Will Apple create a foldable iPhone? This is very possible, given foldables appear to be the future of smartphones.
Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Motorola, and Honor have all released foldable devices. In reality, Apple is the only major manufacturer that has not released a version.
Whether Apple chooses a book-style foldable (in which a phone-sized cover display opens to expose a small tablet) or a modern rendition of a flip phone, there will undoubtedly be a lot of intrigue. The book-style is more likely, as more leaks point to it, and it would be deemed a more premium item.
And the most recent rumors hint that one is on its way, albeit we may have to wait a bit.
When will the Apple foldable be released?
The Information reported in February 2024 that Apple does not intend to deliver a foldable iPhone until at least 2026.
The well-known leaker Revegnus shared what appears to be a leaked roadmap from Samsung Securities, a division of the Korean behemoth, a month later. The current projection, according to Ming-soon Kan, Senior Researcher at research firm Omdia, a few days prior, was 2027.
Weibo blogger Fixed Focus Digital asserted once more in February 2024 that Samsung’s panels were allegedly subpar, prompting Apple to cease the development of a foldable iPhone. However, the source has no solid reputation for spreading rumors, so it’s still unclear how accurate this information is.
However, will it ever come? Apple may deliver two foldable gadgets in early 2026, according to a May 2024 report by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via GSMArena).
The same was mentioned in the DigiTimes story, and Mark Gurman of Bloomberg was another to recommend a 2026 debut, but that would be the earliest.
The flip-style phone and the foldable iPad/MacBook hybrid gadget are both expected to be released in 2026, according to analyst Jeff Pu (via 9to5Mac). The foldable iPhone is expected to follow in the second quarter of 2026.
It is unlikely to occur until 2027, which is currently the most likely scenario, according to TrendForce’s analysts. Ming-Chi Kuo also asserted in August 2024 that Apple has postponed the device’s initial 2026 delivery until 2027 or even 2028.
A March 2025 private investor letter obtained by MacRumors, in which Barclays analyst Tim Long asserts that the foldable iPhone will be released between late 2026 and early 2027, supports that.
Last but not least, according to Kuo, Apple will finalize the hardware in Q2 2025, start production in Q4 2026, and debut late that year. Jon Prosser at FPT on YouTube, on the other hand, thinks that all of Apple’s foldable projects have been shelved, at least temporarily.
It’s unlikely that Apple has given up on the project completely. We might infer from all of these conflicting rumors that Apple is more likely to release its first foldable device in early 2027 than at the very end of 2026.
How much will the Apple foldable cost?
Answering it is nearly impossible. When Apple publishes it, the price of foldables at that time, and the type of device the company intends to produce will all play a role.
But according to the rumors below, it will resemble a book more than anything else, with a little tablet visible through a cover screen of standard size.
These are typically far more costly than flip phones. The Honor Magic V2 priced £1,699.99/€1999.90 at launch, the Google Pixel Fold cost $1,799/£1,749, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cost $1,799.99/£1,748. By the time Apple produces a foldable, maybe prices will have decreased, but it will undoubtedly want to promote it as an ultra-premium product.
According to a private investment note by MacRumors, Tim Long anticipates a launch price of about $2,300 in the US, which is in line with reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s prediction of $2,000 to $2,500.
That would make it more costly than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Honor Magic V3, or Oppo Find N5, and almost twice as expensive as the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
A second-generation model is anticipated to follow in 2027, with a target of up to 20 million units. Kuo predicts that Apple would ship 3–5 million units in the first year.
The Motorola Razr 60 Ultra and the anticipated Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 may be comparable if Apple surprises us by releasing a flip phone before.
What type of device will the Apple foldable be?
Foldable iPad
The majority of rumors about an Apple foldable center on how it would be modeled after the iPhone, but what if the company decided to base it on the iPad instead?
Despite the fact that the proposed 2024 release date has long since gone, it is what research firm CSS Insight stated back in 2022 (via CNBC).
Though there was no indication of how this folding iPad may look, Apple stated in its annual predictions report that it would want to test a folding iPad first in order to avoid any problems with a folding phone.
Ben Wood, Chief of Research at CCS Insight, told CNBC that a foldable iPhone might jeopardize sales of the traditional iPhone and that Apple would have to charge at least $2,500 for the foldable iPhone in order to make it distinctly superior to the high-end iPhone Pro Max model.
Ming-Chi Kuo supported that forecast in January 2023 when she wrote on X (previously Twitter) that a “all-new design foldable iPad” will be released in 2024 or 2025. He only disclosed that Anjie Technology would produce a carbon fiber kickstand for the tablet, which is meant to be more robust and lightweight than existing alternatives.
According to Omdia analysts (via Revegnus on X), the foldable gadget will fall into the iPad mini category. The foldable iPhone, according to Min-soo Kang, Senior Researcher at Omdia, will probably be about the same size as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, with a 7.6-inch main screen and a 6.2-inch cover display when folded.
