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I could argue that the original iPhone didn't look worthy of $500 either. My fist iPhone was iPhone 5. Early adopters are a niche anyway and this device has a b

I could argue that the original iPhone didn't look worthy of $500 either. My fist iPhone was iPhone 5. Early adopters are a niche anyway and this device has a bright future. I bet all the phones will be more or less foldable.

Bud 8y ago
If you could argue that, perhaps you should try it. I rather doubt you can. The first iPhone was a polished, finished product. These foldables...aren't.
- rkangel 8y ago
  The first iPhone was not a finished product. It launched with only EDGE for mobile data, and with no app store. Combined, these limited its utility. It was the next version - with 3G and the first incarnation of the AppStore, that helped the iPhone gain mainstream popularity.
  - kristianc 8y ago
    It still represented a huge leap over everything else that was on the market at the time, such that Mobile Safari quickly came to account for around 80% or so of mobile data use.
    - rkangel 8y ago
      Absolutely. It showed that browsing the proper Web on a phone was something feasible to do. It was a great step forward, as these folding phones are.
      - 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
        Assuming the screen tech holds up. It’ll be a few iterations and several years before we can even determine if this is here to last. Even more before the price comes down to something kinda affordable. Also worth noting that flagship phones have only gotten more expensive since the first iPhone. Remember when we all thought the first iPhone was too expensive? This is 2k for what is essentially a prototype.
        Digit-Al 8y ago
        Actually, it's "nearly" $2.5k ;-)
      - headShrinker 8y ago
        I think you are vastly over simplifying what the iPhone was to the industry. The iPhone wasn’t just a native browser, it was also the iPod, Messaging with a full keyboard, and an intuitive integrated phone with visual voicemail. Also Apple through the iPhone freed us from being under the thumbs of our carriers and they’re terrible adware software. At the time I hated my phones so seeing the iPhone wasn’t just an easy and natural progression, it’s something I needed. A folding screen seems like engineers creating something that has no need. I don’t want it. It seems like 3-D TV “let’s do it because we can” not because it’s a good idea.
      - rchaud 8y ago
        > Absolutely. It showed that browsing the proper Web on a phone was something feasible to do. In 2007, the proper web involved tons of Flash. Flash video players, Flash games, Flash-based interactive websites. None of those worked on the iPhone. Its web browsing ability wasn't much better than what you could already get on keyboard-based phones like Nokia, Blackberry and Samsung. On the iPhone you did pinch to zoom, and on the other smartphones, you were served the WAP version of the page, or you could browse the full page with the scrollwheel.
        kristianc 8y ago
        > ts web browsing ability wasn't much better than what you could already get on keyboard-based phones like Nokia, Blackberry and Samsung. On the iPhone you did pinch to zoom, and on the other smartphones, you were served the WAP version of the page, or you could browse the full page with the scrollwheel. That's a very revisionist version of events. Much of the initial disillusionment around the web on featurephones came from WAP being (mis)sold as the Internet on a phone. If you go back and watch the original iPhone demo you can see that people were genuinely wowed by being able to browse the Internet ('the real internet') on a mobile. In fact, 'it's not a watered down version of the internet' was one of the tag lines of one of the first iPhone commercials https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZMr-ZfoE4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZMr-ZfoE4
achow 8y ago
The first iPhone was a quantum leap as far as industrial design of a phone was concerned as compared to its 'peers' at that time - new interface, full glass display, finger touch (as opposed to stylus).. https://www.indiatides.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iOS-vs.-Android-What-can-iPhones-do-that-Android-phones-cannot.jpg https://www.indiatides.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iOS-vs...
- thefounder 8y ago
  In my eyes it looked too big and clunky. It seemed designed for Nokia Communicator's market.
  - llampx 8y ago
    Its funny that prior to the iPhone and then the Galaxy Note, phones seemed destined to become smaller and smaller, until they disappeared into another peripheral like smart glasses or a watch. What's happened instead is that they've become bigger and bigger. My smartphone prior to the iPhone had a 2.2" screen. After that, it quickly went from 3.2" to 3.5" to 4.3" and onwards, and my current one is 5.8". I had a Motorola Q once and felt like I was holding up a big scientific calculator to my ear.
    - thefounder 8y ago
      Yeah, the iphone was a "brick" in my eyes back then.

