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No, Apple WILL NOT Release An “iPhone Flip” Phone in 2020…

A new concept video has people going crazy over the prospect of a 5G iPhone flip phone – just don’t get your hopes up, it probably won’t happen…


Meet The iPhone Flip…

A concept design of an iPhone with a flip design appeared online back in May, and since then people have been emailing me on a weekly basis, asking of the iPhone 12 range will feature a new iPhone with a flip-style design.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this isn’t going to happen – I’d be willing to bet my house on it. And the #1 reason for this is that foldable phones have ZERO market traction right now.

No one is buying foldable phones.

Apple knows this, just as you do, and likely every company that’s spent millions developing one, so why would it attempt to sell a foldable iPhone?

No iPhone 12 Flip, No iPhone 12 Foldable Release In 2020

Apple knows its cheaper phones are more popular than its flagship models; the cheaper iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2020 make Apple more money than its iPhone 11 Pro models.

So, by this logic, an iPhone flip phone, while certainly novel, would cost too much and sell in too small a volume to make it worthwhile. I don’t doubt that Apple is testing out foldable iPhones, I just don’t see them coming to market anytime soon.

Apple’s More Conservative Than Newt Gingrich With Its iPhone Design…

To say Apple is conservative with its iPhone would be the understatement of the century.

It took Apple multiple years to embrace larger displays, even longer to release more than one model of its iPhone at a time, and the company rarely touches the physical design of its phone.

Think about it: every iPhone from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 8 looked practically the same. Then came the iPhone X – and that design is still around now with the iPhone 11 range.

iphones through the decadesPin

And then we have the iPhone SE 2020 which, you guessed it: looks just like the iPhone 8.

You get the idea; Apple does NOT like messing with its product. And why should it? Apple’s iPhone 11 was the best selling mobile phone of 2020 – Apple shifted 37.7 million units.

Apple’s cash cow, the iPhone, is not based on innovation or being novel; it’s based on familiarity and ensuring its users feel at home. It knows why people love its products and this is why it rarely changes the core features and/or physical design.

You don’t mess with a winning formula.

Simpler, Progressive Design Beats Aggressive Evolution Every Time

If you look at the Android market, specifically the top tier phones, you’ll see one common trend: the phones are getting more complex and, as a result, cost more money.

The OnePlus 8, historically a value for money option, now costs more than the iPhone 11. Samsung’s Galaxy S20 and Note 20 range, while impressive, are just too darn expensive.

This is why Apple sells the iPhone 11 the way it does. Apple might have started the whole £1000 phone thing, but it is now the only company that seems to have realized that nine-out-of-ten customers WILL NOT pay that much money for a phone.

Case in point: Samsung’s Note and Galaxy S range models didn’t even make it into the top 10 of the best selling phones for 2020, losing out to a range of cheaper Xiaomi phones. In fact, the only Samsung phone that made it into the top ten selling phones for 2020 was its cheaper Samsung Galaxy A51…

The incoming iPhone 12 line-up of phones will feature four models, across a range of price points – from generally affordable (iPhone 11/iPhone XR-style) to expensive (iPhone 11 Pro/Pro Max-style). And that’ll be it; the addition of OLED displays on all models, new cameras, and 5G will be enough of an update for Apple’s legion of loyal fans.

An iPhone 12 Flip phone will not be necessary.

Richard Goodwin

Richard Goodwin has been working as a tech journalist for over 10 years. He has written for Den of Geek, Fortean Times, IT PRO, PC Pro, ALPHR, and many other technology sites. He is the editor and owner of KnowYourMobile.

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