In my essay Personal Computing Using Tablets I make the claim that we should think of foldables as tablets rather than phones. I think a new article in 9to8mac.com reporting that the iPhone Fold could be thinner than the iPhone Air supports my claim.

First off, I think the title of the article is misleading while consistent with the foldable as phone thinking. It is misleading because the speculated dimensions of the foldable are only thinner than the iPhone Air when it is folded out, in other words when it is a tablet.

Further down in the article is a table that shows that at the projected 9-9.5mm thickness the “iPhone Fold” will be thicker than all previous generation iPhones. The size and weight matters when one thinks about carrying the device in a pocket. The only reason why one will carry that large and heavy a device is because of the benefit of using the foldable when it is folded out, or when it is a tablet.

How do you make a sales pitch for one to spend more than $1,000 to carry a thicker, heavier phone? Wouldn’t the sales pitch work better if you say that the foldable is the most portable iPad ever, one that can even be carried in a front pant pocket?

Of course the dimensions of a possible foldable from Apple, particularly in light of the iPhone Air, is going to draw the most attention, but I propose what is a more interesting question is, which operating system UI will Apple put on the device? When you open the Apple foldable, is that iOS 27 or iPad OS 27? And if that is iPad OS 27 when folded out, what is it when closed?

And if Apple decides to go with iOS 27 inside and out of the foldable, how soon will those who want the iPad OS 27 experience, such as windowing or at least side by side windows, start complaining? Will users want to be able to use their Apple Pencil with the foldable?

I have no doubt that Apple will nail the foldable hardware and that it will be expensive, but the software experience of foldables matters and at a price north of $1,000 users will expect a premium experience.