Foldable iPhone and iPad to Enter Production Next Year, Analyst Says

[1rottenapple]

Apple's first two foldable devices recently entered the New Product Introduction (NPI) phase at Foxconn, according to analyst Jeff Pu.

In a research note today with GF Securities, Pu said mass production of the foldable devices is slated to begin in the second half of 2026.

The analyst believes the foldable devices will enter an early prototyping stage this April.

Pu did not provide any specific details about the two foldable devices. He is likely referring to Apple's first foldable iPhone, which is rumored to have up to an 8-inch inner display, along with a foldable iPad with up to a 19-inch screen.

Pu said the iPhone shipment outlook in 2025 is expected to be "lukewarm," due in part to Apple delaying personalized Siri features until some point "in the coming year." Looking ahead, he expects the foldable devices to boost Foxconn's business in 2026.

Rumors about foldable iPhones and iPads have been circulating for many years, and it appears that the devices are finally getting closer to launching, barring major setbacks. Depending on exactly when mass production begins in the second half of 2026, the devices could launch either later next year, or at some point in 2027.

Article Link: Foldable iPhone and iPad to Enter Production Next Year, Analyst Says

You know I fear this new unrefined apple will just rush out another product to please share holders but will have glaring issues.

 

[1rottenapple]

I had fun using a pixel fold 9 for 2-3 weeks. Great fun device works as intended. But huge brick in my jeans pocket. I’ll pass regardless what Apple produces.

 

[MichaelAdam]

Why am I not excited ? … Oh maybe because for last 10 years I just heard exciting rumors that went to flop and average products with absolutely no innovations prices up and up … As for the Vision Pro, the Apple intelligence or the upcoming HomeKit controller I am not bother … Steve Jobs left a company light years ahead and Tim just focused on financial performances. Very sad when you think what good products would have bring to our lives …

 

[Tr55]

Tim Cook’s next disaster, after every other trend Apple has chased also ended in failure.

Virtual reality? Failed
Smart cars? Failed
Artificial Intelligence? Failed

Now, with ideas as scarce as they ever were, they jump on the foldables bandwagon…

Apple has so much money and makes so much money on existing products that it can afford to throw huge money at new markets. All it needs is some of the new stuff to work out, eventually. Even just doing it can often scare competition away or force them to quit and be taken over.

Look at Microsoft, the money they wasted on fruitless acquisitions is legendary, look at Meta, they threw near $100billion on the Metaverse.

This is the accepted practice in the Tech world. Seems to work.

 

[Sami13496]

Foldables have so far been the biggest gimmick of this decade.

It seems that Apple has lost the most valuable thing—independent thinking and the pursuit of a genuine user experience—in favor of chasing trends.

The other possibility is that they have some particularly innovative solution that actually makes foldables worthwhile.

 

[delsoul]

Foldables have so far been the biggest gimmick of this decade.

It seems that Apple has lost the most valuable thing—independent thinking and the pursuit of a genuine user experience—in favor of chasing trends.

The other possibility is that they have some particularly innovative solution that actually makes foldables worthwhile.

I thought foldables are a gimmick for sure, but recently bought an Honor Magic V3 foldable and totally blown away by it. Still have my 16 Pro Max, but it can’t hold a candle to the V3…12gb ram, 512gb storage, supercharging, etc. when folded it’s about the same thickness and size as my 16pm, but can easily open it for double the screen size for other things. If Apple doesn’t release something similar for a similar price, it’s not going to be good for them. No doubts about it

 

[con2apple]

I'll believe it when I see it.

Believe me, Apple is now so driven by numbers, quarterly thinking and business people - they bring everything onto the market when some management consultant says "That's the right thing to do".

Regardless of whether it makes sense or works at all.
See AI, Vision Pro, iPhone 16e....

 

[con2apple]

…12gb ram, 512gb storage, supercharging, etc.

None of these specs have something to do with the foldable technology. You know that, right?

 

[F23]

foldable iPad > foldable iPhone

 

[delsoul]

None of these specs have something to do with the foldable technology. You know that, right?

Of course they don’t, but they do have something to do with the price. Very curious if Apple can release a phone with equal specs, foldable, etc for $1349 USD. Something tells me the 1 should be changed for a 2 in Apple’s scenario

 

[Shix]

so since its entering early prototype this year. its assumed to be released in late 2026? it would mean 2026 would be an insane year for Apple.

1- iPhone 18 Foldable
2- iPad Pro Foldable
3- MacBook Pro 14 and 16 inch M6, M6 Pro and M6 Max with OLED display.
4- iPad Mini OLED
5- Apple Watch with MicroLED
6- Apple Vision Pro 2

Things are getting GOOD!

 

[svish]

Eagerly waiting to see Apple's foldable. Not sure whether both devices will be released together. Expecting $1999 for a foldable device.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Two items I have no interest in purchasing. We are reaching an inflection point in IT and Consumers aren't driving the next phase directly as much as companies want to them to do. IoT is not ready in so many areas, or are in areas nobody truly cares to invest in. AI is a gimmick. It's being driven to do very superficial work to drive data companies to remain relevant.

Hard Sciences have lots of room for growth of solving some of the most difficult outstanding problems that have been perplexing dozens and dozens of fields for decades. None of these directly impact any economic profiteering and that's the reason we get crapped on with AI in Social Media: the ever draining ad drug system of the 2020s.

Crypto is a boon for criminality. Disinformation is top tier business for sociopaths who want to rule the world.

Where does society, at large, fit in with the next generation of technologies as tools to enhance mankind, not subjugate it and turn everyone into mindless zealots?

