Tech giant Apple is working on a foldable iPhone which is likely be released as early as 2026 and could mark the biggest hardware design revamp for the company’s most popular product.
According to a report by an international outlet, the California-based tech company – valued at $3.46 trillion – contacted suppliers in Asia to manufacture parts for the new phone.
The company’s plan could mimic a similar move by Samsung Electronics, which pioneered the foldable segment in 2019 in a bid to attract new customers with a major hardware design refresh.
Reports stated that Apple has finalised a clamshell design for the device, dubbed “V68,” which will fold vertically from top to bottom, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip released in 2020. The Galaxy Z phones cost between $850 and $1,900 on the Samsung website.
Apple’s foldable iPhone has progressed from the ideation stage, the report said, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
Foldable smartphones, powered with artificial intelligence features, are expected to trigger demand for the iPhone maker, which faces stiff competition from Honor and Huawei in China and Samsung globally.
Samsung unveiled its latest foldable smartphones earlier in July, making its priciest flagship model lighter and slimmer with new AI functions.
The global foldable smartphone market grew 49% in the first quarter from a year earlier, marking its highest rate of increase in six quarters, according to a Counterpoint Research report from May, with Huawei taking the top spot for the first time, beating Samsung.
Apple also plans to bring an upgrade to a camera of at least one iPhone model, that would let its users control the size of the aperture with a mechanical system, possibly allowing users to create depth-of-field effect, the report added.
Typical iPhone models usually take about 24 months to manufacture from start to finish, but a foldable iPhone might take longer to complete, sources claimed.
The report also said that there is no guarantee that Apple would release the foldable iPhone. If the rumored model makes it to shelves, it would be one of the most radical changes to the iPhone design since its 2007 launch.
