Apple is apparently working on some foldable devices. Let's talk about it.
Rumors have been snowballing around the internet for months (if not years) about Apple joining the foldable fray that companies like Samsung have found success in over the past few years. There have been so many rumors and so much idle speculation on top of those that it would be impossible to cover everything in one article, but the latest and most credible reports point to two foldable devices coming out of Cupertino: a new iPhone and a new iPad.
Without wasting any more time, let's dig in. Here is what we know about Apple's potential first foldables.
We've been hearing about a foldable iPhone since as far back as 2021 at least, but more recent rounds of reporting have painted a clearer picture of what to expect from this device, and when we might be able to expect it.
Back in February, The Information reported that Apple was working on a clamshell-style foldable iPhone. If you're not familiar with the terminology, that would make it more akin to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series of phones, which fold up into a very small form factor and unfold into roughly the size and shape of a regular smartphone. This is distinct from the Galaxy Z Fold form factor, which is roughly the size and shape of a regular smartphone when folded, and more akin to a small tablet when unfolded.
A more recent round of reporting from the Wall Street Journal in December corroborated this, suggesting the new device's display size would exceed that of the iPhone 16 Pro Max when unfolded. According to this report, this device could actually launch as early as 2026, but that's far from a guarantee at this stage. As always with unannounced concept devices, there is always a distinct possibility that it never comes out at all.
Still, where there's smoke, there tends to be fire. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (who is known to be correct about Apple more often than not) also said in his Power On newsletter in December that a foldable iPhone could launch in 2026. If two different major outlets are hearing roughly the same things about this device, there may be more to this than just rumor-mongering.
Unfortunately, there isn't much else to say definitively about the foldable iPhone yet. If these reports are to be believed, we may be nearly two years away from even seeing the device, much less holding it in our hands. Pertinent details like design, price, battery life, and special software features will have to wait until then.
The good news about the foldable iPad is that both the aforementioned Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reports featured information on it, too, instead of just the foldable iPhone. The bad news is that we don't know much more about the iPad than we do about the iPhone.
The WSJ's report indicated that Apple is working on a larger device that is "intended to serve as a laptop." The display, when unfolded, would be roughly 19-inches in size, which is bigger than the biggest MacBook displays by between four and five inches. This roughly lines up with earlier reporting by Korean outlet The Elec, which said in 2022 that Apple was working on a 20-inch foldable display for use in either a laptop or a tablet.
But is it a MacBook or an iPad? We don't know for sure. WSJ's reporting suggested it would be closer to a laptop, but Gurman's newsletter said it would be more like a big iPad and would likely run on iPadOS instead of macOS. The difference there is sizable, as iPadOS and macOS don't have the same feature set and aren't compatible with entirely the same apps.
It'll be a while before we know, regardless. Gurman suggested this bigger device would launch in 2028, well after the launch of the supposed foldable iPhone. All of these reports also suggest technical hurdles that need to be cleared, such as making sure these devices are as thin as possible and can lay flat when unfolded. If the rumors are to be believed, Apple has plenty of time to sort those kinks out before these products see the light of day.
