Apple’s Foldable iPhone Extremely: Launch Date, Worth, and Leaks

As corporations like Samsung, Google and Motorola have launched folding telephones over the previous couple of years, every mannequin has prompted the query: when is Apple going to make a foldable iPhone? Rumors have ramped up alongside its opponents’ releases, which now level to a late-2026 introduction of what is rumored to be referred to as the iPhone Fold or iPhone Extremely.

The latest rumors come from leaker Digital Chat Station, who suggests the foldable might be referred to as the iPhone Extremely, and from leaker Sonny Dickson, whose supposed dummy molds present additional assist for the rumor that the iPhone Fold will likely be vast and squat.

We have gotten much more design leaks suggesting how Apple’s foldable might look. Most leaks, like Dickson’s above, counsel that the iPhone Fold will likely be a book-style foldable that is squat and vast, wanting extra like the unique Pixel Fold than taller, thinner fashions such because the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or the Pixel 10 Professional Fold.

The display on the iPhone Fold is rumored to have little or no crease, in response to a latest report by the Chinese language publication UDN. Display screen creases, particularly on early foldable telephones, have lengthy irritated shoppers and critics, they usually nonetheless stay regardless of the seam getting much less noticeable over time. Even Samsung’s most superior Galaxy Z TriFold has two display creases, one for every of its hinges. It could be a significant breakthrough if Apple certainly finds a approach to fold a display in half with out leaving a crease.

A report from leaker Fastened Focus Digital on Weibo counsel that Apple’s hinges might be made from liquid metallic, an alloy presumably supplied by Liquidmetal Applied sciences, with which Apple has had an unique contract since 2010. It has been the subject of many rumors since then, and the premise of a number of patent functions, however thus far no merchandise aside from the SIM ejector software that after shipped with iPhone fashions.

However we have but to listen to any official phrase on a foldable iPhone from Apple.

Foldable telephones characterize a tiny fraction of all telephones bought globally. In a latest survey, CNET discovered that 64% of individuals stated they do not desire a foldable cellphone. However these numbers may change if Apple had been to promote a foldable iPhone. As of April, IDC analysts predict that world foldable gross sales will bounce 19% if the iPhone Fold launches in 2026, with Apple’s folding machine capturing round 24% of the worldwide market share.

Numerous hope and excessive expectations have been positioned on Apple’s launch of a foldable cellphone. And if rumors are appropriate, we cannot have to attend for much longer for the corporate to take action.

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iPhone Fold specs

There are not any confirmed specs for the iPhone Fold; Apple hasn’t even confirmed one exists or is popping out. So provided that we do not but have an anticipated launch 12 months, it is onerous to foretell what sort of inside specs the iPhone Fold can have. Presumably, Apple will equip it with its strongest A-series chip, together with sufficient RAM to deal with two or three shows (relying on whether or not it folds inward or outward and desires a devoted outer display).

We do have some predictions for different specs, although just for the rumored book-style Fold (not the clamshell). In March, analyst Kuo predicted the bigger Fold may have a 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inside show. When folded, it is rumored to be 9 to 9.5mm thick and 4.5 to 4.8mm when unfolded. Plus, a front-facing digital camera can be rumored to work whether or not the cellphone is folded or unfolded, together with two rear cameras.

Kuo predicted that the machine will use the identical high-density battery cells as utilized in what he referred to then because the “ultrathin iPhone 17,” which presumably meant the iPhone Air. However that trim thickness means the foldable might forgo Face ID, so the machine may find yourself utilizing Contact ID in a facet button. 

Some rumors about {hardware} have emerged, too. In January, an analyst word seen by MacRumors instructed Apple’s foldable may launch with 12GB of RAM, the identical quantity within the Galaxy Z Fold 7‘s beginning configuration. That might imply Apple does not want a lot reminiscence to deal with a number of screens or is not banking on giant AI options that require important RAM.

