The foldable iPhone remains to be in all probability fairly a good distance off, with most leaks suggesting that it gained’t land earlier than 2026. However, that also places it a lot nearer to launching than it is ever been earlier than, and we’re beginning to get a clearer image of what type Apple’s first foldable cellphone would possibly take.
While nothing is understood for sure simply but, leaks and rumors are portray an attention-grabbing image of a folding iPhone with some cutting-edge tech and the return of not less than one a lot older function.
Below, then, you’ll discover the 5 largest rumored foldable iPhone options thus far, together with speculative particulars about its design, cameras, battery, and past.
An ultra-slim design
One situation confronted by foldable telephones is an excessively thick design when folded, however it’s an issue the foldable iPhone may not face. According to 1 respected supply, Apple’s foldable may very well be simply 9.2mm thick when folded and 4.6mm thick when unfolded.
For comparability, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 – which the foldable iPhone is prone to have an analogous type issue to – is 12.1mm thick when folded and 5.6mm when unfolded, so the foldable iPhone may very well be considerably slimmer.
Of course, by the point it launches, the foldable iPhone will probably be competing with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and even perhaps the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, however Samsung has some work to do if it desires to ship a competitor that’s as skinny as Apple’s first foldable cellphone is rumored to be.
A brilliant-durable liquid metallic hinge
As properly as slimming issues down, the foldable iPhone may be toughening issues up, as a number of sources have prompt it is going to use a liquid metallic hinge.
This materials is alleged to be 2.5x stronger than titanium, which ought to assist the hinge stand as much as any accidents, and can presumably imply it might face up to being opened and closed many extra instances than rival foldables.
A liquid metallic hinge may additionally apparently cut back the show crease, so the foldable display screen on this handset might look a lot flatter and extra aesthetically pleasing than the shows on different foldable telephones.
Surprisingly stable battery life
Despite being giant in measurement, foldable telephones usually have fairly small batteries. This is comprehensible, given the necessity to make the telephones skinny and to suit a number of screens and a hinge into them, however it’s additionally not supreme, since their giant shows can eat via vitality lots quicker than these on their non-foldable counterparts.
It’s unlikely that Apple will fully clear up this situation with the foldable iPhone, however from what we’ve heard thus far, it would do a greater job than most rival handsets.
It’s reported that Apple is prioritizing battery life on the foldable iPhone, and it may obtain this in a number of other ways. For one factor, the foldable iPhone might need a surprisingly giant 5,000mAh battery, based on one supply.
For comparability, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 4,400mAh battery, so a 5,000mAh cell could be considerably greater, and would even have the capacities of most different foldable cellphone batteries beat.
The firm would possibly obtain this through the use of a battery with a excessive vitality density, so it might match extra capability in a smaller house. This is tech that Apple is reportedly set to debut on the iPhone 17 Air, earlier than then utilizing it within the foldable iPhone.
And Apple may also cut back the scale of the show driver built-in circuit, which may enhance effectivity, so the foldable iPhone’s display screen doesn’t require as a lot battery energy as different similar-sized shows within the first place.
Only two cameras
Not each rumor concerning the foldable iPhone is constructive, as we’ve additionally heard that it would solely have two rear cameras.
That would put it in step with the iPhone 16, however it might be one digital camera fewer than the likes of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have. It would even be one digital camera fewer than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and most different rival foldable telephones have.
Multiple sources have prompt that the foldable iPhone will solely have two rear cameras, with one stating that – unsurprisingly – it is going to get vast (foremost) and ultra-wide snappers, whereas a telephoto lens gained’t make the lower.
Having one much less digital camera than rivals would possibly assist maintain the price down – although with leaks suggesting a value of upwards of $2,000 (round £1,540 / AU$3,175), this cellphone is prone to be something however low-cost.
The return of Touch ID
One of the extra surprising issues we’ve heard concerning the foldable iPhone is that it would function Touch ID – Apple’s fingerprint sensor, which on most up-to-date gadgets has been changed with Face ID.
We hadn’t anticipated Apple to deliver this function again to any telephones, and if it did, we’d suppose it might accomplish that through an under-display scanner just like the fingerprint sensors on most high-end Android telephones. But based on one leak, this sensor will as a substitute be positioned within the aspect button of the foldable iPhone.
We’d take this declare with a pinch of salt, however it comes from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who’s among the many extra respected sources in relation to Apple data, and there may very well be a great cause for it, with Kuo saying that “Face ID could also be absent as a result of thickness and inner house constraints.”
