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Beyond Telling Time: How the Apple Watch Redefines Modern Wearables

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Apple Watch Ultra 2 + iPhone 15 Pro

Welcome to Wristwatch Wednesday, my weekly column on Yanko Design, where I delve into the captivating world of watches. If you’re new to our publication and have noticed a plethora of Apple-related articles, rest assured, our editorial team casts a wide net, covering a diverse range of design-focused products. Our reviews and feature articles span across technology, sneakers, home appliances, everyday carry items, and so much more.

Designer: Apple

This inaugural column seems only fitting to kick off our discussions with the world’s best-selling watch – the Apple Watch. According to a report from AppleWorld.Today, since its launch in 2015, Apple has sold an estimated 229.3 million Apple Watches. Note that these sales figures are estimates and have not been confirmed by Apple. By any standard, a product that surpasses 100 million units in sales—a milestone Apple reached several years ago—can justifiably be called the world’s top-selling watch.

However, my intent with this column goes beyond discussing sales figures. Instead, I aim to explore the design and features of these watches that have captivated the likes of celebrities, Formula 1 drivers, and even esteemed figures like Mr. Wonder from Shark Tank. The reasons for strapping on this wrist-sized computer vary. For instance, my wife primarily uses her Apple Watch to keep track of time and notifications. Despite having cellular service activated, I’ve rarely seen her initiate a call. Yet, there have been instances where her iPhone was misplaced, and the watch served as her only means to take incoming calls. A feature that my kids and I, and yes, even my wife, have found incredibly useful is the ability to ping the iPhone when it’s misplaced.

Before delving deeper, let’s briefly discuss the specs and design of the Apple Watch. In my experience, the Apple Watch performs flawlessly without any noticeable hiccups or performance issues. As for the design, its iconic squarish shape may not appeal to everyone, but it’s something users have come to accept. Personally, I don’t have a preference one way or the other. However, I must say I appreciate the ruggedness of the Watch Ultra, which I still wear. I haven’t seen a compelling reason to upgrade to the Watch Ultra 2, especially when the regular versions in aluminum or stainless steel are also available. The fact that Apple managed to incorporate materials like titanium and sapphire crystal, along with a plethora of features, into this tech marvel, all at a reasonable price point, continues to astound me. That being said, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, each exceptional in its own right, showcase unique design attributes and features catering to diverse user requirements.

The Apple Watch Series 9 exudes a chic, versatile aesthetic, making it an ideal accessory for everyday wear. Its finishes include aluminum and stainless steel, with a color palette that offers Pink, Midnight, and Starlight for the aluminum cases and traditional Gold and Graphite for stainless steel. On the other hand, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 prioritizes durability and outdoor utility, embodied in an aerospace-grade titanium case that highlights its hard-wearing nature and premium appeal for more extreme conditions.

The size and weight of both models reflect their respective design principles. The Apple Watch Ultra 2, larger and heavier at 49mm in height and 61.4 grams, is designed to withstand outdoor activities. The Apple Watch Series 9, meanwhile, presents a more compact profile with heights of 45mm and 41mm and lighter weights starting from 31.9 grams for the smallest aluminum model, providing a less intrusive presence for day-to-day use.

When it comes to features, both models are built with the S9 SiP, a 64-bit dual-core processor, underlining Apple’s dedication to high performance across its products. However, the Ultra 2 takes a step ahead with specialized features such as a depth gauge, a water temperature sensor, and an enhanced always-on retina display with brightness up to 3000 nits, providing superior visibility in outdoor settings compared to the 2000 nits of the Series 9.

Both models offer a broad spectrum of health and wellness features, including heart rate monitoring and ECG. However, the Ultra 2 broadens its scope to outdoor sports and adventures with additional sensors and activity profiles. This includes in-depth support for diving, precision GPS for explorers, and durability enhancements such as improved water resistance up to 100 meters and dust resistance, making it more resilient against harsh environments compared to the more lifestyle-focused Series 9.

Battery life is another differentiating factor; the Ultra 2 offers up to 36 hours of regular usage and an impressive 72 hours in Low Power Mode, a substantial improvement from the 18 hours offered by the Series 9. This aligns with the Ultra 2’s design for prolonged activities and expeditions where charging might be infrequent.

