The foldable iPhone is expected to resemble two titanium iPhone Airs placed side-by-side, boasting an ultra-thin design and a remarkable engineering feat.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The foldable iPhone will be the star of Apple’s 2026 product lineup and work continues in Cupertino as well as with the company’s supplier and assembly partners overseas. While there has been some noise recently about production occurring in India, everything I’ve heard points to manufacturing at least also taking place with Foxconn in China.
As for how the foldable iPhone will look, I am increasingly told that users should imagine two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side. In other words, it’s going to be super thin and a design achievement.
It’s also going to be ridiculously expensive compared with past iPhones — I continue to believe it’ll be at least $2,000. As for release timing, I expect it in the usual fall iPhone launch period, give or take.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s iPhone Pro Max with 2TB is $1,999 and an iPhone Air which is one half of the foldable iPhone starts at $999, so the foldable iPhone will not be “ridiculously expensive compared with past iPhones.” Most people will be shocked at how many Apple sells, at whatever price they choose.
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A folding iPhone, because a foldable phone solves so many problems for people. Not. Nobody wants a foldable smartphone. It’s a niche product like VR headsets and glasses. Nerds in the tech industry are pathetic, with no life other than to drum up excitement for frivolous technology.
If Apple gas any sense, then these foldable rumours are controlled leaks of misinformation to throw off the competition where they have no intention of actually releasing a foldable smartphone.
Your comment “Nobody wants a foldable smartphone.” Reminds me when Steve Balmer said this about the new iPhone: “$500, fully subsidized with a plan,” he said at the time, in 2007, laughing, “I said, that is the most expensive phone in the world. And it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard. Which makes it not a very good email machine.”
I personally don’t want a thinner iPhone, i.e. the iPhone Air. I also don’t want a foldable iPhone. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who will buy the iPhone Air and a foldable iPhone if/when it becomes available.
There are a lot of younger consumers who do everything on their phone because they always have it with them. They don’t lug around a MacBook or an iPad. They are probably the intended market for a foldable iPhone. Apple doesn’t hit on every product they introduce but they have a pretty good track record.