According to a 2021 forecast by the Canadian investment research firm EqualOcean, Apple was also developing a foldable single-display device that, when unfolded, may look like the iPad mini.
According to the firm, Apple will release a foldable iPhone that, when unfurled, has a screen size of 7.3 to 7.6 inches. It will also work with the Apple Pencil, just like the most recent Galaxy Z Fold phones do with Samsung’s S Pen.
In his May 2021 projection, rival analyst Ming-Chi Kuo described a potentially marginally larger 8-inch unfurled display. Kuo actually went beyond just stating the device’s size, indicating that it will include an 8-inch QHD+ flexible OLED display and that TPK’s silver nanowire touch solution, which is utilized in the HomePod Mini, will be included “due to its numerous benefits over SDC’s Y-Octa technology.”
Since the latter is the “better” choice for upcoming devices with numerous folds, rollable form factors, and other features, Kuo thinks it might provide Apple a “long-term competitive advantage” in the foldable market.
Digital Chat Station, a more recent source, disagrees, posting on Weibo that they anticipate the phone to have a 7.74-inch internal display and a 5.49-inch external screen. This is supported by Ming-Chi Kuo, who recommends a 7.8-inch OLED inner panel and a 5.5-inch outside display.
In other news, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has revealed new information regarding Apple’s long-rumored foldable gadget, indicating that the company is developing a foldable iPad that, when unfolded, would resemble two iPad Pros side by side.
According to reports, the smartphone has an almost seamless foldable display with a hardly perceptible crease. According to Gurman’s sources, a leaked display roadmap indicates that the screen’s full unfolded size might be about 20 inches, or 18.8 inches. In a Weibo post, Digital Chat Station echoed this 18.8-inch screen size.
Innovative hinge designs that provide an unobstructed front display, in contrast to visible hinges on certain competitor smartphones, are revealed in schematics associated with Apple patents.
Flip-style phone
Gurman has covered Apple’s intentions for a foldable iPhone in addition to the foldable iPad. However, it is anticipated that this product will not be released until at least 2026.
However, according to DigiTimes, the business is now concentrating on a flip-style iPhone, akin to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6, in contrast to earlier rumors of a foldable iPad.
According to reports, difficulties in the Chinese smartphone industry are the cause of this change in approach.
In keeping with its usual two-year development cycle, the article also states that Apple’s research and development phase for the device started this year.
According to reports, Samsung Display has also been contracted to provide the folding panels. When unfolded, the screens will have dimensions similar to those of existing iPhones, but they may not be as thick.
Foldable MacBook
Apple may really deliver two foldable devices using its M5 series CPU, according to a prior report by Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo (via GSMArena). It is anticipated that these gadgets will be available in two sizes: 18.8 inches and 20.25 inches, which fold down to 13 and 14 inches, respectively.
His post on X, however, claims that Apple has postponed the release of its first foldable gadget, which is now anticipated to be a folding MacBook. Technical issues with the mechanical and display components are to blame for the delay.
Additionally, the smartphone is now anticipated to have an 18.8-inch screen after Apple abandoned plans for a larger 20.25-inch model. Due to high component costs, LG is probably the only supplier of the foldable panels, which, together with the hinge, may make the device cost about $3,500.
Additionally, according to 9to5Mac, Apple has been working on a hybrid iPad/MacBook that, when unfolded, will have an 18.8-inch display.
What will the Apple foldable look like?
Although many believe Apple will produce a foldable iPhone that folds down the center like a book, as has been the case with other well-known book-style foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, or OnePlus Open, there are a number of alternative options detailed in the current rumors.
One of Apple’s prototypes would actually make more sense given the many concerns about durability, the obvious crease in foldable displays, and the general quality of the surface.
Jon Prosser hinted that the foldable iPhone might not be made of a single flexible display in a series of articles from June 2020. Rather, the leaker asserts that a single “foldable” iPhone prototype is made up of two independent screens joined by a central hinge, perhaps like the Microsoft Surface Duo 2.
Given all the problems with flexible display technology’s cost and durability, that might be a wise substitute.
But according to a Bloomberg report from early 2021, Apple has created a foldable display prototype that, like Samsung and company’s foldables, has an invisible hinge. This is a step away from Prosser’s 2020 two-display design.
This was reaffirmed in a video released in February 2021 by Prosser, who apparently no longer believes that Apple is moving toward a dual-display design. Instead, he suggests that Apple is eager to create a form factor similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip clamshell.
Other than implying that the business is thinking about “fun colors” for the foldable iPhone, the leaker didn’t provide much more information. However, it’s probably far too early for Apple to decide on color schemes.
