Apple Is Now the Only Major Phone Brand Without a Foldable Model

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Apple Inc. is now alone among global smartphone brands without a foldable device in its portfolio, putting it on the sidelines of a trend that promises to generate tens of billions of dollars in coming years.

With Alphabet Inc.'s Google launching the Pixel Fold at an event Wednesday, every major brand running the Android operating system has now adopted the form factor. And though Apple began early work on a foldable iPhone years ago, it's shown little interest in racing a product to market.

The approach isn't unusual for Apple, which often takes its time and then jumps into an established category with a more polished product. That was the case with the iPhone itself in 2007. The company also has less incentive to tinker with its current iPhone lineup since it dominates the market for premium smartphones.

But Apple could soon find itself years behind rivals in a promising segment. Though foldable phones are still a tiny fraction of the market, they command higher prices and open the door to new features, helping lower-tier brands step up into the premium range. Market observers expect the segment to be the fastest-growing area in an otherwise shrinking smartphone field.

The question is whether Apple will ultimately help solidify the foldables concept or miss out on it, said Neil Mawston, director of research at Strategy Analytics.

“Apple has the power to make or break the future foldables industry,” he said. “Launch too early, and a market-unready foldable could trash the whole iPhone franchise. If Apple does not have a foldable iPhone or iPad on sale by 2025, when industry revenues will approach tens of billions of dollars, then we'd start to get a little worried.”

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, didn't immediately