The next big feature that prompts iPhone users to upgrade may not be Apple Intelligence, Apple’s suite of AI updates, but foldability.
According to Sunday reports from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, Apple is planning on adding two foldable devices as early as 2026 to its iPhone and iPad lineup.
The first would be an iPhone that unfolds to a screen larger than the 6.9-inch screen of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The second would be a bigger iPad with a screen that opens horizontally to measure about 19 inches. According to Bloomberg, the device will look like two iPad Pros side by side and have elements of both an iPad and a Mac. Apple reportedly wants the screen to look like a single pane of glass when unfolded.
Apple will likely release the foldable iPhone first in 2026, with a possible delay to 2027, the WSJ noted.
If Apple released a foldable phone, it would enter a space already claimed by competitors like Google and Samsung.
Google announced its first foldable phone, the $1,799 Pixel Fold, in June 2023. The device sold out during the pre-order period before it shipped.
Google Pixel Fold, Google’s first foldable smartphone, on March 2024. Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Samsung leads the global foldable smartphone market, shipping over 10 million foldable phones last year out of the 15.9 million foldable phones sold in the entire market in 2023.
Apple, however, has an edge: It dominates the U.S. smartphone market. According to Stat Counter, Apple had 56% of the mobile market share in the U.S. in November, more than Samsung’s 23.7% and Google’s 9.7%. Foldability may prompt users of older iPhones to upgrade to newer ones.
Almost half of Apple’s total revenue (48.7%) in the fourth quarter of 2024 came from the iPhone.
