Apple's iPhone Plans for 2027: Foldable, or Glass and Curved. (Plus Smart Glasses, Tabletop Robot) (theverge.com) 40
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Verge:
This morning, while summarizing an Apple "product blitz" he expects for 2027, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman writes in his Power On newsletter that Apple is planning a "mostly glass, curved iPhone" with no display cutouts for that year, which happens to be the iPhone's 20th anniversary... [T]he closest hints are probably in Apple patents revealed over the years, like one from 2019 that describes a phone encased in glass that "forms a continuous loop" around the device.
Apart from a changing iPhone, Gurman describes what sounds like a big year for Apple. He reiterates past reports that the first foldable iPhone should be out by 2027, and that the company's first smart glasses competitor to Meta Ray-Bans will be along that year. So will those rumored camera-equipped AirPods and Apple Watches, he says. Gurman also suggests that Apple's home robot — a tabletop robot that features "an AI assistant with its own personality" — will come in 2027...
Finally, Gurman writes that by 2027 Apple could finally ship an LLM-powered Siri and may have created new chips for its server-side AI processing.
Earlier this week Bloomberg reported that Apple is also "actively looking at" revamping the Safari web browser on its devices "to focus on AI-powered search engines." (Apple's senior VP of services "noted that searches on Safari dipped for the first time last month, which he attributed to people using AI.")
Apart from a changing iPhone, Gurman describes what sounds like a big year for Apple. He reiterates past reports that the first foldable iPhone should be out by 2027, and that the company's first smart glasses competitor to Meta Ray-Bans will be along that year. So will those rumored camera-equipped AirPods and Apple Watches, he says. Gurman also suggests that Apple's home robot — a tabletop robot that features "an AI assistant with its own personality" — will come in 2027...
Finally, Gurman writes that by 2027 Apple could finally ship an LLM-powered Siri and may have created new chips for its server-side AI processing.
Earlier this week Bloomberg reported that Apple is also "actively looking at" revamping the Safari web browser on its devices "to focus on AI-powered search engines." (Apple's senior VP of services "noted that searches on Safari dipped for the first time last month, which he attributed to people using AI.")
Foldable phones seem like a solution (Score:4, Interesting)
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> If I want a larger screen I'll buy a tablet.
Hard to fit a tablet in one's pocket.
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Hard to fit a tablet in one's pocket.
I'm an average-sized guy and the iPad mini actually will fit into the pocket of my relaxed-fit jeans. Granted, it's a tight fit and I would probably expect some strange looks if I went out in public with an iPad in my pocket, but it technically does fit. My partner, who is entirely nonplussed about what anyone else thinks of it, frequently wears one of those "Loungefly" backpacks. He could easily put a full-sized iPad in that. Ironically though, neither of us actually bother with taking our iPads anywhe
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My iPad Mini fits in my cargo pants pocket.
In theory, I do like the idea of an expandable / folding / whatever phone. But I'm unwilling to spend even the amount Apple and others charge for their current flagship phones (typically I buy refurbs that are one or two models behind). Not to mention that I prefer to keep a phone for quite a few years, so durability is a requirement.
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NGL, my aging eyes might prefer a bigger screen on my phone, but I just know I'd end up breaking the damn thing if it was foldable. Of course, Apple's solution to that is coughing up those extra AppleCare bucks.
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Yes exactly a “big phone” is still nowhere near as comfortable as a tablet, especially if your eyesight isn’t that great. But all glass round phone does sound super futuristic and cool.
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Maybe 4 years ago.
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Hard to fit a tablet in one's pocket.
I can put a Nexus 7 in my pocket, you insensitive clod! Though I wouldn't, because I'd probably sit down and smush it against something with my leg and break it. I destroyed three palm pilots that way, they just didn't have the rigidity to survive in a driver's pocket. Luckily, they were all used.
But a foldable phone doesn't get you a tablet sized screen in your pocket anyway, it's maybe 2/3 of a small tablet. So great, you get a weird narrow screen in exchange for a whole bunch of money? And it's barely bi
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I have a flip 5. The point isn't to have a bigger phone, it's to have a smaller one.
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I would have got a Pixel 9 Fold if they had put top notch cameras on it, but for some reason it was a downgrade over the Pixel 8 Pro.
I'd like a larger screen that I can carry in a pocket, so a tablet is going to be too big. The technology seems to have got to the point where it is robust enough for me.
Seriously who the hell uses LLMs... (Score:1)
...for anything useful? From every article I see, all it seems to do is give bad answers to queries.
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...for anything useful? From every article I see, all it seems to do is give bad answers to queries.
You clearly have no idea how bad Siri is. I just asked it "get directions to the nearest Supercharger station open to non-Tesla EVs" and got this [imgur.com] as the result.
Now, trying the same with ChatGPT:
The nearest Tesla Supercharger station open to non-Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) from your location at [REDACTED], is situated at [REDACTED]. This station is approximately 5 miles northwest of your address.
This Supercharger station features 12 stalls, each capable of delivering up to 250 kW, and operates 24/7. It supports non-Tesla EVs equipped with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) or those using a CCS1-to-NACS adapter.
Hey neat, it's actually correct.
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so almost as useful as google maps
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I've used it a handful of times to identify unfamiliar plants, birds, and flags (snap a photo, load it into ChatGPT, ask what it is). I haven't seen it get it wrong yet.