All in all, while both the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 share core technologies and a commitment to health tracking, the Ultra 2 targets users who require robustness and expanded functionalities in challenging environments, whereas the Series 9 caters to everyday users with its stylish design and enough tech to meet routine health and connectivity needs.

For someone like me, who often travels for work (such as working out of our office in Japan or on a photography junket in Iceland with Olympus), having reliable connectivity is vital. Both Apple Watch models provide cellular options, ensuring constant contact with family or emergency services, wherever your work or adventures take you. This peace of mind is invaluable, especially in remote locations or during unforeseen situations.

The safety features in both watches, including Emergency SOS and international emergency calling, become crucial in such situations. For example, if you’re photographing the northern lights in a remote icy landscape in Iceland and encounter a dangerous situation, the Apple Watch enables you to call for help swiftly. Similarly, when navigating through the busy streets of Tokyo, these features ensure you’re never truly isolated, even in an unfamiliar urban environment.

For families, these watches offer more than just communication. For elderly parents, the fall detection feature can alert you if they have a severe fall, triggering an SOS if they are unresponsive. This reassures you that help can be solicited even when they’re alone.

For young children, the Apple Watch can serve as an efficient tracking device. If your kids are walking to school or attending a playdate, the GPS functionality combined with cellular connectivity allows you to check their location at any time. It’s like having an extra pair of eyes, ensuring their safety when they are out of sight. With the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s enhanced durability and the Series 9’s streamlined comfort, there’s a suitable option for every family member based on their needs and lifestyle.

The Crash Detection feature of the Ultra 2 is especially advantageous for users across different age groups, from young children to the elderly. For example, if a child is involved in a school bus accident, the watch is capable of detecting the severe crash and automatically initiates contact with emergency services. Similarly, it provides reassurance for elderly drivers, as the watch can detect if they’ve been in a severe car accident and automatically call for help. Speaking from personal experience, having spent a decade test-driving cars for SlashGear in remote locations such as on the side of the Alps or the challenging driving conditions in Peru, having this feature offers me a sense of security. I’m reassured knowing that in an unexpected event, I have a better chance of receiving help promptly, thanks to the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s Crash Detection feature.

My passion for watch collection began with the brand Panerai, largely due to its simple mechanism for swapping out the bracelet or watch strap. It’s a feature that led me to spend more on the straps than the watch itself. My experience with the Apple Watch is similar. Its clever design enables a quick strap change with just one button push, making it suitable for various activities or occasions, which enhances its appeal. Since the introduction of the Watch Ultra, I’ve invested more in straps than the watch itself. Interestingly, I’ve found my ultimate favorite – the 45mm cypress solo loop. To me, it’s akin to donning a tailored Italian wool suit. My fondness for the green strap has led me to stockpile size 7 for winter and size 8 for summer. The watch and strap together create an uninterrupted loop when on my wrist. The convenience of putting on and taking off the watch is comparable to slipping on a bracelet. The beauty of the Apple Watch is its versatility; you could purchase a variety of straps to cater to your taste or simply choose one strap that fulfills all your needs.

Before wrapping up this lengthy article, I’d like to shift focus to the health functionalities that are particularly significant to me. Sleep tracking is paramount due to my inconsistent sleep schedule, often caused by collaborating with colleagues across different time zones. Having the ability to track multiple time zones simultaneously is nothing short of amazing. Therefore, having the Apple Watch track my total sleep duration and, more importantly, the quality of each minute I spend resting provides invaluable insights into whether I’m getting sufficient rest.

Monitoring my heart rate and heart rate variability are also vital aspects of my health tracking routine. These metrics can provide insight into my overall cardiovascular health and my body’s response to stress and recovery.

Interestingly, one feature that I find surprisingly useful is the activity reminder. I often become so engrossed in my work that hours fly by without me taking a moment to stand up and move around. While it may seem mundane or obvious, the reminder to get up and take a short walk is incredibly important. It helps break up periods of prolonged sitting, which can contribute to various health problems.

It’s true that the Apple Watch won’t last an eternity like a Rolex or even a $50 Casio; Apple has packed enough features and future-proof the watch to allow you a sufficient length of time, which, in my opinion, yields a pretty good ROI. The need to upgrade or buy a new watch every year, two or three years, isn’t necessary unless you decide you want to change things up. As for me, I wear the Watch Ultra 90% of the time while my Rolex Pepsi gets around 5% wrist time, and yes, I do give my wrist a rest from wearing nothing.

