Apple is anticipated to unveil its foldable iPhone as early as 2026, marking a significant redesign for its flagship product, according to a report by The Information.
The potential introduction of a foldable iPhone follows a similar innovation by Samsung Electronics, which launched the first foldable phone in 2019 to attract new customers through a groundbreaking hardware design.
The foldable iPhone concept has advanced beyond the initial idea phase, as reported by sources familiar with the development. Apple has begun discussions with suppliers in Asia to source components for the device and has internally designated the product with the code name V68.
The emergence of foldable smartphones, enhanced with artificial intelligence features, is expected to boost demand for Apple, which is facing strong competition from Honor and Huawei in China and Samsung on a global scale.
In early July, Samsung introduced its latest foldable smartphones, featuring a lighter and slimmer design along with new AI capabilities.
According to a Counterpoint Research report from May, the global foldable smartphone market saw a 49% year-over-year growth in the first quarter, marking the highest increase in six quarters. Notably, Huawei surpassed Samsung to become the market leader.
Additionally, Apple plans to upgrade the camera of at least one iPhone model, enabling users to adjust the aperture size with a mechanical system. This feature could allow for advanced depth-of-field effects.
The report also cautioned that there is no certainty that Apple will proceed with the release of the foldable iPhone.
Apple has yet to respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
