• ladicius@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      German renowned institute “Stiftung Warentest” just tested two foldables (both Samsung I think) and had them 50.000 times folded and unfolded (they build machines to torture test stuff) and reported no creases.

      50.000 times is over four years for 32 uses every day (twice every wake hour). Would be more than sufficient for a normal user think.

      • Lemming6969@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Crease distortion occurs immediately, day 1, first fold, and it’s a substantial distortion… but does not necessarily get exponentially worse like normal fatiguing plastic, but instead just gets worse slowly. Yeah it’ll last 50k folds but the crease distortion is definitely there in person.

    • cm0002@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I don’t get the obsession over the crease, things that fold generally have creases. As long as it’s not distorting things (which IME it doesn’t and is hardly noticeable when in use anyways) it’s fine

      • chiisana@lemmy.chiisana.net
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        2 months ago

        This is Apple; they value different things than most people… sometimes warranted, results in offering a much better experience, and pushes everything forward (see MagSafe -> Qi2 for recent example), other times they’re just regarded as late adopters. The detraction of visual aesthetics from folding crease is apparently one of such things that they care about.

  • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zip
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    2 months ago

    Not completely related to the foldable iphone(tho im sure it would slap because it would be a good execution of the idea) but its such a shame that apple has to be so bitchy with their software. If theyd just open up the software(or the eu forces them to) i would instantly buy one when custom os’s are available. Imagine getting a linux iphone.

      • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zip
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        2 months ago

        I dont need an iphone for that, but the(in my opinion) good hardware of the iphone with free software would be nice. Most linux phones are pretty crap but seeing what asahilinux is on arm macs i would have hope in iphone linux if the hardware was open. Of course its possible people would just port android which isnt the best result as android in my opinion is basically a worse, mostly proprietary version of linux.

        • Teils13@lemmy.eco.br
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          2 months ago

          Android still has F-droid and FOSS alternatives to mostly everything, while iPhone is walled garden 101.

      • BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one
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        2 months ago

        Similar to how you can buy a recently used MacBook Pro and install linux on it and have a fucking phenomenal device, that other person hopes the same could be done to their phones.

        • Aermis@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          I didn’t realize the hardware of an iPhone is superior to hardware of other flagship phones.

  • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    There have been plenty of fads over the lifespan of the smartphone market. E.g. curved edge screens. I think curved screens are another and Apple is right to ignore it. There’s too many compromises required for a foldable and not much benefit to be worth it.

      • ch00f@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        What I don’t understand is why nobody makes a foldable phone where it’s just two flat screens with an invisible bezel along one edge so they fit seamlessly together when fully opened.

        It’s not like there’s a use case where you operate the phone half unfolded and require both halves of the screen to be seamlessly connected.

        If the flexing feature wasn’t a gimmick and there was an actual use case for a foldable pocket iPad, someone would have released a phone like the Kyocera Echo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyocera_Echo to commercial success.

        • EvilBit@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Interesting idea. Bezels have been made pretty thin and there have been curved display edges, but I don’t know if anyone’s ever tried a one-side zero-bezel design that you could hinge together. Bezels in the other sides are fine, but could we create a flush edge with no gap to click two screens against each other?

          • njordomir@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            The first time anything got caught in the gap, it would probably shatter the screens. I do like it better than the crease though

          • ch00f@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            I’m sure there are a half-dozen ways you could at least fake it. Like if the bezel can be made clear and they overlap somewhat.

            • Aatube@kbin.melroy.org
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              2 months ago

              Since it’s not been brought to market, I’ll assume there isn’t a way with its money’s worth. At most you have the Microsoft thing with a thin hinge.

              • ch00f@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                I mean, it’s a really slick gimmick. I think having a bendy screen is cooler than two screens even if it’s more expensive/difficult to manufacture and doesn’t provide any real benefit.

        • ravhall@discuss.online
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          2 months ago

          Exactly. And it wouldn’t have to be double wide since some components could be pushed to the other size. I’m fine with it just being like two apps open and not even one big one. Multitasking.

          I guess what we really need is a phone case that has hinges and we can just buy two phones!

    • raldone01@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      My personal theory for the curved edges is, that samsung just wanted to prevent cheap off brand replacement screens.

      • aluminium@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I think part of the reason was to look good in stores. If you have a non curved and curved phone next to each other playing the demo video, the curved looks waaay more futurostic.

      • T156@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Mine is that they wanted it to stand out, compared to all the other phones with flat screens at the time, especially with all the design clones.