If you enjoy this column, you’re invited to return every Wednesday at 10:20AM PDT for my weekly Wrist Watch Wednesday feature. If there are topics you’d like me to cover or watches you’d like to see reviewed on Yanko Design, you can find me on X: @Nguyen or threads.net: @vincentnguyen.

The post Beyond Telling Time: How the Apple Watch Redefines Modern Wearables first appeared on Yanko Design.

The new Apple Pencil Pro is a death-sentence for Wacom

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Wacom was once an industry leader in the sketching tablet PC market. However, it’s no match for the deadly combo of the new iPad Pro M4 and the Apple Pencil Pro. Announced at the iPad keynote yesterday, the new Pencil Pro packs features so unique, it makes regular capacitive styluses look like tools from the Stone Age. The new Pencil Pro has a new squeeze gesture to activate quick menus, can track rotation to have objects and brushes rotate in real-time (known as barrel roll), and even has a haptic motor for feedback – while still packing features from previous models like the hover feature, pressure and tilt sensitivity, and low-latency. If all that wasn’t enough, the Pencil Pro even has Find My support, allowing you to locate your stylus if it ever gets lost. The Wacom Pro Pen 3 on the other hand, has buttons.

Styluses have existed for decades at this point, and if you asked anyone ten years back which was the most well-designed stylus and tablet combo for creatives, the answer would invariably be something from Wacom’s lineup. The company had three options back in the day, the budget Wacom Bamboo, the mid-range Wacom Intuos, and the flagship Wacom Cintiq. Apart from the Cintiq, none of the other tablets had screens – they were just massive trackpads that you could only draw on with styluses. The Cintiq was the closest thing to an iPad – it had a screen, allowed multi-touch gestures, and came with controls galore… the only problem was that it didn’t work independently, it needed to be tethered to a desktop or laptop to work. The Cintiq, along with the Intuos and Bamboo, came with a stylus that featured a pressure and tilt-sensitive tip, along with programable buttons that let you undo or redo tasks, and a stylus tip on the back of the pen also that activated the eraser, mimicking how most pencils come with erasers on their reverse tip. The styluses also operated without batteries, allowing for hours of sketching without needing to charge the pen periodically.

The Wacom Cintiq Pro is anywhere between 5-8 times thicker than the 2024 iPad Pro

Cut to yesterday when Apple dropped the iPad Pro M4 and the comparison is incredibly stark. For starters, whenever anyone asks me whether they should buy an iPad or a Wacom, the answer is almost always the former… because when you’re not sketching on the Wacom, it’s useless, but when you’re not sketching on the iPad, it’s still an iPad. The difference seems even greater with the new iPad Pro being Apple’s thinnest device yet at just 5.1mm thick, while the 16-inch Wacom Cintiq is a whopping 25mm thick – 5 times thicker than its competitor. Cut to the larger 22-inch Cintiq and it’s a staggering 40mm thick, or the equivalent of 8 iPad Pros stacked one on top of the other.

However, a hardware comparison between a trillion-dollar electronics giant and Wacom, that’s valued at just half a billion dollars doesn’t seem fair. What does seem fair, however, is to just look at one singular product to see how far Apple’s outpaced its competition – the humble stylus. Wacom played a critical role in perfecting its EMR stylus technology, which was game-changing a decade or so ago. The pens ran without batteries, could sense pressure and tilt with stunning accuracy, and an eraser on the rear, becoming the creative industry’s go-to for digital sketching. When Apple debuted the Pencil, it had the same features except without any buttons. The Pencil 2, on the other hand, got a tap feature that let you swap between brush and eraser, and a unique charging mechanism that allowed you to charge your stylus simply by snapping it to the side of an iPad (it subsequently also got a hover function with newer iPad models). Apple’s newly announced Pencil Pro, which dropped yesterday, however, is an entirely different beast.

The new Pencil Pro has the hover function, lets you squeeze to activate a quick menu, and even supports barrel rolls that allow you to rotate brushes or objects simply by rotating your stylus. In true Apple fashion, it doesn’t have any buttons on it, but you can still tap to alternate between brush and eraser, and you even get a brush preview when your stylus is near the screen, letting you know how your brush is oriented. If all that wasn’t enough, the new Pencil Pro even packs Apple’s Find My feature, letting you locate a lost pencil through your iPad or iPhone.

