Why are we OK with thick folding phones, but not with thick no-folds?

i think by “we” you mean the manufacturers? AFAICT they just gave away the game: the push for thin phones was more from the supply side than the demand side. not saying people don’t generally prefer thin phones – just that the preference is probably weaker than has been made out to be.

that said, i think it’s more fair to compare things like cubic volume and weight than just the thinness. a 1/2" thick full-size phone would be uncomfortable in my pocket, whereas a 1/2" thick wallet-sized phone might actually be more comfortable than a traditional smartphone.

Orion won’t make its way into the hands of consumers

not for you though (unless you’re a Meta employee).

but yeah good hardware is good hardware and if i could just use it as a display for any other device i have i would totally use it around the home: following a recipe without having to shuffle my phone and the ingredients; running a lengthy command over ssh and doing chores while i wait, without having to check my phone every couple of minutes to see when it’s done…

those things all rely on the software though. will they open it up as a dumb wireless display/terminal, or not? if they don’t, it’s kinda dead to me no matter how great the hardware is…