For years, every Apple iPhone event seemed like a radical step forward for smartphones, sending waves of people upgrading and competitors scrambling to catch up. That urgency has faded as the pace of smartphone evolution has slowed, whether measured by the form or function of each new device. The iPhone 15 which Apple Inc. introduced on September 12 doesn’t look much different from 2020’s iPhone 12.
As a result, every major phone maker other than Apple sees an opportunity to steal some of the excitement normally reserved for the undisputed champion of high-end smartphone design. For the most part, they opted for the same strategy: phones that fold. “Foldable devices are the future,” says Billy Zhang, president of overseas sales and services at China’s Oppo, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone maker by shipments.