It's also good at simple file manipulation: "I have 20 .CSVs. Combine them into one."
Table Top Robot (Score:2)
Might work better on the moon or Mars...
A thought on foldable phones (Score:2)
One thing I was thinking of recently, is that maybe foldable phones could solve two issues for Apple at once.
They want to push 3D headsets for spatial computing, but these are really expensive currently when done well, and it's a lot of effort to drive down costs.
Meanwhile that's always an aded expense to other things you need other than have, like a phone.
But what if a cheaper version of a 3D headset, used the foldable nature to work better as the display part of a 3D headset?
That is to say, you would be a
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One thing I was thinking of recently, is that maybe foldable phones could solve two issues for Apple at once.
It does.
#1 It looks nothing like their previous models, so it will be popular with the conspicuous consumption demographic.
#2 It will break more frequently, leading to more sales of replacement devices. Apple has been looking for a new means of planned obsolescence, ever since they got caught doing the things with the batteries and iOS updates.
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And here I thought the all-glass model would be of greater interest to you, given how much more easily you could slide it into your iRectum. Would be a great platform for your new prostate stimulation app...that you wrote using emacs. I'm sure the how-to photos will be great, given that you're also a photo pro.
What do you want to bet that when you see a douche walking around with a phone strapped to his goggles that he has another one up his butt? With SuperKendall, a sure thing.
Not practical (Score:2)
Essentially it would be a super-high end take on Google Cardboard... and Google Cardboard did work so the idea has some merit.
The some merit stops at resolution and field of view.
That setup "kind of works" for looking very straight in front of you (almost no peripheral vision) and for things where you don't need a ton of resolution.
i.e.: works for some games.
But...
They want to push 3D headsets for spatial computing, but these are really expensive currently when done well, and it's a lot of effort to drive down costs.
...spatial computing relies on the google working as replacement work screen. You need a tiny bit less tunnel vision (though Vision Pro's peripheral vision still sucks).
And you need a lot higher resolution so a virtual screen, once perspective shifted doesn't come too bl
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They want to push 3D headsets for spatial computing
Weren't you claiming that the iGoggles or whatever it was called was going to revolutionize the space and make AR mainstream? That developers would flock to the shiny thing because Apple, finally figuring out what the hell people were supposed to do with it? Yeah, you made all sorts of wild claims about what they would release and how the market would react, only for them to put out a questionable product that, while it had a nice display, was also wildly over-priced.
but these are really expensive currently when done well, and it's a lot of effort to drive down costs
Except the Meta Quest 3 is better than
What about 2025? 2026? (Score:5, Insightful)
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It's not a good sign that they have to leak potential products for 2027 to Bloomberg to keep the Apple faithful on the hook through 2 dull years.
I thought that leaks were unintentional, by definition. i.e. if Apple did it intentionally, it's not a leak, it's stealth marketing.
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I thought that leaks were unintentional, by definition. i.e. if Apple did it intentionally, it's not a leak, it's stealth marketing.
Congratulations, after 20 years you've discovered Apple's secret.
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It's not a good sign that they have to leak potential products for 2027 to Bloomberg to keep the Apple faithful on the hook through 2 dull years. The robot sounds a lot like their car project (ie. why are they making this?) and the smart glasses may have a shot, but are by no means a slam dunk. Under Cook they've had more cancelled or failed new product lines than successes now.
Apple has been passe for years now. Long gone are the days where a placid press would wait with baited breath for any nugget of crap from Apple so they could write 12 articles that would get fanboys frothing and creaming themselves.
The articles aren't bringing in the eyeballs and even most of the fanboys have realised it's just a phone.
So now Apple is just another phone company but doesn't want to acknowledge it... Like a 35 yr old diva who was mean to everyone in her 20s because she was hot and could
Jobs failed product (Score:2)
Under Cook they've had more cancelled or failed new product lines than successes now.
It's not a Cook's exclusive. It just that Job's reality distortion field was better at making you forget complete failures.
e.g.: during John Sculley's tenure:
Apple Newton Pad.
Completely failed.
It took Palm to show how to do PDA rights, and it took Handspring Visor (by former Palm people) to make him understand that the future was in connected mini computers you hold in your pocket, not in a big blucking transparent TV-like block on your table.
Another failure, during Steve Job's tenure: anything with a decen
Why this insane obsession with glass? (Score:3, Interesting)
Reviewers (Score:2)
Why is it glass? 95% of phones spend their lives in a case so who cares what the back and sides look like?
Same reason why the same phones try to be as thin as possible when the case will double its thickness anyway:
Reviewers.
95% of phones are reviewed without a case, by tech reviewer who review tons of products and whose eyes will be attracted by some shiny designs that don't mean anything for 95% remainder of users such as bezel sizes, image wrapping along the curved edges, front camera in a tiny notch to reduce top bezels, etc.
While completely missing important feature like battery life (desk/coffe shop job w
Don't forget... (Score:5, Interesting)
Longtime Apple/Mac user..No,No and No (Score:2)
Camera equiped airpods? (Score:2)
From "The Department of Making Shit Up" (Score:2)
No one ever tracks how well his/her predictions actually pan out, but the track record with respect to Apple's plans and products is generally really poor. Caveat Lector! (And don't forget, Bloomburg is the company that posted the article about Chinese backdoors in servers that EVERYONE denied, but Bloomberg has never retracted that story, either.)