At this point, Apple is far behind its competitors when it comes to producing a foldable phone. Still, repeated rumors keep claiming that the Cupertino company is working on some folding device.
We've seen piecemeal rumors since at least 2015. Today, a massive leak appeared on X, breaking down specific details and hinting at a gigantic unfolded display.
The leak, translated by regular tipster Jukanlosreve, is supposed to summarize research by a firm called zwz. This could be in reference to the Chinese firm ZWZ Bearings, which is potentially a considerable manufacturing company known for producing ball bearings and similar products. Though, we couldn't completely confirm this information based on the tweets.
Assuming everything is true, what can we expect from Apple's first go at a foldable iPhone? Read on to find out.
Foldable iPhone design
Produced by Foxconn, a regular Apple partner, the foldable iPhone sounds like it will be a very thin device.
The summary proclaims it as being 9.2mm thick when folded and nearly halving that to 4.6mm when opened up.
That would make the foldable iPhone one of the thinnest phones in the world, including the current record-holding Honor Magic V3 that measures 4.35mm when unfolded. Reportedly, the upcoming Oppo Find N5 might be even thinner at a claimed 4mm.
In the U.S., you'll see it compared to the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which measure in at 5.1mm and 5.6mm, respectively.
It sounds like the foldable iPhone will be made of aluminum and feature a "large folding mechanism" on the left rear. However, there are no details about the hinge or how it affects the unfolded display.
This suggests more of a book-style device like the Z Fold 6 rather than a clamshell like the Z Flip 6, Motorola's Razr Plus 2024 or the much-rumored iPhone Flip.
It's been rumored that Apple has struggled with reducing the crease from the hinge on the interior display, but this leak doesn't mention that.
Foldable iPhone display
The summary mentions that Apple is working on smaller foldable phones but that it will start with larger ones with absolutely giant screens.
"The internal screen is comparable to two 6.1-inch phones folded together," Jukan's translation reads. "Resulting in a total size of over 12 inches."
If those numbers are accurate, that would land the iPhone Flip somewhere between the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro and make it the biggest foldable phone on the market. The Z Fold 6, for comparison, only opens up to a 7.6-inch display. The absurdly expensive tri-folding Huawei XT Mate features a monster 10.2-inch screen, though we're unlikely ever to see it in the U.S.
Beyond that, the display should be UTG Blue, a reasonably flexible material that allows it to bend. Samsung, Google and Oppo all use a version of UTG on their folding devices.
Foldable iPhone Cameras
Based on this leak, the iPhone Fold will feature at least two cameras on the rear — a main and an ultrawide. No other details were provided on the lens's strength.
We've seen concept drawings of the folding iPhone over the years, but no real news has come out about what kinds of cameras it might feature, so this is our first tidbit of what we can expect. Two cameras would put it in line with the base iPhone models.
Currently, the iPhone 16 features a 48MP main camera and a 12MP ultrawide. We could see similar numbers on the iPhone foldable. The lack of a telephoto zoom camera would be a huge letdown if true.
Additionally, the leak also lists that the font camera will feature meta lens ultra-thin tech from Apple. Again, no details on megapixels or zoom, but the current iPhone 16 is 12MP, so again, we expect similar numbers.
Foldable iPhone Battery
Jukan's translation says that the foldable iPhone will feature two stainless steel-cased batteries that combine to reach a capacity of about 5,000mAh, a reasonably standard battery size today.
Apple traditionally does not release actual information on battery capacity for its phones beyond tested life. So until people rip the phones apart battery capacity is generally speculation.
Still, a 5,000mAh battery promises plenty of battery life, though at that thinness, we do wonder about heat dissipation between whatever chip Apple picks and the battery.
What's missing?
As mentioned above, we don't know more about the cameras or what kind of displays Apple will use. Will it be OLED? LED? Mini-LED? No clue for now.
Also, what kind of chip will Apple use? We're currently on the A18 processor, but with a potential 2026 release date, will the iPhone Flip get an A19 SoC or will Apple give it an older chip to lower production costs?
We have more questions but finally have a few more details.
Foldable iPhone release window and possible price
The leak provides a number of pricing details, such as the body costing between $80 and $90, but that doesn't tell us how Apple will price the phone for consumers.
Foldable phones are generally expensive, usually more expensive than even flagship phones. The Z Fold 6, for example, starts at $1,899 compared to $1,299 for the lowest configuration of the just-released Galaxy S25 Ultra.
With Apple delaying its foldable devices for so long, it's unclear if the company wants to include the new phone among its regular iPhone offerings or treat it as an outlier in cost, similar to the Vision Pro, which has an astronomical price tag.
As for release, the translated leak specifies a Fall 2026 release followed by a 2027 release of a folding iPad/MacBook.
Jukanlosreve responded to a comment on the tweet claiming that we would see the foldable iPhone in September 2026.
So it looks like we have lots and lots of time for more leaks before we can get our hands on a folding iPhone.
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