Apple Foldable iPhone Fold: Everything We Know About the Historic 2026 Launch
Apple is closer than ever to releasing its first foldable iPhone. The Apple iPhone Fold is targeting a fall 2026 launch, with mass production expected to begin in the second half of the year. A fresh leak this week confirmed breakthrough crease-control measurements, signaling that Apple's most transformative hardware in nearly two decades is finally becoming a reality.
Apple iPhone Foldable Design: Book-Style, Not Clamshell
The Apple foldable iPhone will adopt a book-style design — opening horizontally like a book rather than folding vertically like a clamshell. When closed, users interact with an outer display measuring approximately 5.5 inches. When fully opened, the inner display expands to roughly 7.8 inches, offering a screen experience closer to an iPad mini than a standard iPhone.
The device will sport a titanium chassis with a hinge constructed from a combination of titanium, stainless steel, and liquid metal. Apple's use of liquid metal in the hinge is specifically engineered to distribute mechanical stress during folding, improving long-term durability. Thickness is expected to measure around 9 to 9.5mm when folded and just 4.5 to 4.8mm when fully open.
Crease-Free Breakthrough Sets the Apple iPhone Fold Apart
The most significant engineering claim surrounding the Apple foldable iPhone is that it will be the first crease-free foldable smartphone on the market. This week, a credible leaker shared precise measurements indicating that the crease depth is controlled to under 0.15mm with a fold angle below 2.5 degrees — measurements so tight that the crease could feel subtler than running a finger across two stacked sheets of paper.
Apple reportedly pursued eliminating the crease regardless of cost, developing a new material property with a transparent polyimide film layered over ultra-thin glass. Supply chain reports state the company has already solved the crease problem that has plagued Samsung, Google, and every other foldable manufacturer to date.
Touch ID Replaces Face ID on the Apple Foldable iPhone
In a notable departure for a premium Apple device, the foldable iPhone will drop Face ID in favor of a side-mounted Touch ID sensor integrated into the power button. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman confirmed this design decision, explaining that removing Face ID components frees up critical internal space needed to support the device's dual displays, large battery, and hinge assembly.
The Apple iPhone foldable is also expected to eliminate both the notch and the Dynamic Island entirely. A selfie camera will sit in the top-left corner of the inner display, while a dual-lens rear camera system — likely two 48MP sensors covering Main and Ultra-wide — rounds out the photography hardware. A telephoto lens is not expected on the first-generation model.
Apple iPhone Fold Price: $2,000 to $2,500
The Apple foldable iPhone will be the most expensive iPhone ever sold. Pricing estimates from multiple analysts cluster between $2,000 and $2,500, with the most recent reports trending toward the higher end of that range. UBS projects a slightly more optimistic $1,800 to $2,000 window due to potential hinge cost optimizations, but the consensus points firmly above the $2,000 mark.
The device is expected to launch with a base configuration of 256GB of storage paired with 12GB of RAM, with 512GB and 1TB options also available. A 5,000 to 5,400 mAh battery — the largest ever placed inside an iPhone — will power both displays. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo projects initial 2026 shipments of 3 to 5 million units, scaling to more than 20 million by 2027.
Apple iPhone Fold Launch Timeline and iPhone 18 Lineup
The Apple foldable iPhone is expected to launch in September 2026 as part of the iPhone 18 lineup, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. It will be powered by Apple's new 2-nanometer A20 chip. Foxconn is expected to begin mass production in early October, with component stockpiling already underway.
iOS 27 will ship alongside the Apple iPhone foldable, featuring new multitasking interfaces and experiences specifically designed for the larger inner display. Bloomberg's Gurman has described iOS 27 as a performance-focused release similar in philosophy to Apple's historic Snow Leopard macOS update. Japan's Mizuho Securities has flagged a potential slip to early 2027 if key design decisions take longer to finalize, but the current trajectory points squarely to a fall 2026 debut.
