We're still waiting for a possible iPhone Flip. But while Apple continues to stay away from the best foldable phones on the market, the team at Technology Aesthetics (via OnlyTechAE) has made its own attempt at making a folding iPhone.
As the subtitled video shows, the "iPhone V" uses an iPhone X display, a Motorola Razr 2020's folding mechanisms and parts from other iPhones to create a wild-looking hybrid.
The video's well worth a watch to see how the familiar iPhone gets transformed into a competent-looking foldable, as well as just how many iPhones the Technology Aesthetics team went through to get all the parts they needed in good working order.
The phone is functional, too, as you can see it running iOS 16 after the transformation. However, the team made some modifications to make the most of the new folding display, such as adding multi-window support as seen on the best iPads and other folding phones.
The Technology Aesthetics video also addresses some major drawbacks of the design. While Apple's OLED iPhone displays are flexible (like most other smartphone OLED panels), they're not designed for repeated folding like a proper folding phone. The display is shown to gradually bubble and crease around the fold line, and It's likely that the screen will end up breaking entirely if used regularly.
In addition, in order to fit the hinge mechanism, the iPhone X's 2,716 mAh battery had to be swapped out for a much smaller 1,000 mAh battery, which means the iPhone V has a standby time of less than a day. There was no space for a wireless charging coil or one of the bottom speakers either.
The good news is for most of us who can't engineer our own folding iPhones is that Apple is supposedly working on an iPhone Flip, though it may not be Apple's first flexible device. Instead, Apple may launch a foldable iPad or MacBook first, according to some reports.
For now, you'll have to make due with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, which are both among the best phones you can buy — even if they can't fold
