Over the past six years, there has been speculation in the media that Apple is developing a foldable phone. It sounded convincing, because it would be strange if Apple left this category of devices to other brands. Apple builds its brand on thoughtfulness, reliability and does not make too many technical compromises. However, this approach does not do much to the effect of launching groundbreaking devices first. But that doesn't stop it from being the dominant player in the category.
From prehistory to the present day
We wouldn't define the foldable phone category itself very easily. Looking at folding, one of the first was the Motorola MicroTAC from 1989. If we were to look at the flexible display, the 2018 Royole FlexPai, which had a display on the outside, would hold the lead. Considering how ugly the phone was, this was the least of the problems. When closed, it was as thick as a book and lacked a fine-tuned user interface. The phone had no idea what orientation it was in when bent, apps crashed, icons overlapped chaotically, and the interface was incredibly slow. In addition, the display did not have an even backlight, and the plastic edge was easily scratched even with a simple fingernail.