folding iPhone

Hoping to boost sales, Apple could launch its first folding iPhone as soon as 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal. The foldable phone reportedly will follow a super-thin model — which previous rumors called the “iPhone 17 Air” or the “iPhone 17 Slim” — as Apple shakes up its stagnant smartphone lineup.

“It looks like Apple is looking towards hardware innovation to drive user upgrades,” BayStreet Research analyst Cliff Maldonado told the Journal. “The iPhone 16 will be the last of the boring aesthetic phones.”

Leaks tell us Apple is prepping a super-slim version of next year’s iPhone 17 without all the features of the Pro models but with a price that’ll make it the most expensive in the lineup. These reports left many of us skeptical. Would anyone pay more for a slim-but-stripped-down iPhone?

But let’s change the rumor slightly — what if Apple is prepping a super-slim iOS handset that folds? If the recent leaks are actually about the iPhone 17 Fold, they make a lot more sense.

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 may have decided that 2026 is the right year to launch a folding iPhone.

Cupertino has been tinkering with prototype handsets with foldable displays for a long time. An analyst predicted Thursday that the company will finally have something to offer in a couple of years.

One of the design goals of a folding iPhone is a unit no thicker than one of Apple’s current handsets when folded closed, according to information leaking out of the company. In fact, a pair of incredibly thin folding iPhone prototypes already exist, according to a new report.

Cupertino’s efforts in this area have supposedly been going on since 2018, but available components haven’t been up to making the device the company wants to build.

iPhone’s lack of two key features — generative AI and a foldable design — could cause a significant decline in shipments in 2024. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says without these advances, the iPhone will fall behind amid a “new paradigm in high-end mobile phone design.”

Kuo cites supply chain sources to back up his predictions. However, there are numerous reasons to doubt his opinion.

There’s a bit more demand for a folding iPhone than skeptics realize. A new survey found almost a third of U.S. smartphone users say they are highly likely to get a foldable as their next device.

And lots of those people want one from Apple.

We can be sure Apple isn’t ignoring the folding phone market, even though the company is showing no direct signs of making an iPhone Fold. There’s plenty of indirect evidence, including patent filings that show handsets with foldable screens.

Apple received a new patent approval that shows it’s still thinking about a folding iPhone.

Those dreaming of a folding iPhone can look enviously at group of clever hackers in China who made one just to prove it could be done.

What they made isn’t simply a concept video. Their device is fully functional, and even uses a screen originally from an iPhone.

Work on a folding iPhone reportedly goes on. Apple is secretly testing “multiple prototypes that contain foldable displays,” according to a reliable tipster.

But the company is also watching closely to see if foldable phones will turn out to be a fad without staying power.

When supposed features of the iPhone 14 leaked out in early September, some complained that the iPhone 13 wasn’t even out at the time. But an Apple VP revealed that the company starts deciding on new iPhone features a full three years before launch.

Which means Apple is probably already at work on iPhone 18. And most features of the 2022 model are almost certainly fixed.

There’s plenty of proof that Apple has had a folding iPhone on the drawing board for years. But the company held off until flexible displays are past the prototype phase. The latest foldables from Samsung show that the technology has finally matured to the point where an iPhone Fold could become a mass-market success.

This surely hasn’t escaped Apple’s attention, which is why a folding iPhone is probably coming in 2023.

A folding iPhone is two years away, according to a trusted industry analyst. When open, the device will have an 8-inch screen, significantly bigger than the current largest iOS model, which has a 6.7-inch display.

A concept artist brought to beautiful life the folding iPhone they hope Apple is creating. The device starts with a standard iOS handset design but then opens into an iPad.

Watch the concept video now, and get ready to wipe the drool off your chin.

Apple could have decided on the look of the first folding iPhone. Previously, the company was thought to be considering two options, but the winner is a “flip phone” design, according to a trusted Apple prognosticator.

The same source also has a hint that the folding iPhone might cost less than rival flexible phones. But it supposedly will not arrive before 2023 (and could come even later).

A fingerprint scanner might once again be part of Apple’s iPhone line, according to a reliable source. Touch ID might appear in 2021 alongside Face ID, not in place of it.

Also, Apple reportedly has a folding screen in the prototype stage.

Apple is reportedly testing two different folding iPhone designs. But only one of them has a flexible screen. If one of the prototypes successfully passes testing, it could become the first foldable iOS handset.

Apple is working on a solution for the biggest drawback of folding displays. The first generation of foldable handsets made by rival companies develop a crease where the screen bends, but Apple engineers want to put a bendable display that includes a self-healing material in a folding iPhone.

When Apple gets into the foldable phone market, as arch-rival Samsung has already done, its first model might well look much like the iPhone 12 Flip. But for now, this is only a concept design.

Watch a video of it now:

Apple has undoubtedly been investigating a folding iPhone for years because it keeps patenting designs. Including one awarded on Tuesday for an iPhone that folds closed while leaving a portion of the screen exposed to display status updates.

It would be easier to make a foldable iPhone or iPad if it could include a flexible battery. Apple is investigating these as a power source, and was granted a patent on the technology on Tuesday.

In recent years, the company received many patents related to computers built around folding displays. They’re proof that Apple is actively exploring using these in future products.

It’s not yet clear whether foldable phones are a temporary gimmick or the future of mobile devices. But Apple’s certainly interested — and in a newly published patent, it describes its approach to solving one of the most often-raised problems with folding phones.

That problem? How to ensure that a foldable device doesn’t become creased or damaged when it folds. Early folding phones, such as Samsung’s troubled Galaxy Fold, have been plagued by this problem. But Apple engineers developed a solution that could help.

Samsung’s demonstration on the dangers of letting one’s reach exceed one’s grasp is almost over. The Galaxy Fold, the first mass-market phone with a foldable display, will reach US customers’ hands on Friday, many months after first scheduled.

Despite well-publicized problems, this company is already hard at work on a more affordable version. And rivals, including Apple, are also considering flexible screen handsets.

Samsung isn’t yet ready to commit to a release date for its troubled Galaxy Fold. Information leaking out last month had indicated the delayed folding handset might be out before July. However, Samsung said today that it isn’t prepared to commit to a timeframe.

Deciding now that an folding iPhone is a terrible idea is premature. There just isn’t enough information yet to judge whether any such device is something you’ll want. And it’s betting against Apple’s history of success in areas where others have failed.

While the first foldable devices from other companies have serious flaws, that in no way means any eventual Apple device with a flexible screen will be equally bad. There’s actually plenty of reason to think it won’t.