With Samsung, OnePlus, and Google Pixel leading the way in the folding phone game, it looks like Apple might be the next late arrival to the party if the latest foldable iPhone rumors have any merit. While we’ve heard talk of Apple attempting to make its own clamshell phone before, this new information suggests it’s something the company is again considering for a future series of iPhones.
A report for The Information by tech writer Wayne Ma suggests that Apple is currently working on two foldable prototypes, according to an unnamed source. However, it’s worth pointing out that this doesn’t necessarily mean the Silicon Valley giant plans to launch them any time soon, if at all. The report posits that neither prototype is part of Apple’s release plan for 2024 or 2025, so it could be late into 2026 if we see the project come to fruition.
It seems that these prototype devices are eight-inch flip-style clamshell foldable phones like the Motorola Razr rather than the sort that folds out into a sort of tablet like the OnePlus Open or Honor Magic V2. The production of the prototypes has reportedly seen Apple turn to Asian manufacturers for parts, which isn’t much of a surprise considering the majority of foldable devices on the market are out of China and Korea. However, we don’t have any company names, so it’s a mystery who Apple is potentially collaborating with.
It’s no secret that Apple has had its mind on making a foldable phone for some time now, with the company attempting to develop one between 2018 and 2020 before dropping the project to concentrate on a foldable iPad. Now it seems both are in the works, with Apple engineers reportedly working on minimizing the display crease on the foldable iPad while making the prototype phone as thin as possible. If you’re wondering what the foldable iPhone might look like, check out the concept work by Michal Dufka below.
Some have suggested that Apple intended to release the foldable iPad as early as 2025, but further reports now put that date back to 2026 at the earliest. Whether we’ll see any of these folding Apple products at all is still anyone’s guess.
With that, you’re up to date on the latest report concerning a potential foldable iPhone. If you’re more concerned with the next generation of regular Apple smartphones, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 16. Or, if you’re thinking of a new Android, check out our lists of the best Samsung phones and the best OnePlus phones.