The Pencil Pro can be squeezed to activate a quick menu

A great stylus on the iPad Pro, which already comes with an industry-leading chip, laptop-grade performance, a brilliant camera setup and LiDAR sensor, and an app store, basically makes the iPad or Wacom question moot. The only true advantage Wacom’s tablets have at this point is that they’re bigger than iPads, starting at 16 inches and maxing out at 27 inches diagonally. They also cost MUCH more than the iPad Pros, with the Cintiq Pro 16″ starting at $1599, and the Cintiq Pro 27″ having an eye-watering $3499 price tag. That’s Vision Pro territory for a sketching tablet.

The haptic motor gives you feedback when you squeeze the Pencil Pro

There still is a market for Wacom products. They’re massive, preferred by the hardcore animation and visual industries, and are platform-agnostic, which means you can easily run Windows or Linux programs on them, which most power users will appreciate over being limited to the iPadOS. But for the most part, the iPad Pro and Pencil Pro are so far ahead of their competition at this point, that they’ve made Wacom’s tablets (an already niche creative-focused gadget) even more niche… almost to the point of obscure.

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Why the M2 iPad Air Is Ideal for Students, Designers, and Everyone In Between

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iPad Air M2

The iPad Air, now available in both 11-inch and 13-inch models, caters to a variety of needs and preferences. Whether you’re a student always on the move or a designer needing ample screen space for intricate visuals, there’s an option perfectly sized for you. The 11-inch version excels in portability, easily slipping into a small bag or backpack, making it the go-to device for students who juggle between classes and study sessions across campus. Meanwhile, the 13-inch model, with its expanded display, provides 30 percent more screen real estate, offering designers and students the luxury of a bigger canvas to work on complex projects or manage multiple applications side by side with iPadOS’s multitasking features.

Designer: Apple

The 11-inch iPad Air is super-portable, while the 13-inch model provides an even larger display, giving users more room to work, learn, and play.

Beyond size, the iPad Air boasts a Liquid Retina display with advanced technologies such as True Tone, high brightness, and anti-reflective coating, ensuring everything you see is detailed and vibrant. This is crucial when precision in color and detail plays a significant part in your coursework or professional projects. The support for P3 wide color gamut also means that the visuals are not just bright but incredibly accurate, which is especially important for design students and professionals who rely on true-to-life colors for their digital artistry.

The repositioned front-facing camera is another subtle yet impactful enhancement. Set along the landscape edge, the camera automatically keeps you in frame during video calls, thanks to the Center Stage technology. This feature is particularly beneficial now that remote collaboration has become more prevalent in both educational and professional settings. Whether you’re presenting a thesis to your class or brainstorming with colleagues over a video call, the camera adapts dynamically to ensure you are always seen, complemented by dual microphones that focus on your voice while minimizing background noise.

Moved to landscape edge, 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera with Center Stage improves call experience.

Performance-wise, the M2 chip in the iPad Air is a big leap forward, bringing not only speed but also efficiency to every task. This chip is tailored for advanced tasks such as photo and video editing, 3D modeling, and large-scale graphic designs, all while maintaining energy efficiency for all-day battery life. This means less time tied to a power outlet and more flexibility to work in settings that inspire you, be it a quiet corner of a library or lounging at your favorite cafe.

Moreover, the iPad Air now supports not only the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) but also the newly introduced Apple Pencil Pro, enhancing its utility for both students and designers. The Apple Pencil Pro includes a new sensor in its barrel that can detect squeezes, enabling users to quickly switch between tools, line weights, and colors effortlessly—ideal for designers working in applications such as Affinity Designer 2. Additionally, its custom haptic feedback provides tactile responses to actions like squeezing or double-tapping, enhancing the user’s interaction by confirming their inputs in a way that feels intuitive and direct. The inclusion of a gyroscope allows for fine control over tool orientation, mimicking the real-world experience of rotating a pen to achieve the desired stroke or effect.

Apple Pencil Pro enhances creativity with squeeze, barrel roll, and haptic feedback for intuitive marking, note-taking, and design in apps like Affinity Designer 2.

