Apple's Foldable iPhone To Launch In 2026, Eight Generations After Samsung's First Foldable Phone: Report

If you have been waiting for Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) foldable iPhone, you will have to be a little more patient, according to a new supply chain report.

What Happened: Apple's foldable iPhone will launch in 2026, more than two years from now, according to a report by Korean publication Alpha Economy.

Apple has fixed September 2026 as the launch date for the foldable iPhone. A previous report suggested that the foldable iPhone would not launch any sooner than 2025, but it did not say precisely when it will be launched. We now have more information in that regard.

Apple has already filed a patent for a rollable iPhone with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent filing shows that the iPhone could be rolled up – quite literally, like an ancient scroll and manuscript.

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While that might seem like a far cry and something that could happen in the distant future, it could be a way for Apple to protect its ideas. However, more than that, it suggests that Apple is actively thinking about foldable display technology.

It is worth noting that foldable displays are not entirely fictional. LG already has one, and we've seen another massive foldable TV launch at CES 2024 in January.

However, TVs are different from phones – phones have to house a myriad of components like the chipset, battery, cameras, storage and more in a device that is about the size of a palm, while TVs have a much bigger canvas.

Why It Matters: Apple's rivals Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. (OTCPK: SSNLF) already have foldable phones.

In fact, Samsung has already launched five generations of foldable phones. By the time Apple's foldable iPhone is expected to launch, Samsung would have launched eight generations of its Galaxy Fold and Flip phones.

Would it be too little or too late for Cupertino to launch the foldable iPhone in 2026? A previous report revealed that foldable phones comprise only 1% of all smartphones globally, so this market is still in its infancy and Apple still might have enough time on its hands.

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Photo by Thai Nguyen on Unsplash