And we lastly have a prediction on the iPhone Fold’s battery, with Weibo leaker Fastened Focus Digital posting that it may have a 5,500-mAh capability, as 9to5Mac first reported. That is considerably bigger than batteries on another foldables. (The Galaxy Z Fold 7, for instance, has a 4,400-mAh battery, however Samsung has been within the foldable sport for years and has doubtless improved effectivity in an effort to slim down its gadgets.) But if the Weibo leak is true, this would be the largest battery ever on an Apple handset. The iPhone 17 Professional Max has a 5,088-mAh battery.

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Design: What’s going to the foldable iPhone appear like?

Apple appears to have taken out each patent beneath the solar relating to foldable shows, together with an origami-style folding show, a flip-up show and even a wraparound show. Way back to 2021, a report from Bloomberg indicated Apple already had a prototype of a foldable iPhone show, and rumors since then have bounced forwards and backwards between suggesting Apple will go for both a clamshell fashion or a book-style foldable first. 

In March 2025, analyst Kuo made a number of particular predictions for Apple’s foldable: It could be a book-style machine with a 5.5-inch outer display that unfolds right into a 7.8-inch inside show, measuring 4.5 to 4.8mm thick when unfolded and 9 to 9.5mm when folded. It could additionally use the identical high-density battery cells because the “ultrathin iPhone 17” and embrace a hinge made from chrome steel and titanium alloy — a favourite materials in Apple’s iPhone 16 Professional and Professional Max, in addition to the Apple Watch Extremely 3.

Per Kuo’s predictions, the foldable can have two rear cameras and a front-facing digital camera on each the exterior and inside shows. Most curiously, Kuo additionally expects that Apple’s book-style foldable will see the return of Contact ID as a facet button, as Face ID is likely to be unnoticed as a result of house constraints — presumably for the array of depth-of-field sensors and cameras wanted for the tech. 

Then there are the renders, which have gone from a trickle to regular stream by way of 2026. One set of 3D CAD renders from leaker Sonny Dickson (pictured above) factors to a squat, vast design that appears far more just like the Pixel Fold than the tall, skinny Galaxy Z Fold 7 or the Honor Magic V6 Foldable. Whereas Dickson did not provide any context for the renders, making them unlikely to have come from Apple itself, it does counsel a unique design for the foldable than the present vogue of slim slightly than vast foldables.

The iPhone Fold has been rumored for years, with delays reportedly as a result of Apple’s dissatisfaction with a visual crease. Experiences say the corporate has solved this subject, and a latest rumor from TrendForce (cited by 9to5Mac) means that a complicated adhesive led to a breakthrough in lowering the crease of its anticipated folding show.

iPhone Fold launch date: It may launch later this 12 months… or in 2027

Apple has neither confirmed the iPhone Fold nor introduced a launch date. However analysts and rumors have predicted that the foldable may come out in 2026 or be pushed till subsequent 12 months.

As for timing, because the iPhone Air was launched alongside the iPhone 17 fashions, the Fold may come alongside the iPhone 18 sequence. However since Apple launched the iPhone 16E early this 12 months, far earlier than the September window for its foremost iPhone launch, the corporate may do the identical with the iPhone 17E in 2026. Apple may even delay the launch of the usual iPhone 18 to the spring of 2027 to make room for the iPhone Fold in Apple’s September 2026 launch, in response to an ET Information report. Provided that Samsung offsets its commonplace and foldable cellphone releases at Unpacked occasions months other than one another, Apple may do the identical.

The newest indications of an iPhone Fold launch date come from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who stated the foldable is on monitor for a September launch. That was affirmed by analyst Kuo’s suggestion in June 2025 that manufacturing may kick off in 2026, with telephones popping out later within the 12 months. This follows Kuo’s earlier prediction in March 2025 that the corporate may launch a crease-free book-style foldable by the tip of 2026. Different analysts predict the iPhone Fold may launch in December. But it surely’s price noting that Nikkei Asia reported in April on a number of manufacturing snags that would delay the iPhone Fold into 2027. 

It has been an open secret for years that Apple is working towards a foldable iPhone, however buzz and potential launch dates have been floated for simply as lengthy. Early rumors pointed to 2021 as a possible goal date, however the 12 months handed with no foldable iPhone in sight, as have successive rumors for potential releases in 2023 and 2025. 

