We’d have our first good take a look at the form of the oddly broad iPhone Fold, after leaker and journalist Sonny Dickson shared images of what he says is a dummy unit of the foldable, alongside related fashions of the iPhone 18 Professional and 18 Professional Max. The obvious design leak comes because it’s reported that early engineering checks of the foldable have suffered from manufacturing issues which can trigger it to ship months later than different iPhones this yr.
Dickson, who has a very good monitor file for sourcing correct dummy fashions of Apple and Samsung telephones utilized by case makers to check and design their merchandise, shared photographs of the foldable unit on Bluesky this morning. It exhibits the cellphone from each side, although the within of the dummy reveals little concerning the doubtless design, not even the potential structure of a selfie digital camera or Face ID sensors. The surface is extra informative, displaying two rear cameras side-by-side in a raised pill-shaped island that stretches about two thirds of the way in which throughout the cellphone’s unusually broad physique.
Dickson doesn’t present precise measurements for the dummy unit, although it seems to be squatter and wider than any book-style foldable we’ve seen thus far. It’s closest in model to Google’s first-gen Pixel Fold, although seems wider nonetheless than that cellphone. That alternative might sound odd, however Samsung can also be rumored to be engaged on a “Huge Fold” variant of its foldable to launch later this yr, suggesting this manner issue could have legs.
The query may be which firm will get there first. Apple has been broadly anticipated to launch the primary foldable iPhone alongside the 18 Professional and 18 Professional Max at its typical iPhone launch occasion in September, with the bottom iPhone 18 to comply with in 2027, however that schedule could also be doubtful. Nikkei Asia stories that early manufacturing runs have encountered “engineering challenges” which can be taking longer to resolve than anticipated, which “might delay the primary cargo by months.”
“Apple and the provision chain are working beneath a pressured timeline and the present options usually are not sufficient to fully remedy the engineering challenges,” one supply informed Nikkei. “Extra time is required.” The reported delay echoes a current prediction by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that the foldable will ship a while after the 2 Professional iPhones, even when it’s revealed alongside them.