This may not be good news for the rumored foldable iPhone (the “iPhone Fold” or “iPhone Ultra”): a new CNET survey reveals that just 13% of smartphone owners would be motivated to consider upgrading by a new phone concept such as a foldable or flip phone. Here are key points from the report:
- New Features and Designs are a Tough Sell: With rumors swirling of Apple announcing a foldable at the September Apple event, and generative AI remaining a priority for big tech companies, only 13% of smartphone owners would be motivated to consider upgrading by a new phone concept, while 12% would be motivated by AI integrations, a slight 1% increase from last year’s findings.
- Interest in Skinny Phones Also Remains Slim: AI isn’t the only marketing tactic consumers aren’t buying into. Despite a trend in slim phone releases such as last year’s iPhone Air, just 7% of respondents said a thinner phone would motivate them to consider upgrading.
- Battery Life Remains a Primary Upgrade Motivator: The biggest motivation for US adult smartphone owners to consider upgrading their devices is price (55%), followed by longer battery life (52%) and more storage (38%).
- Other motivations to consider upgrading include camera features (27%), display or screen size (22%), and maintaining the current ecosystem (17%). Less frequent drivers include phone color (9%), a thinner profile (7%), and changing ecosystems (4%).
- Battery Life Pain Points: Over half (58%) of smartphone users experience frustrations with their phone’s battery life, with nearly 1 in 3 (31%) smartphone users expressing that their battery doesn’t hold a charge like it did when it was new.
- Other commonly expressed battery life frustrations include percentage drops even during light use (18%), the phone getting uncomfortably hot during use or when charging (18%), the newer battery not being any better than the old one (10%), battery performance not improving even with a newer phone (10%), and the device taking too long to get a meaningful charge (9%).
About the ‘iPhone Fold/Ultra’
Here’s a round-up of rumors about the foldable iPhone, which is expected to arrive late this year or in early 2027:
° It will use a dual-layer, ultra-thin glass structure to reduce display crease visibility.
° Apple will offer the iPhone Fold/Ultra in three different storage capacities.
° The foldable smartphone will purportedly be offered in 236GB, 512GB, and 1TB options for US$2,320, $2,610, and $2,900, respectively.
° It will feature an interior foldable display roughly the size of an iPad mini. There also will be an external screen that’s about the size of the display on a small iPhone.
° Apple is developing new iOS app layouts and revamping its core iPhone programs to add sidebars along the left edge of the screen, similar to many of its iPad apps.
° The iPhone Fold/Ultra will have: a 7.8-inch inner display; a crease depth controlled to under 0.15 mm; and a crease angle under 2.5 degrees.
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