Apple is foraying into the foldable smartphone market, an analyst has confirmed. The tech giant is reported to kick off the production of its first-ever foldable iPhone sometime later this year. This means that Apple may not launch it at the annual September, but chances of it being unveiled next year may be possible.
Popular TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Foxconn, Apple’s assembly supplier, will officially kick of the foldable iPhone project in the third quarter or the fourth quarter of 2025. For now, Kuo claims that Apple is working on several component specifications, including the hinge. The hinge design is yet to be finalised, hinting that Apple is still in the very early stages of building a foldable iPhone.
Kuo claims that Samsung Display (SDC) will build an annual production capacity of 7-8 million foldable panels to supply in 2026. Citing market rumours, the analyst claims that Apple has placed an order for about 15-20 million foldable iPhones.
“Based on checks across multiple components, this volume likely reflects cumulative demand over the product’s 2–3 year lifecycle, rather than 2026 alone. This indicates that Apple’s foldable iPhone, expected to enter mass production in 2H26, may ship several million units annually in both 2027 and 2028, possibly due to its premium pricing,” Kuo says in his post on X.
These are early days for Apple’s foldable iPhone and the tech giant may make several changes before production begins. If this note is to be believed, then Apple is likely to release its first foldable iPhone next year.
For this year, Apple is gearing up for the unveil of the iPhone 17 range, which will include a new variant - the iPhone 17 Air – a much lighter and thinner variant.