For those who are prone to misplacing their tools, the Apple Pencil Pro introduces support for Apple’s Find My network, a first for Apple’s stylus line. Both the Apple Pencil Pro and the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) attach magnetically to the side of the iPad Air, where they also charge, ensuring they are always ready for use and conveniently stored. This versatility makes the iPad Air an even more attractive option for anyone looking to maximize their productivity and creative output, whether they are annotating documents, taking detailed notes, sketching out a design, or navigating through complex creative software.

Connectivity is also an important feature of the iPad Air’s appeal. With the introduction of Wi-Fi 6E and the option for 5G connectivity, the device ensures that you can work from anywhere without lag or interruption. This is particularly valuable for students who need to download large resources quickly or for designers who must upload high-resolution files to cloud-based platforms.

Magic Keyboard: Floating cantilever design, magnetic attachment, multiple viewing angles, integrated trackpad, USB-C pass-through charging, and full iPad protection.

Traveling with tech can sometimes feel like a balancing act between staying productive and managing your gear effectively, especially for someone like myself who’s always on the move. One of the standout features of the iPad Air, from my perspective, is its versatility—particularly the ability to detach it from the Magic Keyboard. This becomes incredibly handy during air travel. Picture this: you’re on a flight, deeply absorbed in your latest design project or perhaps the climax of your favorite Netflix series. Just as the airplane prepares for takeoff, the usual announcement comes over the PA: “Please stow your laptops.” However, thanks to the iPad Air’s detachable setup, you can continue your work or entertainment seamlessly by simply detaching the iPad from its keyboard. It’s moments like these where the iPad Air proves its worth, allowing you to maintain your creative or entertainment zone without a hitch.

In terms of the operating system, I appreciate the straightforward and efficient design of iPadOS 17. It simplifies daily tasks and enhances user interaction, making everything from navigation to app management feel more fluid. The customization options in iPadOS 17 are particularly notable; they allow you to tailor the Lock Screen on both the 11-inch and new 13-inch displays. This personalization capability lets you set unique wallpapers and choose expressive fonts that truly reflect your personal style.

As WWDC 2024 approaches, while iPadOS 17 certainly gets the job done, I’m eager to see what iPadOS 18 will bring to the iPad. Anticipating new features and enhancements that could further refine and expand the functionality of this already versatile device adds an exciting layer of potential for iPad users looking forward to the next evolution in their device’s capabilities.

Interactive widgets on iPadOS 17 are also great for productivity. Imagine being able to glance at your screen and tap a widget to immediately capture a brilliant idea in the Notes app or adjust your schedule in Calendar. This kind of immediate interaction is perfect for someone who needs to stay flexible and react quickly to changes, which is often the case in both travel and creative professions.

iPad Air with M2 uses AI for features like Subject Lift, Visual Look Up, and Live Text.

The enhancements to Messages and FaceTime add a layer of fun and convenience. With new sticker features and the ability to leave video messages, staying connected feels more personal and engaging. For professionals, the Continuity Camera feature is particularly impressive. You can start a video call on your iPad Air and seamlessly hand it off to Apple TV, making it perfect for professional presentations or casual catch-ups.

Freeform’s new tools for drawing and collaboration are a boon for creatives. Whether you’re sketching out a quick concept or organizing a project with teammates, these tools make it easy to bring your ideas to life. And for someone who frequently deals with contracts or creative briefs, the enhanced PDF capabilities in the Notes app can be incredibly efficient, allowing you to annotate, fill out forms, and collaborate without ever needing to print or scan anything.

Lastly, the inclusion of features like Stage Manager, which lets you handle multiple overlapping windows, is ideal for multitasking. This feature, combined with AI-driven capabilities like Live Captions and intelligent accessibility features, ensures that the iPad Air isn’t just keeping up with the demands of mobile professionals and creatives—it’s anticipating them.

Every Apple product I’ve used, from my M1 MacBook Pro to an iPhone 12 Pro Max or a three-year-old iPad Pro with an M1 chip, continues to hold immense value. Remarkably, there has been very little performance degradation, and none feels obsolete. This changelessness is largely thanks to Apple’s timeless design concepts, which are consistently implemented across the product line.

Moreover, the new iPad Air reflects Apple’s ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility. It is crafted with 100% recycled aluminum for its enclosure, utilizes 100% recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and features 100% recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. These efforts are complemented by packaging that is entirely fiber-based, aligning with Apple’s goal to eliminate plastic from all packaging by 2025. As part of a broader commitment, Apple aims to be carbon neutral across its entire manufacturing supply chain and the life cycle of every product by 2030. These steps not only reflect Apple’s dedication to reducing its environmental footprint but also enhance the appeal of the iPad Air to environmentally conscious consumers.

