Motorola had already pioneered the Moto 360 smartwatch in the summer of 2014, a year before the Apple Watch generation officially released on March 10, 2015.
▲ Moto 360 smart watch
But look at seven years later, look around, how many people have an Apple Watch, and how many people choose to take a Motorola smartwatch? The "tech giant from Cupertino" (referring to Apple) has once again triumphed in the field of smart wearables with a considerable advantage.
▲Apple Watch
However, foreign media Pocketnow still believes that although Apple is very good at using this "late-strike" strategy to pursue the long-term benefits of the brand, the situation in the folding screen market seems to be very different from the previous situation.
Second, in the folding screen market, Samsung has an absolute advantage
Apple's competitor, Samsung, has an absolute advantage in the field of folding screens. Foreign media Pocketnow also highlighted that Samsung is about to launch its "fourth generation" folding screen mobile phone this year, suggesting that this advantage seems to be expanded. In the three generations of folding screen products that have been released, Samsung has solved most of the problems that may occur in folding screen mobile phones.
As the proverb goes, "Rome was not built in a day." "Looking back at the first generation of folding screen product Galaxy Z Fold launched by Samsung, it was not perfect at that time, and once the screen film was torn off, the folding screen would be damaged, and the mechanical structure and hinge were not durable. However, after more than two years of hard work, Samsung's folding screen products now have a nearly perfect use experience, they are good enough, and they are also very suitable for daily use.
▲Galaxy Z Fold 3
Companies such as OPPO and vivo have also released folding screen devices. When releasing OPPO Find N, OPPO said that in fact, they have been developing the folding screen for four years, as OPPO's first folding screen product, OPPO Find N has almost a perfect hinge design, and the screen has almost no creases.
Hinges, mechanical structures, waterproof, high brushes and even under-screen frontage, as more and more smartphone brands join the development of folding screen products, how many bright spots are left for Apple to explore?
Third, the combination of Mac + iPad may be Apple's magic weapon
Is Apple really not having any chance of winning in today's folding screen field? Of course not, Pocketnow said, a few weeks ago, there was a report that Apple has been developing a "fusion Of Mac and iPad in one" folding screen device, through hinge and folding way to allow the device to switch between the Mac and iPad two forms. When folded, the outer screen size of this device is 11 inches, and when fully expanded, the inner screen will be a large 17-inch screen.
▲Folding screen "Mac + iPad two-in-one" product concept map
Pocketnow said that through the folding screen to achieve the integration of notebooks and tablets, this technology field has so far few companies to get involved, the foreign media believes that if Apple can quickly land related technology and release this product, it is likely to become a pioneer in the field.
However, Guo Mingxi, an analyst at Tianfeng International Securities, said in the report that Apple's first folding screen device will still be a "folding screen mobile phone". Although Mr. Kuo did not continue to post more information, his tweets have been suggesting that Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series is still Apple's main competitor.
Conclusion: Obscuring the crowd or being a pioneer? Apple's folding screen still has variables
If apple really chooses to benchmark the Galaxy Z Fold series in the end, then its folding screen products will be as no surprise as the folding screen products that have been released on the market, and Apple will once again follow in the footsteps of competitors.
All in all, if Apple releases the "MacBook + iPad" two-in-one folding product, then it is likely to open up a new category of folding screen products, and even hope to become a leader again. But the reality is that Apple's actions in the folding screen field remain to be seen, whether it is software, hardware or anything else, until more news comes out, everything will be unknown.
Source: Pocketnow