        You would look at it and go “oh that phone looks funny, must be a Samsung”.

        • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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          2 months ago

          This is what it was when they introduced it. I used to work for an Android OEM at the time and the product people really wanted to get their hands on curved screens for the same reason. Eventually they got Samsung to sell them some but it wasn’t as curved as the ones Samsung used on their devices to keep differentiation. It still cost twice what flat screens which ate a significant chunk of the profit margin.

      • dustyData@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        The curved edges were the precursor tech to having a foldable screen. No matter what is said about the Apple vs. Samsung debate, Samsung is still the one responsible for the praises on Apple’s screens. They have tried with other manufacturers and providers but can’t escape the fact that Samsung is still the major leader on displays as they dump a shit ton of money on R&D on all LED screen technologies, specially manufacturing at scale. If you want high end screens, you just go with Samsung, period. The alternatives are constantly playing catch up with them and they are actually experimenting and trying to come up with new and original stuff. LG and Sharp are also really good, but their screens aren’t as premium as Apple wants them to be, though they are more affordable.

  • Michal@programming.dev
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    2 months ago

    It’s the iBump, it’s a haptic invention gently letting you know you have passed to the other half of the screen. They also made it visible to give you a gentle cue as to where the middle is.

    • pyre@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      put this verbatim in the ads and the fanboys will praise it as innovation™

  • Mac@mander.xyz
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    2 months ago

    Soon we’ll have tablet sized phones that fold multiple times. lol

  • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I’m pretty perfectionist about some things, but I honestly forget all of the time about this little crease in my phone. I thought I might give a shit before I bought a Motorola Razr last year, and now I often forget that it’s a foldable. Imagine if you will, a phone that actually fucking fits in your jean pockets…it’s worth the little (often invisible) crease.

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I liked my jumbo iPhone for a while but it was too long to fit comfortably in my pocket. Making it foldable wouldn’t help though, because the main reason I got rid of it was I kept dropping it. Too big to use with one hand.

    • BallsandBayonets@lemmings.world
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      2 months ago

      My pockets’ capacity is determined by the thickness of what I’m shoving in there, not the height. A folding phone is the worst possible thing as it doubles the thickness at the expense of height.

      • n0clue@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Had a manager that somewhat creepily checked for people’s phones, the look on her face when I pulled an entire box of cereal from my pocket they couldn’t see was pretty good.

        • Lord Goose@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          2 months ago

          I know you probably mean one of those serving-sized cereal boxes, but the mental image of you pulling out a family-sized box of cereal from some portal-to-Narnia pocket in your pants is fucking hilarious to me.

      • narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        Which isn’t even close to an iPad in size, not even the iPad mini in terms of actual screen real estate.

            • conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works
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              2 months ago

              Yeah. And no phone app.

              But that’s my preferred size for sure. I probably won’t bother with a max the next time I get a phone, just because it still isn’t actually big enough for me to justify the price difference.

              • narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee
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                2 months ago

                Kind of relatable. I go with the smaller sizes (regular Pro) as the Max is too large for my relatively small hands to use one-handed but at the same time it’s not large enough to enhance what I can do with the device.

                So what I do is I always have my phone with me and optionally I take my 11" iPad Pro with me, although I’m hoping they’ll release a new iPad mini in October as I’d like something a bit more portable (and I also want the variant with mobile data, while my 11" Pro is Wi-Fi only).

                • conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works
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                  2 months ago

                  I have a Boox go color 7 that I have in my pocket a lot. I made a little leather sleeve for it and am frequently tempted to add a couple pockets to the flap and make it my permanent “wallet”. It’s better for reading, anyways, but there’s a lot of software I use that’s only on iOS without an acceptable Android substitute, and it’s also not a phone. (I’d also be perfectly happy with the watch as my “phone” and to carry two small tablets).

                  But you just can’t fit much on a phone screen.

      • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        iPhone Pro Max screen area: 115.6cm²

        iPad Air 11" screen area: 357.6cm²

        iPad Air 13" screen area: 519.3cm²

        An iPad has between 3 and 4.5 times the screen space than the largest iPhone.

    • rfr_Foglia@feddit.it
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      2 months ago

      From what we know, the folding iPhone will be a flip style foldable. So, just a regular size phone, it won’t be huge when unfolded.

  • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Foldable phones look and work like shit. Not a shock that Apple wants nothing to do with a silly fad— not until it’s worth it for them.

    • rtxn@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      They’ll wait for the tech to mature other manufacturers to figure it out, starve people for a few more years, then release it with a +400% markup and act like they came up with the idea. That’s how it’s always been.

