hello. This is Technologytodaynow. The foldable iPhone being developed by Apple is expected to be first released in late 2026 or early 2027, with an estimated price of $2,300. There is some news about the design of the foldable iPhone, so I would like to take a closer look.
Foldable iPhone Design Expected to Innovate
Estimated release schedule and price of foldable iPhone
The estimated price of the foldable iPhone, which is expected to be released in 2026 or 2027, is $2,300. When calculated at the current exchange rate, it is equivalent to about W3.37 million, which does not include consumption tax. Therefore, if you add 10 percent of the consumption tax, the domestic launch price is expected to reach W3.7 million.
If the foldable iPhone is released, it is expected to greatly contribute to the revitalization and popularization of the foldable smartphone market, but the price of KRW 3.7 million seems somewhat high to be popularized like the Vision Pro. Therefore, the production of the first-generation model will be limited from 3 million to 5 million units, and about 20 million units will be produced from the second generation. If that happens, the second-generation foldable iPhone model will likely be released at a similar price point to the current foldable smartphone.
Technical Differences and Durability
So there’s a possibility that the second generation model isn’t an improvement over the first generation, but that the first generation is a technology demonstration product. Of course, we can’t be sure because the Galaxy Z Fold 7 might be an upgraded version, as is the case with the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition.
The title of the first foldable iPhone means a lot, but it’s a lot to buy for $2,300.
In any case, the consumer who will buy the $2,300 foldable iPhone is mainly an early adapter, so it needs to be technically differentiated from the existing foldable phone. One of them is expected to be a wrinkle-free main display. Apple is expected to adopt a new material to deal with this wrinkle problem. Here are the expected specifications of the foldable iPhone.
- Cover display: 5.5 inches
- Main Display: 7.8 Inch
- Rear dual camera, front single camera
- Side physical buttons supporting touch ID
- Thickness when unfolded: 4.5mm
- Thickness when folded: 9 to 9.5 mm
Foldable iPhone Design Expected to Adopt New Material
According to a recent report by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple plans to use liquid metal for its hinges to increase the durability of foldable iPhones and eliminate screen wrinkles. According to the report, Apple aims to improve the flatness of its displays and minimize wrinkles in the folds by creating hinges using liquid metal manufactured through a die-casting process.
Finalize
So far, we’ve brought you the expected design additions for the foldable iPhone. Apple has previous experience applying liquid metal to small parts such as SIM card ejector pins. However, this is the first time we’ve applied it to core parts. In order to sell it for around $500 more than a foldable smartphone, there will have to be a clear difference in wrinkles, and I wonder how much the hinge using liquid metal can reduce wrinkles.