Apple iPhone Fold Screen Size Comparison
I recently posted a video diving into the latest rumors surrounding the Apple iPhone Fold. In that discussion, we looked at the rumored dimensions: a 7.58-inch internal display and a 5.38-inch external display.
We also examined some renders created by Bob Obba alba based on these measurements. While a device with those dimensions should look fairly representative of those renders, I wanted to take this visualization a step further.
Bringing the Leaks to Life
I took the leaked measurements, performed some Pythagorean calculations and printed out a physical representation to help us truly visualize what we are discussing.
This printout represents the rumored screen sizes for the iPhone Fold. Keep in mind this only accounts for the display dimensions and aspect ratios. It does not include the physical device dimensions like the bezel or hinge size. Nevertheless, this rough estimation should give us a ballpark idea of the size difference. I even printed it out to be 4.5 millimeters thick because that seems to be a common rumor for the device's thickness.
To confirm the accuracy, I have confirmed that my print measures 7.58-inches diagonal and roughly 5⅜ diagonal on the cover display.
Now for the interesting part: size comparisons.
The original Passport Fold
The first comparison I wanted to make was with the original Pixel Fold. Many people, including myself, have pointed to the Pixel Fold's "passport design" as a potential blueprint for Apple.
Ladies and gentlemen, this rumored iPhone Fold is even more a passport-style device. The alleged iPhone Fold screen is significantly shorter and wider than even the passport-style design of the Pixel Fold. When we open it up and place the rumored internal screen on top of the Pixel Fold, we see a much smaller device. The width is similar, but we lose a significant amount of height. That is a very interesting difference.
If we look at the rumored 4.5 mm thickness (just half of the device), it seems perfectly fine.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Pixel 10 Pro Fold
Let’s get even crazier and put this concept next to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. We are losing about a quarter of the cover display's height with this design. On the inner screen, the rumored iPhone Fold is a little bit wider, but you lose a ton of screen real estate compared to the Z Fold 7.
This experiment is fascinating because it addresses the conversation about iPad overlap and window management. On the Z Fold line, we often say the screen size isn't quite big enough for robust tablet-style window management. On a screen this much smaller, a windowing system just won’t make much sense.
The comparison to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Magic V5 yields similar results: a massive loss of screen real estate.
I also tried rotating the comparison devices, but because most modern folding phones feature an internal screen that is basically squared off, rotating them doesn't make a huge difference in terms of the size you would be losing with a device this short and wide.
Surface Duo 2
Coincidentally, Surface Duo 2 appears to be the closest match in terms of overall screen size and ratio. Granted, the Duo is a dual screen device and this is a true foldable, but the resemblance is there. Duo still ends up having larger screens, but not to the degree of other devices we’ve looked at. Duo also has huge bezels, so the overall device is much larger than this device is likely to be.
Image Credit: https://www.youtube.com/@bob_obba/
Multimedia
When it comes to watching 16:9 content, this screen size will provide a decent experience because you won’t have letterboxing at the top and bottom quite to the same extent as you might with other foldables. The cover display might make for a decent viewing experience as well, assuming Apple has a tent mode or something like that as well.
A Radical Design Philosophy
It is genuinely hard to imagine Apple releasing a device like this, but consider the potential one-handability. The cover display's aspect ratio would be as one-handable as any screen has been in a long time. There's a part of me that really hopes this rumor is true. The alleged design of the iPhone Fold suggests a return to a philosophy where the inner display is the priority. Samsung, with the original Galaxy Z Fold, started with a focus on the inner screen. Google later split the difference, creating a cover display that was short and wide.
Now, we've landed in a place where manufacturers have largely shifted to making the cover display look like a normal phone. The inner display is simply whatever it needs to be, which often results in a nearly square shape. Apple, allegedly, is taking a completely different approach. They are prioritizing the inner tablet screen with an aspect ratio similar to an iPad mini. By doing so, when the device closes, you end up with the extremely short and wide cover display. They are taking Google's original design philosophy and pushing it to an even greater extreme.
This concept is beyond fascinating.