Whether you’re considering an upgrade or this might be your first Apple product, you can trust that in the next year, or even the year after, you won’t feel the need to upgrade unless you choose to. Apple’s commitment to quality, forward-thinking design, and environmental sustainability ensures that its products not only meet current demands but continue to remain relevant and perform excellently well into the future.

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Foldable iPhone Needs to Happen: 5 Reasons Why Foldable Phones are Here to Stay

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Apple just announced what might be the biggest upgrade to the iPad line since the iPad Pro was introduced in 2015. In addition to switching to an OLED panel, with all the benefits that it entails, as well as gaining a new Apple Pencil Pro, the new iPad Pro is possibly one of if not the thinnest tablets in the market, especially for its 13-inch size. But while Apple’s new tablets are definitely worthy of attention, the company’s fans are still holding their breath for a foldable iPhone. Rumors claim that could be coming in two years, but it could also be canned at the last minute, just like the AirPower wireless charging mat if the design and performance don’t meet the meticulous company’s standards. Then again, some probably consider foldable devices as a passing fad, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Apple should launch a foldable phone sooner rather than later because these devices aren’t going away, and here are the reasons why.

Designer: Semin Jun

1. Content is Still King

Chances are, you’re using your phone less for calls and more for content, which does include activities like instant messaging and chatting. The screen is the most important part of the device because it is the part that we see and use the most. Content is the primary reason for having a smartphone, whether it’s for consuming content or sometimes even creating it, so any technology that lets people enjoy more content or gives them more ways to enjoy content is always a winner. Is it any wonder, then, why phablets or phones with large screens are now the norm, despite how much Apple ridiculed its size at first?

Foldable devices solve this in two ways. Large foldable phones in the style of the Google Pixel Fold offer an experience similar to a mini iPad mini that you can still shove in your pocket and use as a regular phone to some extent. In theory, it delivers the best of both worlds, with a screen that can contain as much content as possible while still in a portable format.

Conversely, clamshell-style foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series strike the problem from the opposite end. It provides a screen experience that’s exactly like a normal large phone but lets you conveniently cram the device in very small purses and pockets. It still prizes the role of content but delivers it in a design that doesn’t get in your way because of its size.

2. Falling Prices

One of the reasons why people avoid foldable phones and why they see them as luxurious fads is because of their rather mind-blowing prices. Yes, it’s expected that novel technologies and designs would cost more at the start, but foldable phones have been around for almost half a decade now, and yet most still cost a premium flagship and a half. Fortunately, things are changing for the better, even if slowly.

Designer: nubia

As the technologies and components become more common, the cost of their production will start to decrease as well. Given that there’s still plenty of room for newer designs that will involve more costs, high-end foldable phones won’t be going away any time soon. At the same time, however, that still leaves the door wide open for options on the lower rung of the price ladder. The new nubia Flip 5G, for example, is currently the most affordable among the relatively cheaper clamshell foldables. Sure, it does cut corners in a few aspects, but that is also proof that you can have “mid-tier” foldable phones in this market.

There’s definitely a great deal of interest in a cheaper book-style foldable, and that might be coming this year if not from Samsung then from its growing number of rivals. Admittedly, it might take another year before more affordable foldables become more common, but it’s something that will happen sooner rather than later.

3. Design Refinement

Even after five years, the foldable phone design is still relatively young. Given how it strays so far from normal phones, it’s not surprising that perfection still feels so far away. In other words, there’s still much to be done, and smartphone makers continue to push the boundaries, refusing to settle for the status quo. In a way, it’s a matter of pride for these brands, as well as refusing to admit defeat after investing so heavily in foldable designs.

Images courtesy of AppleInsider

Foldable phones are getting thinner to the point that a folded phone no longer feels like you have two regular phones stacked together. At the same time, others are cramming more powerful and larger cameras into these ultra-thin devices, trying to get them on the same playing field as any other flagship model. While standard smartphone designs seem to have settled down after many tumultuous years, things are just heating up for foldables. There’s still a lot to be explored, and we’re far from reaching the peak.