      Although I don’t see a future where bendable fucking glass screens become anything more than a gimmick.

    • PrincessKadath@ani.social
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      2 months ago

      I am on my second foldable phone, and on my fourth year using them. Not only does your statement is not true, you probably never even touched a single foldable.

      Looks? Subjective. I personally love the form factor. Works like shit? In your dreams.

      • pycorax@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Same here. Got in with he Fold 3 and I’m now on the Fold 6. They’re fantastic and I can imagine going back. The convenience of having a mini tablet with you that you can annotate stuff on is too good to give up.

      • derg@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Which do you have? Genuinely curious, never used the modern ones, but assumed they’d be shit/very fragile

        • GeekySalsa@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Not op, but I have the galaxy fold 3 and it’s amazing. I’ve had it for 3 years and I can’t go back to normal phones. And I’ve heard the same from many others that got their first foldable.

        • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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          2 months ago

          The screens are pretty fragile, however they’re protected when folded. Just don’t drop them onto anything while open…

          Other than that they’re surprisingly robust. I’ve had 2 Moto Razr models and a Samsung Z Fold. First Razr did break the screen by leaving it open in a stupidly precarious position and it hit a piece of metal below directly on the folding screen when it fell. But day to day use I never worried about it.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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          2 months ago

          I’ve had both the Samsung Fold 2 and now the Pixel Fold

          N cer had any issues with them

        • PrincessKadath@ani.social
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          2 months ago

          Upgrading every three years is pretty normal, I’d say. I know people that change phones every new iteration of their fruity ones. Unless you were trying to be funny, for which it may have gone over my head.

            • PrincessKadath@ani.social
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              2 months ago

              I spend extremely little on myself. I have a good salary and no vices, every bill and payment is taken care of, and my family is well taken care of between me and my partner.
              If I want to indulge myself with a new toy once every three years, I may very well do so without some guy having to complain about it. Sure, call me rich. I guess I’d live up that princess moniker I have on my nickname.

            • cm0002@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Nah, here in the US the majority of people buy through their carrier and typically put them on a 0% interest Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) that break the cost to a monthly payment typically spanning 2 years.

              The carriers also have an upgrade path, for me on T-Mobile when the phone is 50% paid (so once a year) I can turn in this phone and upgrade. The remaining balance gets wiped and replaced by the new phone. Other US carriers should be similar.

              I typically upgrade once a year

                • cm0002@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  Depends on how you look at it, T-Mobile requires that all phones that are Jumped remain in good condition so that they can be resold at a good discount to others or shipped off to their phone insurance company to be issued out to people whose similar phone broke and they make a claim

                  So it’s not like they get shipped back and thrown away, and I do always have the option to just not return the phone and continue to make the payments on it and then I can pass it down to a family member or just keep it as a backup. Which I have done in the past.

            • roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              2 months ago

              The large U.S. carriers have plans that are, I think, $20-30 a month and you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, apple or Samsung. They also partner with manufacturers for discounts and trade-in deals, especially when a new model comes out. My last phone was 2 years old but when they offered me the newest one for something like $120 after trade-in (I think that was almost $1100 off, I don’t remember all the details) I upgraded everyone on my plan. I think they did the same thing this year but even with those discounts the pain in the ass of upgrading plus the price, even though it’s low, wasn’t worth the small year over year change. Probably next year or the year after. Assuming similar deals, that makes it $40-$60 a year to get a new phone every 2-3 years.

              Edit: You do have to stay with the carrier though. If you leave in less than 24 months you have to pay back a prorated part of the discount. Or at least the part that comes from the carrier, I think you keep the enhanced trade-in from the manufacturer.

              • EngineerGaming@feddit.nl
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                2 months ago

                To each their own. I would prefer to stick to my $3/mo plan with no extras. And said $120 are, while a good deal for a premium phone, are still $120 I would rather spend on better things (or if they’re this throwaway - donate to a charity). A phone after 2-3 years is still very much functional, I don’t see the point to get a new shiny thing just because you can.

      • Elextra@literature.cafe
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        2 months ago

        I know a few people at work that have foldables. Both are not going back and the crease really isnt noticeable.

        One guy has the Google Pixel Fold. His kids share his phone to leave his wife’s phone alone when they are watching something. It makes it easier to share with his kids because its a larger screen. When it was smaller they fought more because they couldn’t all watch on a small screen. Hes reaping benefits too. Ive seen him have it open to watch NFL highlights lol.

