We know two things about the iPhone Flip, the name Apple Watchers have assigned to the foldable iPhone thats supposedly in the works. First, it's pretty clear Apple is interested in making such a device, based on patents filed by the company. And second, no one expects a foldable iPhone to appear anytime before 2023.
That leaves a lot of blank space for people with fertile imaginations to fill in. And that's leading to some pretty creative iPhone Flip concept designs appearing online from time to time.
The latest comes from designer Antonio De Rosa who posted a series of foldable iPhone renders to his Twitter account. While the images appeared about a week ago, they've been making the rounds on rumor sites and are a worth a look if you want a glance at what an iPhone Flip could look like, should it appear as rumored in 2023 or 2024.
Apple is still testing foldable devices, but it thinks the technology is not entirely ready for its quality standards.Let's imagine the first Apple foldable device@appleinsider @theapplebizz @TechCrunch @iPhoneinCanada @RedmondPie @LeaksAppleProVideo: https://t.co/KiqFBqjhqh pic.twitter.com/dBsTfhl3ArFebruary 9, 2022
Looking at the foldable iPhone designs by De Rosa, you can see why they've garnered such attention. Dubbed the iPhone Air by the designer, the flipphone-style design is reminiscent of Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3 while still maintaining the distinct look of an iPhone.
In De Rosa's design, the iPhone Air folds into a device compact enough to slip into your pocket. As with the Galaxy Z Flip, there's an exterior display for receiving notifications. That display shares space with a triple camera array arranged a lot like what you see on the iPhone 13 Pro.
That's not the only design element that draws on Apple's current iPhone. The edges of the foldable iPhone are flat, much like the design employed by Apple for both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. You'd think that might make the folded-up iPhone a little bulkier, but that would be Apple's problem to deal with, not yours and mine.
There's another rumored Apple design element that makes an appearance in De Rosa's iPhone Air concept. The interior display lacks the notch found on current iPhones. Instead, it's been replaced by two cutouts — one pill-shaped, the other round. That's the rumored look of the iPhone 14, should Apple decide to replace the iPhone's notch.
Very little is known about the specs Apple has on the drawing board for its rumored folding phone — perhaps a reflection of the preliminary stage we're at in the project. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said the iPad Flip could have an 8-inch display, making it much more expansive than either the Galaxy Z Flip 3 or Galaxy Z Fold 3. But everything's pretty much up in the air given how far our we are from the expected launch date of a foldable phone.
Apple would be entering the foldable market long after its chief rival Samsung and after phone makers like LG have already tried and failed to claim the best foldable phones title. Then again, Apple is rarely first to any market, swooping in with a more refined product after others have laid the groundwork. That was what happened with the iPhone itself; we'll see if history repeats itself should an iPhone Flip come to pass.