Foldable phones? Tablets?/iPads? Really? Pathetic.

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

My dream phone is a book style foldable iPhone. So if i can get a device that is a iPhone closed, but opens into a iPad mini even without apple pencil support, that be perfect for me. Id drop 2K on that, granted id have to save for many months but it be worth it to me because i have tried the ipad mini so many times, and its the right form factor but compaired to my Iphone 16 Pro Max, its like...ugh if they would just combine these two devices together...

 

[ofarlig]

I had fun using a pixel fold 9 for 2-3 weeks. Great fun device works as intended. But huge brick in my jeans pocket. I’ll pass regardless what Apple produces.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is actually smaller than as my 16 Pro Max except two mm thicker, and for this year Apple is rumoured to make the Pro Max even thicker. And the more modern foldables are even thinner with thicknesses very close to the Pro Max phones.

So getting a much larger display for roughly the same size (on top of the outer one) seems great to me.

 

[ForkHandles]

I think when it gets cheaper to have a foldable than a stand alone tablet and phone…things will get interesting.

When they can get a little more durable, you’ll have my attention.

That said…Tim Cook can’t sell anything that isn’t a huge variation of a device Steve Jobs made…so there is a chance here.

Watch…shrunk down phone…success. Process driven.
M line of chips…same laptops…just way better. Process driven, but made an existing line way better.
Apple Vision Pro…failing with consumers. Seems like AR…a process that with phones is driven by Pokémon Go? People need to hold a device and put it in front of their line of sight. Your arm will eventually get tired, and people’s attention span is getting shorter by the minu-oh look squirrel.
Siri…never in the realm of Amazon, Google and now Microsoft. Stuck in the Jobs view of privacy and can’t get cloud services to spin up fast enough.
The Car…couldn’t even get it out of the driveway. Maybe to focused on the process?


He is not a product guy, he is a process guy, a COO that got promoted by very sad circumstances. He reacts to what his board tells him to do. They say AI, he slaps it on as quickly as possible.

What has he done with Apple that has changed people’s lives for the better?

Disagree

Jobs died in the era of iPhone 4s. Development since then has been huge.

The fundamental issue here isn’t Cook, it’s problem saturation. What problems do you have that could be solved by meaningful technology?
There’s only one left in my head, teleportation!!!!

Cook can’t invent anything radically different as there are so few problems left for tech to solve that aren’t already doable with iterations of current tech.

Let your wildest dreams run ragged, what would you create that everyone in the world would need?

 

[con2apple]

Of course they don’t, but they do have something to do with the price. Very curious if Apple can release a phone with equal specs, foldable, etc for $1349 USD. Something tells me the 1 should be changed for a 2 in Apple’s scenario

Apple could. If they wanted to. But as long as customers are willing to pay moon prices, why should they?

Contrary to what is often portrayed here at MacRumors, Apple is not the good friend who wants the best for us. They want the best from us, namely as much money as possible.

That's why I would go straight to a 3.

 

[TechRunner]

My wife will be up for a new iPhone in 2027, so a version 2.0 foldable may be on the radar. How much though? 256 GB for US$1999? I don't want to spend that much money, but I'd consider perhaps $1599.

For something like this, trade-in values will really be important, at least for me. I would give a first gen foldable a shot, but only if trading in my 16PM takes a chunk off the cost of purchasing one.

 

[TechRunner]

A foldable iPhone that is 6.3” folded and 12” open doesn’t interest me—but a flip iPhone that is 3” in my pocket does…

I had a Z Flip 4 and really liked the form factor, but overall it was a midrange phone experience at a flagship price, IMO. I'll be interested to see what Apple does in the space.

 

[aknabi]

Two items I have no interest in purchasing. We are reaching an inflection point in IT and Consumers aren't driving the next phase directly as much as companies want to them to do. IoT is not ready in so many areas, or are in areas nobody truly cares to invest in. AI is a gimmick. It's being driven to do very superficial work to drive data companies to remain relevant.

Hard Sciences have lots of room for growth of solving some of the most difficult outstanding problems that have been perplexing dozens and dozens of fields for decades. None of these directly impact any economic profiteering and that's the reason we get crapped on with AI in Social Media: the ever draining ad drug system of the 2020s.

Crypto is a boon for criminality. Disinformation is top tier business for sociopaths who want to rule the world.

Where does society, at large, fit in with the next generation of technologies as tools to enhance mankind, not subjugate it and turn everyone into mindless zealots?

Foldable phones? Tablets?/iPads? Really? Pathetic.

Man I'm 60 and this sounds like an old folk's "get off my lawn" rant... makes me feel young and innovative

 

[LV426]

My alcoholic friend sat on his iPad one time and it ended up looking like that.

 

[ducknalddon]

They sell about 5 million foldable devices a year apparently, so people do buy them.

I wonder how long they last, I like to keep my devices as long as possible but I can't see a foldable lasting six or seven years.

 

[CausticSoda]

At least comments on this have moved on from a few years back when the armchair experts on these forums were telling us that Apple would never make a foldable device, and it was merely a gimmick for lesser companies etc.

 

[MrCubes]

so since its entering early prototype this year. its assumed to be released in late 2026? it would mean 2026 would be an insane year for Apple.

1- iPhone 18 Foldable
2- iPad Pro Foldable
3- MacBook Pro 14 and 16 inch M6, M6 Pro and M6 Max with OLED display.
4- iPad Mini OLED
5- Apple Watch with MicroLED
6- Apple Vision Pro 2

Things are getting GOOD!

... and decent Siri only a year away 😂

 

[MrCubes]

But Apple already had bendable phones over ten years ago!