        The other person I know is a manager and its just really nice.

        I don’t have one myself because its pretty $$$. If I valued phones I would pick one up myself. Year after year they have gotten significantly better with the crease and hardware. They’re often very beast with hardware features.

        • legion02@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Last time I looked, the aspect ratios for the unfolded screens were such that you didn’t actually get any more screen real estate than a normal smartphone so the kids analogy doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. For media it’s like you get the illusion of a bigger screen.

          • cm0002@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            I’ve seen the same, but tbh in real world use on my Pixel 9 Pro Fold even with the big black bars on a full screen video it still feels like quite a large viewable area

            • legion02@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Doesn’t that “feeling” though kinda confirm that it’s an illusion of screen space when you can measure the diagonal image on a normal phone and see that it’s the same?

  • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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    2 months ago

    They’re all so desperate for an excuse to increase the price further, and I don’t know anybody who wants this.

    We’re already at over 6 inch for phones. It’s plenty big enough. If I want to see something on a bigger screen, I’ll use a device with a bigger screen.

    • greenskye@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      The recent trifold phone prototype by some Chinese company was the only version that interested me. It actually expanded to true tablet size and the proportions and thickness while folded matched the standard phone proportions. That actually felt useful and I could get rid of my tablet, so I wouldn’t mind the extra cost too much. The big issue obviously would be if it could have decent battery life, which I assume will be its critical flaw.

    • thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      As someone who reads a lot on the go folding phones are AMAZING My eyes never felt so good and my pockets so light. That being said it broke after three months of use when I dropped it face first while closed. If they where more durable or repairable I’d definitely go back

  • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Apple is leaning into the criticism that all they do is copy Samsung tech. Nobody wants a folding iPhone.

    • KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 months ago

      I absolutely do. Look at the Huawei Trifold for an example. It’s overly expensive, and has issues, which is why I wouldn’t get it. But the concept is decent. A phone that unfolds into an incredibly thin tablet. What’s not to like?

      • Abnorc@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        I’d rather a simpler phone at this point. I don’t think I’ve ever looked at my phone and felt that it’s too small. I can think of other ways that I’d want phones to be more functional, like connecting to external peripherals and a monitor.

        Lots of people are excited about folding phones too though, so more power to them if companies are willing to go that way.

      • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        It’s ugly and the fold is noticeable which is distracting when watching videos. Not to mention Huawei is banned in the US

        • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          I can’t speak for that device in particular, but I’ve been using a Galaxy Fold for a few years now and the crease is literally nothing. In most cases, you’re looking dead on at the phone and you can’t see it. If you’re outside it becomes slightly more noticeable, but the bright glare from the sun in general makes for more of a problem than the crease. I have no intention of going back to a non-folding device.

          Also, Huawei is not banned from being purchased and used by consumers in the US lmao.

    • TheDarksteel94@sopuli.xyz
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      2 months ago

      I do want one of those new flip phones. Since normal phones aren’t getting any more portable, I’d rather have that than carrying around a brick. For me, the biggest problems with these at the moment are repairability, durability and price. Once those are solved, I will probably get one.

  • Bob Robertson IX @discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 months ago

    I’m shocked that Apple didn’t just make the crease more obvious and consider it a design element and advertise it as something the consumer wants.

    • coolfission@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      Yeah just like the notch and dynamic island. They even brought the notch to Macbooks since Apple thinks it makes their brand look more uniform.

      • MaggiWuerze@feddit.org
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        2 months ago

        And I hate every second of it on my work macbook. How one could think cutting out the middle from the space that has to house your applications menu(IntelliJs is huge for example) and your tray icons, which can be quite a lot too, and then not have a function to keep either of them from just disappearing behind that cutout is asinine.

        No No, I didn’t need thos menu items anyway…

          • MaggiWuerze@feddit.org
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            2 months ago

            No, this only hides it visually, you still run into the issue of content being hidden behind it. I now use bartender which allows me to at least put the tray icons in a dropdown that opens below the nodge.

            But the fact this is necessary speaks volumes about Apples care for user experience

    • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 months ago

      I mean for all the things you can meme on Apple for, releasing products for the sake of releasing something isn’t something they’re known for. See Air Power.

      • dustyData@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        For every AirPower there’s a $999 ProStand. Apple is just a greedy company, like everyone else in tech. They are just more picky on the bullshit they sell, but they still sell bullshit.

        • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 months ago

          I have a theory on those stands and stuff. It’s a marketing ploy as people will be talking about the absurdity of it and that’s free advertising for them.