It’s 2007. Steve Jobs walks onto the stage, holds up a sleek, black slab of glass, and says, “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” The world gasps.
In the following years, the world would witness how the iPhone, with its multi-touch interface and app ecosystem, crushed BlackBerry, Nokia, and Motorola over the next decade.
Fast forward to 2025. The world is waiting, and the rumor mill is buzzing once again. This time the internet is flooded with news that the production of foldable iPhone will start by the end of this year or early next year, as Apple is all set to place its bet in the foldable smartphone space in 2026.
Alongside the rumors, a debate has also triggered worldwide: Is Apple about to reinvent the phone-again-with a foldable iPhone? Or has the company missed the boat this time?
Analysts are trying to get the pulse of existing and potential new buyers of iPhone to make valuable recommendations.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. The foldable phone market is growing rapidly, but Apple is nowhere to be seen-yet.
The Foldable Market: A Reality Check
Before we dig deep into the analysis, it’s important to understand the current state of the worldwide foldable smartphone market, and how it will impact the industry in the years to come.
• The estimated shipment of foldable smartphones in 2024 reached 24 million units, growing 18.1% YoY.
• By 2027, global foldable shipments are projected to reach 100 million units, capturing around 39% of the premium smartphone market (>$600>.
• In contrast, total global smartphone shipments in 2024 stood at 1.23 billion units—meaning foldables are still a tiny niche.
Despite the fact that foldable smartphones have just scratched the surface, there are already multiple players who have thrown their hat in the ring. This makes us dig further to understand who dominates the global foldable smartphone market!
Right now, Samsung is the undisputed leader in foldables, but Chinese brands are catching up fast:
Despite Samsung’s early dominance, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are launching thinner, lighter, and more affordable foldables, threatening Samsung’s lead.
Why a Foldable iPhone Could Shake Up the Industry
Here is some jaw-dropping fact – Apple sells more iPhones every year (~200M units) than Samsung has sold foldables in five years (~30M units). Besides, brand loyalty among iPhone users is also much higher than that of those who use Samsung smartphones. Every year a sizeable share of sales of the latest iPhone model comes from existing iPhone users who upgrade their device without having any issue in their existing model.
If rumours are to be believed, the price of foldable iPhone could range anywhere between $2000 and $2500, making it the most expensive iPhone the Cupertino giant has ever launched. Considering that most Apple iPhone users have deep pockets and price doesn’t have any barrier to satisfy their urge of owning the latest iPhone, it’s easy to accept that the same behaviour could continue and benefit the foldable iPhone as well.
But there are many other factors as well that go in the favour of Apple, and could shake up the global smartphone industry, once again:
1. Apple’s Late-Mover Advantage: The iPod & iPhone Playbook
Apple has a history of entering a market late and then owning it.
• MP3 Players? Apple waited until 2001 to launch the iPod – years after Sony’s Walkman and Rio’s MP3 players – but dominated the industry.
• Smartphones? BlackBerry and Nokia were the kings of mobile, but Apple destroyed them with the iPhone in 2007.
• Smartwatches? Samsung, Motorola, and Pebble launched smartwatches years before Apple, but by 2023, Apple Watch controlled over 50% of the global smartwatch market.
What’s the lesson here? Apple doesn’t have to be first – it just has to be best.
If a foldable iPhone launches in 2026, Apple will have studied every flaw in Samsung’s Z Fold, Huawei’s Mate X, and Oppo’s Find N. It won’t be the first foldable – but it could be the best.
2. The Ecosystem That No One Else Has
A foldable iPhone wouldn’t just be a fancy new form factor – it would plug into Apple’s powerful ecosystem in ways that Samsung and Huawei can’t match.
• Continuity & Handoff: Imagine unfolding your iPhone and instantly continuing your MacBook task on a tablet-sized screen.
• iPadOS-Level Productivity: Apple has been perfecting multitasking on iPads for years – a foldable iPhone could finally bring a true dual-app experience to a smartphone.
• Apple Pencil Support? If Apple markets the foldable as an iPhone-iPad hybrid, it could attract creators, designers, and professionals.
While Samsung’s foldables are impressive, they still feel like big phones rather than true productivity devices. Apple could change that.
3. Apple’s Secret Weapons: Materials, Supply Chain & Design
Let’s be real – Samsung’s foldables have improved, but they still have durability issues. The creases, hinge gaps, and fragile screens make even a $1,800 Z Fold 5 feel less premium than an iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Apple, however, is obsessed with perfection.
• Self-Healing Screens? Apple has patented screen coatings that can repair minor scratches and creases on their own.
• Titanium Frames? With the iPhone 15 Pro already using titanium, a foldable iPhone could be even stronger and lighter than current foldables.
• Crease-Free Design? Apple is reportedly working with LG Display to develop a next-gen foldable OLED panel that eliminates creases entirely.
Apple’s design philosophy isn’t about rushing out experimental tech – it’s about perfecting it before launch.
But, Apple Might Be Too Late
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Not every Apple product is a grand slam.
• HomePod? Late to smart speakers, lost to Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
• Apple TV? Never dominated like Netflix or even Roku.
• Apple Car? Yeah, still waiting…
A foldable iPhone could be another misstep if Apple doesn’t time it right.
1. Samsung & China Are Miles Ahead
Samsung has been refining foldables for five generations. Chinese brands like Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are making foldables thinner, lighter, and cheaper.
• Huawei’s Mate X3 is thinner than an iPhone 14 Pro Max when folded – that’s a wake-up call.
• By 2026, Samsung might already be on its 7th-gen foldable, meaning Apple’s first attempt could feel outdated.
Does Apple really want to play catch-up instead of leading?
2. Is the Foldable Market Even Worth It?
Right now, foldables make up just 1.5% of smartphone sales. Even by 2027, they’re projected to reach only 5%.
Compare that to Apple’s other product categories:
• iPhones: 225+ million units/year
• Macs & iPads: 80+ million combined
• Foldables (Samsung + others): 20 million in 2023
Even if Apple enters the foldable market and captures 30% of it, that’s still only 6 million units/year – a tiny fraction of Apple’s total business.
But, I won’t be surprised if Apple feels that the foldable market is too small to care about. Instead, they could skip foldables entirely and go straight to rollable phones – which they’ve already patented.
The Jaw-Dropping Numbers That Matter
• Apple sells more iPhones every year (~200M units) than Samsung has sold foldables in five years (~30M units).
• Samsung owns 50% of the foldable market, but that market is still tiny compared to traditional smartphones.
• If Apple captures just 30% of the foldable market, it could instantly create a billion-dollar business line – but will that be enough?
A Game Changer or a Gimmick?
If Apple executes its foldable iPhone as a true productivity and entertainment device, it could:
✔ Make foldables mainstream in ways Samsung hasn’t.
✔ Dominate the premium segment and force competitors to catch up.
✔ Redefine how smartphones, tablets, and laptops merge.
But if it arrives too late and fails to differentiate from Samsung and Huawei, it might just be a cool tech experiment with no real impact.
So, will Apple’s foldable be the next iPhone moment, or will it be a HomePod-level afterthought? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain – when Apple finally folds, the whole world will be watching.
