Manufacturing of the long-awaited iPhone with a folding display begins in a couple of months, in accordance with a trusted analyst. However Apple supposedly plans to make only some million of them, indicating the corporate expects this to be a distinct segment product.
Earlier studies point out the worth for the folding iPhone may very well be round $2,000 — about what comparable Androids with foldable screens price. Excessive price retains this whole class of handsets out of the palms of common customers, and up to now it doesn’t seem to be Apple has an answer.
Count on a small provide of the folding iPhone in 2026
The iPhone began with a 3.5-inch show, after which grew considerably over time. However there’s a snag: the 6.9-inch display within the iPhone 16 Professional Max is about as massive as a show may be with out the handset changing into cumbersome. The plain subsequent step is a foldable display panel so the smartphone can sustain with buyer demand for ever bigger shows.
And, after years of prep work, a foldable iPhone is allegedly coming quickly.
“Meeting provider Foxconn is anticipated to formally kick off the [folding iPhone] mission in late 3Q25 or early 4Q25,” Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF Worldwide Securities, stated Wednesday.
However Apple is outwardly enjoying cautious to not make too many. In line with earlier leaks, Samsung would be the sole provider of versatile OLED panels for the system, and “Samsung Show (SDC) plans to construct annual manufacturing capability for 7-8 million foldable panels to provide the 2026 foldable iPhone,” in accordance with Kuo’s notice on Wednesday. Plus, the analyst suggests Apple may not want all of that capability.
Provided that Apple shipped about 232 million iPhone items in 2024, the foldable mannequin will apparently be a drop within the bucket. But when so, Apple received‘t be an outlier. Your entire world marketplace for foldable handsets reportedly solely hit 15.9 million items in 2024, in comparison with a complete of 1.2 billion smartphones of every kind shipped in the identical time interval.
Staying a distinct segment product
The sluggish tempo of releasing new cutting-edge foldable fashions will allegedly proceed for years.
“Latest market rumors counsel Apple has positioned an order for 15–20 million foldable iPhones,” Kuo additionally stated on Wednesday. “Primarily based on checks throughout a number of parts, this quantity possible displays cumulative demand over the product’s 2–3 yr lifecycle, moderately than 2026 alone. This means that Apple’s foldable iPhone, anticipated to enter mass manufacturing in 2H26, could ship a number of million items yearly in each 2027 and 2028, presumably because of its premium pricing.”
As famous, a lot of what’s conserving foldables a distinct segment product is price. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 prices $1,900, whereas the Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold is $1,800. Apple’s rival merchandise might are available in above these costs so only some shoppers can afford them.
Not the iPhone 18 Professional Max
If Kuo’s report is correct, then it appears most unlikely Apple intends to have the folding iPhone into the premium “Professional Max” mannequin in 2026. Its top-tier model is considered one of its greatest promoting, and changing it with a foldable handset the corporate solely expects to promote a couple of million of could be a critical monetary mistake.
Given how little demand there’s for Android foldables, and the low quantity Apple supposedly ordered, the folding iPhone may very well be a brand new premium addition to the lineup, not one which takes the place of any present mannequin.