Over the past few years we’ve seen a host of foldable phones launch into the market, but Apple has remained conspicuous by its absence – and now it looks like we might have to wait even longer for the tech giant to finally debut a folding iPhone.
Specifically, the device’s on-sale date has supposedly been pushed back from the fourth quarter of 2026 to the first quarter of 2027. That’s according to leaker Revegnus on X (formerly Twitter), who cites an industry report from Korean outlet Alphabiz.
In a machine-translated version of the article, Alphabiz claims that “a senior official familiar with Apple’s internal situation” told the website that “I understand that the company plans to start selling the foldable iPhone a little later than expected after making thorough preparations on all matters, including the supply and demand of the foldable display.”
The report adds that the selection of Apple’s suppliers has not changed, and it doesn’t explain in detail what has forced Apple to push back the device’s launch.
Stretching credulity
Although it might be tempting to take this report at its word, there’s one major red flag that stands out – and that’s to do with Apple’s regular iPhone release schedule.
Every year, like clockwork, Apple launches new iPhones in September. It has done this almost every year since 2012 (before which it announced them in the summer), with only the 2020 event taking place in October since then, presumably due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alphabiz’s report isn’t talking about iPhone production or unveiling dates, though – it’s claiming that the on-sale date is being pushed back to the start of 2027 from the fourth quarter 2026. It’s rare (but not unheard of) for an iPhone to go on sale in the fourth quarter of a calendar year. But the only times Apple has ever announced an iPhone on-sale date in the first quarter has been for the iPhone SE series, never for a flagship device – and a foldable iPhone is about as flagship as a device can be.
The report from Alphabiz seems to imply one of two things: either Apple will hold its regular autumn iPhone show, but the foldable iPhone will be saved for a later event; or the company will postpone the 2026 event entirely until the first quarter of 2027. Both options seem incredibly far-fetched given what we know about previous iPhone launches.
It seems clear that Apple is at least considering building a folding iPhone – company patents reveal that much – and numerous industry leaks and rumors suggest that it’s coming in the next few years (in fact, Revegnus claimed just yesterday that it would launch in 2026). But the timing outlined in Alphabiz’s report stretches credulity, and we’d be extremely surprised if it turned out to be accurate.
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alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake)
