Apple could be on the verge of its most transformative iPhone release in years. According to a new note from Citi analyst Atif Malik, the tech giant is poised to launch its first foldable iPhone later in 2026 — likely debuting alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models at Apple’s annual fall event — with shipments ramping up quickly thereafter. Priced at a premium of around $2,000, the device is expected to see limited initial volume of approximately 8 million units in 2026 (roughly 3% of total iPhone shipments), before accelerating to 20 million units in 2027.
Brian Sozzi for Yahoo Finance:
The analyst reiterated a Buy rating on Apple — about 50% of Wall Street analysts rate Apple a Buy, Yahoo Finance data shows. He did cut his price target to $315 from $330, citing margin risk from the surge in memory chip prices.
Shares of Apple have lagged the S&P 500 over the past year, gaining 11% compared to a 15% advance for the S&P 500. The stock isn’t faring any better to kick off 2026, either — shares are down 6%, tying with Meta (META) for the worst-performing member of the Magnificent Seven.
But Apple may be poised to improve the narrative on the stock.
For one, Apple just inked an important deal with Google, where Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology will power the next generation of the smartphone maker’s AI for Siri. While some experts say the deal is an admission that Apple is well behind in the AI race, others would counter at least Apple is now in the game.
Secondarily, a long-rumored foldable iPhone would create a fresh reason for people to finally upgrade from prior iPhone iterations.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple won’t be able to make enough foldable iPhones to satisfy demand well into 2027.
As BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a recent note to clients, “Upcoming catalysts include launch of a foldable iPhone in the fall and the launch of an enhanced Siri with integration with Gemini AI which can drive higher upgrades.”
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