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Foldable iPhone Delay Rumors Are 'False,' Leaker Claims

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Suggestions that Apple's rumored foldable iPhone will be delayed are wide of the mark, claimed a Chinese leaker today.

Apple-Foldable-Thumb.jpg

In a post on Weibo, the leaker known as Fixed Focus Digital said launch delay rumors are "false" and suggestions that the device's release has been pushed to next year are "far-fetched."

Multiple reports have suggested Apple's first foldable iPhone could be unveiled alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models this September, and the leaker believes that still stands. "The most likely scenario is that it will launch alongside the iPhone 18 series," said Fixed Focus Digital in another post earlier this month. "Even if there is a delay, it would probably only be postponed by about one month before going on sale," they added.

There have been sporadic reports that Apple's first foldable device has faced engineering challenges in late-stage development. In May, for example, Instant Digital claimed Apple's foldable iPhone continued to face durability-related issues with its hinge mechanism. Apple is believed to have largely overcome concerns surrounding display creasing, but the leaker said that long-term hinge reliability has yet to meet the company's standards.

Apple is known for imposing strict reliability standards on new product categories, but ongoing concerns about the hinge itself would be an unusual situation this close to an anticipated launch.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in March that the new foldable iPhone may not ship to customers in the same September time frame as the iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max. Prior to Gurman's report, Barclays analyst Tim Long suggested that the foldable iPhone won't ship until December, opening up a roughly three-month delay between the completely new device and the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ models.

Apple has done a split launch before, shipping one model later than another. When the iPhone X launched in 2017, it shipped out in November, while the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus introduced alongside it came out in September as usual. Even if Apple does plan to ship the ‌iPhone Fold‌ after September, expect to see it introduced during the annual iPhone event that will feature the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ models. Apple will likely announce all three phones at once, and then bring them to customers when they're ready.

The foldable iPhone is expected to feature a 7.8-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch cover display, the A20 chip and C2 modem, a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID, and two rear cameras, with pricing rumored at around $2,000. Apple's book-style foldable could launch as the "iPhone Ultra," as suggested by reports.

Article Link: Foldable iPhone Delay Rumors Are 'False,' Leaker Claims
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/16/foldable-iphone-delay-rumors-false-leaker/
No MagSafe will be unforgivable and very Android. They are supposed to be better than that and I say that as someone with two Android foldable.
 
Rummors speculation for the Mark traffic attention) Only Apple knows current state of the fold.

I think foldable phones is a marketing mistake, high price and unstable display technology. For the build boards curved/foldable displays it is okay, for the cars manufacturer curved display can provide more seamless interior design.

But book foldable phones is a big massive if with a question
 
contacos said:
No MagSafe will be unforgivable and very Android. They are supposed to be better than that and I say that as someone with two Android foldable.
Click to expand...
They’ll add it to the case I suspect would be my guess.

It is a potentially interesting phone in that that they’ll call it the Ultra but other than Folding, which is a big deal of course, everything else is a downgrade from a Pro / Pro Max. Less cameras and maybe worse cameras, no FaceID, no MagSafe, potentially weird outer display aspect ratio, etc.

I’ll still buy it of course but first gen has some compromises.
 
t0rqx said:
The fact that it will be delayed is a major red flag.

#hingegate
#youarefoldingitwrong
Click to expand...
If you have ever done anything manufacturing, and a process from prototyping to mass production, you know that there will be engineering challenges to overcome, guaranteed. This will inevitably cause delays, but you always factor these in as much as possible. This is also why new smaller projects and companies fail so often, even with a good prototype, because their timeline is purely based on a guess.
Often it is that the yield or the quality of the mass-produced components does not meet a sustainable level, so it could very well also happen late in the process. If the issues spill into your release plans, you have to make some decisions: either limit availability, delay entire release, look at some options or compromises, or additional production facilities.

Everything so far is only rumors (even the fold-device and its release date), although i am pretty sure there are some fact to most of them and they are converging very much to something concrete this time.
 
FastLaneJB said:
They’ll add it to the case I suspect would be my guess.

It is a potentially interesting phone in that that they’ll call it the Ultra but other than Folding, which is a big deal of course, everything else is a downgrade from a Pro / Pro Max. Less cameras and maybe worse cameras, no FaceID, no MagSafe, potentially weird outer display aspect ratio, etc.

I’ll still buy it of course but first gen has some compromises.
Click to expand...

Same as Samsung calling the natural evolvement of their standard Foldable (7 to 8) an "Ultra" to justify the price increase
 
Definitely expecting to see it this year. Possible that for initial release, it will be available only in a few countries with other countries getting it 2 to 3 weeks later.
 
MacRumors said:
Apple is known for imposing strict reliability standards on new product categories
Click to expand...
Are they? I don’t remember.
What I do remember are the iPhone 4 antenna gate; easily scuffed space grey iPhone 5’s, bending iPhone 6 Plus’s; scratched jet black iPhone 7’s; sub par OLED displays on the iPhone X and XS, subsequently mentioned during the 11 Pro keynote; the Cube; keyboard issues on the 2015 MacBook (and following MacBook Pro’s); broken ribbon cables on said MacBook Pro’s; broken AirPod Pro’s; no AirPower and cracked Apple Vision Pro‘s.
There’s a reason many buyers waited to upgrade to S model iPhones.
These aren’t all new categories, but many can be considered new classes or tiers within their categories.
But, to be fair, the M Chip MacBooks have been practically spot on since launch and the Apple Watch was only held back by its screen and processor.
Still, Apple blundered many releases and many here on the forum are vocal about waiting for the 2nd gen fold as if they are waiting for an S release.
Just saying.
 
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t0rqx said:
The fact that it will be delayed is a major red flag.

#hingegate
#youarefoldingitwrong
Click to expand...
What fact are you talking about?
Wouldn’t it not being delayed despite durability concerns be more worrisome?
Why is a delay inherently bad?
 
FastLaneJB said:
They’ll add it to the case I suspect would be my guess.

It is a potentially interesting phone in that that they’ll call it the Ultra but other than Folding, which is a big deal of course, everything else is a downgrade from a Pro / Pro Max. Less cameras and maybe worse cameras, no FaceID, no MagSafe, potentially weird outer display aspect ratio, etc.

I’ll still buy it of course but first gen has some compromises.
Click to expand...
Then they should call it just the iPhone Fold and not ultra. “Ultra” Problem solved.
 
contacos said:
No MagSafe will be unforgivable and very Android. They are supposed to be better than that and I say that as someone with two Android foldable.
Click to expand...
My Fold 7 has wireless charging. I put a magsafe compatible case on it, and thus have magsafe charging. Really hope we can do the same thing with the ultra. No way I would use a foldable without a case and hinge protection.
 
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