Rumours are mounting that Apple is months from unveiling its first foldable iPhone, after years of speculation over whether it would follow in the footsteps of its competitors.
On Monday, 9news.com.au technology expert Trevor Long reported he had received a “dummy” mock-up of the device, produced by a factory in China using leaked specifications from within the company’s supply chain.
The models are typically used by third-party manufacturers to build cases and accessories for impending devices.
While there’s been talk since Samsung entered the “foldable” smartphone market seven years ago that Apple would introduce its answer to the brand’s Galaxy Fold, “what those rumours lacked was any substantiation, something we now have with the existence of a dummy mock-up of a foldable iPhone device”, Long said.
“These mock-up models have reliably showcased the iPhone ahead of its release for many years now, meaning there’s a strong reliability to this evidence,” he said.
Long predicted that Apple would unveil the foldable model, as well as an iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, at its annual launch event this September.
News.com.au has contacted Apple for comment.
Based on the “dummy” mock-up, Long said the “ultra-thin” foldable iPhone “has a design more akin to a passport … rather than a traditional smartphone that opens like a book”.
“This design allows the ‘opened’ format to be an aspect ratio more useful for watching video content as well as operating apps side-by-side,” he said.
“A dual-camera system appears on the back, a step up from what was launched on the iPhone Air last year, and there also appear to be speakers top and bottom, something the iPhone Air was criticised for not having.”
‘That fold is horrific’
Images of the “dummy” model sparked a meltdown on social media last week, The New York Post reported, with users claiming Apple “has lost its way”.
“That fold is horrific, it’s so tiny and will still cost $2300. Typical Apple,” someone else on X wrote.
A third commented: “Omg the fold is so … ugly?”
“The fold is too wide, can’t palm that easily in normal phone use,” one person said.
Others honed in on what could be a make-or-break miss: the apparent absence of MagSafe — Apple’s magnetic snap-on system, first rolled out with the iPhone 12, that lets chargers, wallets and other accessories click satisfyingly into place.
The backlash is notable – especially for a product that hasn’t even been officially confirmed by Apple.
Still, behind the scenes, signs point to the foldable finally becoming a reality.
As previously reported by The Post, Apple has already hit unexpected snags while testing its first-ever foldable, with engineers wrestling with issues that insiders say are “more complex” and time-consuming than expected.
At one point, the turbulence even rattled Wall Street, sending shares sliding more than 5 per cent after a report suggested delays could push the timeline back by months.
“It’s true that more issues than expected have emerged during the early test production phase, and additional time will be needed to resolve them and make necessary adjustments … The current situation could put the mass production timeline at risk,” one source told Nikkei Asia.
In his latest Bloomberg newsletter, technology reporter and Apple specialist Mark Gurman noted that the company’s “first foldable phone is on track to arrive during the company’s normal iPhone launch period later this year”.
That timing would put Apple years behind rivals like Samsung and Google, which have been churning out foldables since 2019 – though not without their own crease-related headaches.
Apple, for its part, is betting it can iron those out.
The company reportedly believes it has cracked some of the biggest foldable flaws, including durability, screen quality and that dreaded visible crease.
It’s also banking on the price tag – expected to top $US2000 ($AU2796) – to push the iPhone into even more premium territory.