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iPhone Fold worth

Analyst Kuo predicted {that a} book-style iPhone foldable coming in 2026 might be priced anyplace from $2,000 to $2,500, because it’s “anticipated to generate robust alternative demand — regardless of the premium worth — supplied high quality meets expectations.”

A report final 12 months discovered that half of American shoppers are all in favour of shopping for a foldable cellphone, although Apple clients are barely much less keen to make the leap than Samsung or LG customers. Maybe the “Apple impact” will change these stats if and when a foldable iPhone ever turns into a actuality.

Though Motorola affords some of the reasonably priced folding telephones with its clamshell Razr at round $700, most others within the class are book-style foldables, such because the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Pixel 9 Professional Fold, which price round twice as a lot as most flagship telephones. We do not count on a foldable iPhone to be cheaper than its rivals. Apple’s foldable must be in step with present foldable and nonfoldable fashions to have the ability to compete towards different manufacturers and entice iPhone customers to ditch their single-screen gadgets and pay extra for a foldable.

iPhone Fold historical past

Rumors counsel Apple is growing a book-style foldable just like the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Years in the past, in 2017, people predicted {that a} foldable iPhone may launch within the then-near way forward for 2020. Analysts and leakers have pushed the discharge date again ever since, whereas rumors and need lists have endured as cellphone followers hold their hopes alive. 

Early rumors pointed to 2021 as a possible launch window, however Kuo’s March 2021 report (through MacRumors) instructed a 2023 debut. That 12 months has since come and gone. Dependable show analyst Ross Younger stated in February 2024 that the foldable iPhone had been pushed again to 2025, a timeline Kuo had beforehand reaffirmed in a tweet in April 2022.

Why the lengthy wait? In February 2024, Weibo-based blogger Fastened Focus Digital instructed that the foldable iPhone venture was delayed as a result of Apple was dissatisfied with the screens’ efficiency. A mid-2024 TrendForce market analysts, reported in 9to5Mac, predicted that Apple’s strict necessities for reliability and the cellphone show’s crease meant it won’t be launched till 2027. However Kuo’s more moderen March 2025 predictions explicitly famous a crease-free foldable show, suggesting Apple may need moved previous this roadblock.

A brand new patent granted to Apple in July 2024, which was utilized for years in the past, exhibits how lengthy the corporate has been engaged on a folding iPhone. Kuo’s report in March 2026 stated that an Apple foldable may launch on the finish of 2026, with a 7.8-inch, crease-free inside show and a 5.5-inch outer show.

Though many stories have targeted on the corporate’s struggles to eradicate the crease throughout the inside folding show, Apple’s patent signifies that the event has been ongoing for a while. Creases have plagued good foldable telephones since their introduction in 2020, and though the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 have lowered the crease, it is nonetheless seen and noticeable. Nonetheless, Samsung hasn’t let cellphone followers neglect it is lengthy outpaced Apple in releasing foldables by releasing an app that lets Apple cellphone homeowners expertise a Z Fold-esque expertise by inserting two iPhones side-by-side. 

Whereas rumors started aligning in 2025 round the concept that Apple would launch a book-style foldable first, that they had beforehand asserted for years {that a} clamshell-style foldable would come first. Apple leaker Jon Prosser reported in early 2021 that the iPhone Fold will doubtless use a clamshell design and are available in a number of “enjoyable colours.” Between the brilliant pastels of the then-new iPhone 15 and Plus and the sleeker deep blue of the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max, an array of enjoyable colours for Apple’s first foldable is a risk, although they is likely to be restricted to the clamshell model of the cellphone.

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iPhone 2026 lineup

There is not any assure about which telephones Apple will launch throughout its ordinary September window, however the most secure wager is on one other sequence of flat telephones, which we count on to be the iPhone 18 line. However what else might be coming alongside the same old lineup?

There might be an iPhone Air 2, although rumors battle over whether or not to count on one subsequent 12 months. There’s been much more proof for an iPhone Fold, although whether or not it comes out in 2026 or in later years remains to be unsure. If the iPhone Fold does launch subsequent 12 months, extra rumors have instructed a clamshell machine has been prioritized and should come first — given stories of Apple researching a book-style foldable, we may get a kind of as nicely. 