4. Stylish Trendsetters

Smartphones have graduated from being technological products that only tech-savvy people can truly appreciate to lifestyle items that reflect the owner’s design tastes and personal preferences. Smartphone expressiveness is becoming an important factor in how people choose devices these days, from the design of the cameras to the overall style of the phone itself. That’s part of the reason why “flip” foldable phones are reported to be outselling their larger cousins, precisely because they bring back that classy image of flip phones from decades ago.

Designer: Honor

Yes, you can dress up your regular phone slab as much as you want, but the way you open and close a foldable phone is going to be fashionable for quite a while. And you can also dress them up as much as you want, and may even offer more customization options and creativity with the styles of cases and accessories used. Everything you can do on standard phones, you can also do with foldables but with more pizzazz and a “wow!” factor.

There’s also the aspect of offering more customization options inside as well. The foldable screen is a bigger canvas you can play on, and some external Cover Screens can get creative with their designs as well. It’s a new playground for designers and creative users who want to truly make their smartphones an extension of themselves.

5. Innovation Has Just Begun

Foldable phones are just the start, however, because they are the most accessible and easiest to comprehend. Once the idea of foldable screens has become cemented in people’s minds, it will be easier to introduce newer designs that can provide even better solutions. The current foldable designs are far from perfect, but they’re paving the way for future foldable devices.

Designer: Samsung

We’re already seeing that in the PC market with the introduction of foldable laptops, but we don’t need to go that far for proof. Samsung has already shown off working prototypes of tri-fold devices that turn the phone into a larger, and more conventional tablet design. We’ll see other foldable technologies unfold (no pun intended) in the future as well, including a phone that folds both ways. And don’t forget those rollable screens that offer an alternative answer to the same screen size problem.

Apple is rumored to unveil a foldable laptop next year, with a foldable iPhone following in 2026. Honestly, the order should probably be reversed, given how MacBook owners are more meticulous about how new designs affect functionality, sometimes negatively. Either way, Apple really needs to jump on this train soon, not just because it’s trending but because it can have a significant impact in driving innovation in this space forward by leaps and bounds.

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Apple’s M4 iPad Pro vs M2 iPad Air: Which One Should You Buy

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M4 iPad Pro

When it comes to selecting a new tablet, Apple offers two advanced options that cater to distinct user needs and budgets: the M4 iPad Pro and the M2 iPad Air. Both devices feature innovative technology that enhances performance, connectivity, and user experience. This comprehensive guide will delve into the specifics of each model to assist […]

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More Details on iOS 17.5 RC (Video)

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iOS 17.5

With the release of iOS 17.5 RC (Release Candidate), Apple is just about ready to roll out its new operating system to the public. If you’re eager to see what enhancements and new features Apple has in store, you’re in the right place. iOS 17.5 RC Rollout: What to Expect Apple has recently announced the […]

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Whats New With the 2024 iPad Air (Video)

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iPad Air

Apple’s 2024 iPad Air represents a significant advancement in tablet technology, offering a range of enhanced features and improvements that cater to the needs of both professional and recreational users. This latest release goes beyond a simple upgrade, redefining the capabilities of the iPad Air with innovative changes in design, performance, and user experience. Immersive […]

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Final Cut Pro Live Multicam on iPad and new AI features on Mac

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Apple Final Cut Pro new AI features on Mac 2024

During Apple’s “Let Loose” event this week new iPad tablets powered by Apple is latest M4 silicon chips have been launched together with new updates to Logic Pro as well as apples video editing suite Final Cut Pro. With the introduction of Live Multicam on iPad and advanced AI capabilities on Mac, Final Cut Pro […]

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Apple Releases WatchOS 10.5 Release Candidate

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WatchOS 10.5 Release Candidate

In a recent showcase that grabbed the attention of tech enthusiasts and loyal followers alike, Apple introduced the latest version of its operating system for the Apple Watch—watchOS 10.5 Release Candidate (RC). This update is a critical step before the final public release, packed with enhancements and new features designed to elevate your user experience. […]

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Apple iPad Pro M4 tablet launches

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2024 Apple iPad Pro M4 tablet

Apple has once again pushed the boundaries of innovation with the launch of its latest iPad Pro, featuring the groundbreaking M4 Apple Silicon chip. This new addition to the iPad family is not only the thinnest Apple product ever created measuring just 5.1 mm in thickness but also the first Apple device to feature the […]

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