While the talks of Apple releasing a foldable phone have been making headlines for a while now, the company has been tight-lipped about its plans to showcase its first foldable phone. A new report from the Korean website The Elec, however, suggests Apple could release its first foldable in 2026 or 2027.
Moreover, the report, although unclear, adds that the Cupertino giant might launch it as a replacement for the iPad mini, or it could be a folding iPhone. We still don’t know what design language Apple will choose for its first foldable. Will it be an iPhone that opens into a mini iPad-sized tablet or an iPad that folds into a compact-size iPhone?
The details mentioned in the report are so thin that making sense of them is challenging. Although it doesn’t go into much detail about its hardware specification or what the device would look like, it does suggest that Apple is in no hurry to hop on the foldable phone bandwagon yet. Lastly, the report adds that Apple’s foldable device might flaunt a display size ranging between 7 and 8 inches, putting it up against the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google Pixel Fold.
Besides this, previous leaks suggest Samsung Display and LG Display have been sending samples of 7-inch and 8-inch foldable panels to Apple since last year. Moreover, Samsung Display is reportedly more active in developing the foldable panel than LG Display. And, given Samsung’s experience in the foldable space, it might be the primary supplier of the panel for Apple’s foldable device.
Still, it’s too early to jump to any conclusion, as the company might not launch the device until 2026, and its plans for the device could drastically change by then. We’ll have to wait and see how this news pans out.