Industry sources have previously said that LG and Apple are collaborating on a foldable display prototype, regardless of the eventual form factor. According to DigiTimes, Lens Technology has secured over 70% of orders for the foldable iPhone, making it Apple’s primary supplier of ultra-thin glass (UTG). Corning is most likely to supply the raw materials.
According to reports, Apple favors a design that increases endurance by thinning only the UTG’s center. Lens Technology is well-suited for this function due to its proficiency in glass etching and post-cutting durability.
The flexible OLED panels that sit beneath the surface of the display are anticipated to be supplied by Samsung Display.
Remarkably, Kuo implied in a tweet from May 2022 that Apple is testing Electronic Paper Display, or EDP, from supplier E Ink for a “future foldable device’s cover screen & tablet-like applications.”
Because of its ability to save power, Kuo said that the color EPD made by E Ink “has the potential to become a mainstream solution for foldable devices,” and the cover/second screen in particular. Even though it doesn’t seem likely, it’s worth thinking about.
Patents
We revealed in December 2024 that Apple had a patent for what might be the hinge of the iPhone Fold. This invention, titled “Hinges for folding display devices,” describes a system of connecting connections composed of a friction clutch and interconnected “fingers.”
The usage of crescent-shaped slots, which enable each connection to spin in relation to the others, is a unique feature. In order to achieve the desired functionality, this design moves the axis of rotation outside the link itself.
With potential uses for watches, computers, tablets, phones, and other wearable technology, the patent’s scope is purposefully wide.
It is unclear, although, if this hinge is an advancement over previous designs or if it will be a supplementary choice for various device kinds.
The hinge mechanism maintains the gadget at a selected angle by using fingers, pins, and gears to form a small clutch that offers regulated friction.
The gears also guarantee that the hinge rotates symmetrically on both sides.
Less than a day later, another Apple patent found by Patently Apple supported Jon Prosser’s obviously ludicrous claims of a dual-screen iPhone. A device with two independent panels joined by a fabric hinge system is described in the patent.
However, this is not the first patent that describes a folding iPhone. 2018 saw the filing of a distinct invention for a “flexible display device,” which was an extension of patents submitted in 2016, 2014, and 2011. “An electronic device, comprising: a housing that bends about a bend axis; and a display in the housing that bends about the bend axis” is the description of another 2016 patent.
Another intriguing patent, submitted in 2018, describes a smartphone that folds in three distinct directions, in contrast to the foldables that are available today. The user can utilize the foldable in any way they choose because the double folding screen can be bent rearward or folded inward from either end, according to the patent filing.
Additionally, since it sounds a lot like the futuristic tablets featured in Westworld, it might enable Apple to create a smartphone-sized foldable that can be folded out to something the size of an iPad. Well, an intriguing idea.
Not to mention the patent Apple submitted that describes a way to prevent bent screens from causing damage. “The portion of the display that overlaps the bend axis may be self-heated by illuminating pixels,” according to the patent for “Electronic Devices With Flexible Displays,” which posits that damage is likely to occur in cold environments.
Another patent-pending Apple invention presents a unique idea in which the crease does not run down the middle of the screen but instead exposes a section when the device is folded. This area is believed to function as a backup display or sort of notification screen, akin to the external screen on the Galaxy Z Flip.
Additionally, Apple has filed patents that describe solutions to the problem of foldable screens creasing. One such patent, which is identical to the one in the Motorola Razr and Galaxy Z Flip, explains a mechanism that enables the display to bow rather than fold in order to lessen the strain on the screen itself.
“Electronic devices with adjustable display windows,” a July 2021 patent, describes an expanding display that can conceal the camera unit (and perhaps other Face ID components) when not in use. The idea of an expanded display is similar to what Android competitors are doing to counteract the crease found on the majority of current foldables, even though it isn’t intended for an iPhone.
Additional information on the foldable is provided by another patent. We can examine a hinge that is thin without sacrificing strength according to the patent, “Electonic devices with fiber composite friction hinges.”
Although it is possible that the technology may be utilized on a laptop, foldable screens are particularly mentioned in the patent. “The electronic device may have a flexible layer, such as a flexible display that overlaps the hinge structure,” according to the patent description.
Apple’s efforts to develop a phone without any buttons are the subject of one of the most intriguing patents. The patent provides an example of how it could be accomplished with a foldable gadget as well, mentioning how “sidewalls,” as they are called, can be constructed from transparent materials like glass but incorporate touch and pressure-sensitive components under display elements.
Naturally, it’s important to note that Apple, like the majority of tech businesses, is constantly filing patents. While this doesn’t definitely mean that the next iPhone or iPad will look like this, it does give us a fair sense of the directions Apple is thinking about.
This is all we currently know about a potential Apple foldable gadget.
The foldable iPhone will be among the last of its kind to hit the market because of Apple’s methodical approach. Fans of Apple, however, will hope the wait is worthwhile.