Bud 8y ago

If you could argue that, perhaps you should try it. I rather doubt you can. The first iPhone was a polished, finished product. These foldables...aren't.

rkangel 8y ago
The first iPhone was not a finished product. It launched with only EDGE for mobile data, and with no app store. Combined, these limited its utility. It was the next version - with 3G and the first incarnation of the AppStore, that helped the iPhone gain mainstream popularity.
- kristianc 8y ago
  It still represented a huge leap over everything else that was on the market at the time, such that Mobile Safari quickly came to account for around 80% or so of mobile data use.
  - rkangel 8y ago
    Absolutely. It showed that browsing the proper Web on a phone was something feasible to do. It was a great step forward, as these folding phones are.
    - 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
      Assuming the screen tech holds up. It’ll be a few iterations and several years before we can even determine if this is here to last. Even more before the price comes down to something kinda affordable. Also worth noting that flagship phones have only gotten more expensive since the first iPhone. Remember when we all thought the first iPhone was too expensive? This is 2k for what is essentially a prototype.
      - Digit-Al 8y ago
        Actually, it's "nearly" $2.5k ;-)
    - headShrinker 8y ago
      I think you are vastly over simplifying what the iPhone was to the industry. The iPhone wasn’t just a native browser, it was also the iPod, Messaging with a full keyboard, and an intuitive integrated phone with visual voicemail. Also Apple through the iPhone freed us from being under the thumbs of our carriers and they’re terrible adware software. At the time I hated my phones so seeing the iPhone wasn’t just an easy and natural progression, it’s something I needed. A folding screen seems like engineers creating something that has no need. I don’t want it. It seems like 3-D TV “let’s do it because we can” not because it’s a good idea.
    - rchaud 8y ago
      > Absolutely. It showed that browsing the proper Web on a phone was something feasible to do. In 2007, the proper web involved tons of Flash. Flash video players, Flash games, Flash-based interactive websites. None of those worked on the iPhone. Its web browsing ability wasn't much better than what you could already get on keyboard-based phones like Nokia, Blackberry and Samsung. On the iPhone you did pinch to zoom, and on the other smartphones, you were served the WAP version of the page, or you could browse the full page with the scrollwheel.
      - kristianc 8y ago
        > ts web browsing ability wasn't much better than what you could already get on keyboard-based phones like Nokia, Blackberry and Samsung. On the iPhone you did pinch to zoom, and on the other smartphones, you were served the WAP version of the page, or you could browse the full page with the scrollwheel. That's a very revisionist version of events. Much of the initial disillusionment around the web on featurephones came from WAP being (mis)sold as the Internet on a phone. If you go back and watch the original iPhone demo you can see that people were genuinely wowed by being able to browse the Internet ('the real internet') on a mobile. In fact, 'it's not a watered down version of the internet' was one of the tag lines of one of the first iPhone commercials https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZMr-ZfoE4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZMr-ZfoE4

achow 8y ago

The first iPhone was a quantum leap as far as industrial design of a phone was concerned as compared to its 'peers' at that time - new interface, full glass display, finger touch (as opposed to stylus).. https://www.indiatides.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iOS-vs.-Android-What-can-iPhones-do-that-Android-phones-cannot.jpg https://www.indiatides.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iOS-vs...

thefounder 8y ago
In my eyes it looked too big and clunky. It seemed designed for Nokia Communicator's market.
- llampx 8y ago
  Its funny that prior to the iPhone and then the Galaxy Note, phones seemed destined to become smaller and smaller, until they disappeared into another peripheral like smart glasses or a watch. What's happened instead is that they've become bigger and bigger. My smartphone prior to the iPhone had a 2.2" screen. After that, it quickly went from 3.2" to 3.5" to 4.3" and onwards, and my current one is 5.8". I had a Motorola Q once and felt like I was holding up a big scientific calculator to my ear.
  - thefounder 8y ago
    Yeah, the iphone was a "brick" in my eyes back then.