Apple is reportedly moving ahead with making an iPhone with a folding screen. If multiple unconfirmed reports from Tuesday turn out to be true, the first foldable iPhone could hit the market in 2026.
An iPhone Fold would be the first significant change to the standard “slab” design of iOS handsets since, well, ever.
Apple works on folding iPhone with 2026 target
The original iPhone set the pattern for smartphones in 2007. For more than a decade, every handset took the form of a flat slab of glass, wrapped in metal or plastic. But then flexible displays opened a new possibility, and Samsung and others jumped on the potential — although not very successfully.
At first, Apple ignored foldables, sticking with the tried-and-true basic design. But maybe not for much longer.
“Apple is working on a foldable iPhone,” reported The Information on Tuesday. And the project is more than an idea. The company reportedly “reached out to suppliers in Asia to make components for the device.” The first folding iPhone might launch as early as 2026.
Taiwan’s Digitimes weighed in with a similar report Tuesday, “Recent rumors suggest that Apple is conducting research and development for its first ‘foldable iPhone,’ with a potential release targeted for 2026,” the website reported. This rumor comes from sources in Korea.
Both reports concur on the basic design of the first folding iPhone. The iPhone Fold supposedly will open up to be tall and thin, like the flip phones of the past. That would make the handset its own protective case, as the device closes with the large screen folded inside.
If repeated leaks add verisimilitude, then 2026 is looking increasingly likely. Two different analysts predicted this spring that a folding iPhone is about two years away.
Don’t assume the worst
It’s not hard to find critics of current foldable devices. The products are thick and expensive, and their flexible screens inevitably develop creases over time.
These problems did not escape Apple’s attention. Details of folding iPhone prototypes that leaked out in early 2024 show the company striving to make a device as slim as current iOS handsets. And it wants a foldable screen without a visible crease.
Despite the 2026 prediction, there’ll be no folding iPhone until the device meets the company’s design goals, according to information leaking out of Apple.