In mid-January, MacRumors reportedly noticed a analysis word from analyst Jeff Pu suggesting that the iPhone Fold will pack 12GB of reminiscence — as will the complete iPhone 18 line. Apple by no means discloses how a lot RAM is included in its telephones, however specs websites comparable to GSMArena have reported that the usual iPhone 17 has 8GB of RAM, whereas the remainder of the sequence (iPhone Air, 17 Professional and Professional Max) all have 12GB. If appropriate, meaning Apple does not suppose its foldable will want extra reminiscence than its commonplace flat telephones; it will have extra display space however doubtlessly no extra superior {hardware} than its iPhone 18 siblings.

It is also fascinating to see the usual iPhone 18 packing 12GB of reminiscence, because the RAM scarcity is predicted to hike costs on telephones launched in 2026, and doubtlessly even wipe out the most affordable funds telephones from the market till reminiscence costs drop sufficient to make low-cost telephones worthwhile once more. Apple could also be keen to soak up the prices for a extra succesful primary mannequin of the iPhone 18, or maybe it’s going to move these prices on to the patron with a worth hike. 

iPhone Fold or iPhone Air 2?

Whereas the iPhone Air got here out with the iPhone 17 handsets, there are conflicting rumors about whether or not we’ll see an iPhone Air 2 in 2026. A latest report from The Data says Apple is delaying the discharge of the subsequent model of the iPhone, citing individuals acquainted with the matter. This follows rumors that disappointing iPhone Air gross sales led Apple to dial again manufacturing, although that declare was disputed by TD Cowen in a word seen by AppleInsider, which stated the corporate would proceed producing the skinny cellphone. The Data later amended its story to say the delay might be attributable to engineers reconsidering the Air’s design to assist a second rear digital camera.

All of this casts doubt on whether or not we’ll get an iPhone Air 2 subsequent 12 months, however there’s not sufficient proof but to roundly dismiss the chance. 

Two foldable iPhone foldables?

Foldable iPhone hopefuls will not less than be inspired that Apple seemingly continues to tinker with an iPhone Fold design. The corporate is alleged to be engaged on two sizes of folding iPhones: a book-style and a clamshell-style, in response to an older report by The Data, though this can be contradicted by a more recent report by the identical web site suggesting Apple had settled on the latter for a smaller machine. This aligns with prior rumors hinting that the iPhone Flip will use a clamshell design much like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip sequence or Motorola Razr Extremely.

It appears like Apple’s been struggling to satisfy its excessive expectations: The corporate’s design crew desires the iPhone Fold to be half as skinny as present iPhone fashions and to have shows on the skin which might be seen when the machine is folded shut, in response to the report. Provided that the iPhone Air, launched in September 2025, whittled the standard iPhone thickness down to five.6mm, Apple has made progress towards this purpose. 

Growth on the clamshell iPhone Flip was halted round 2020, the sooner report famous, to concentrate on a brand new venture: a folding iPad. This machine would have an 8-inch show, roughly the scale of the iPad Mini. The foldable pill reportedly had much less strict sturdiness and thickness necessities, because it would not want to slot in pockets like an iPhone Flip. Apple was additionally engaged on methods to cut back the crease within the show and get the iPad to lie absolutely flat.

Roadblocks: What nonetheless stands in Apple’s method? 

Samsung and others have been testing the waters, however Apple has been studying from the ache factors of its opponents foldable gadgets and determining how they’d be used.

One in every of these ache factors is the crease. Lots of the present cowl supplies, together with the glass and plastic combine that Samsung makes use of for the Z Fold and Z Flip, present a visual crease when folded out to full display. To keep away from it, Apple would doubtless have to attend for Corning, Apple’s glass supplier, to create some sort of bendable model of its Ceramic Defend display. The corporate is already engaged on a bendable glass however hasn’t introduced a launch date for it. 

Kuo tweeted in April 2022 that Apple was testing a foldable OLED display. Korean tech information web site The Elec additionally reported that Apple was working with LG to develop a foldable OLED panel.