Apple's foldable iPhone may have a secret weapon for better battery life

A new rumor from Chinese social media website Weibo gives us a glimpse of an interesting upgrade the rumored first foldable iPhone may get for its display.

There's been plenty of talks about Apple's foldable iPhone recently. Ming-chi Kuo published a huge post about the phone, and we're starting to hear more and more about it. Now, a fresh rumor coming from Weibo indicates Apple is developing new chips to control the display of its first foldable iPhone.

The information comes from leaker Mobile Phone Chip Expert on Weibo, who has a relatively good (but not pristine though) track record when it comes to Apple leaks. The leaker says that Apple has had some power consumption concerns with the foldable iPhone and has been led to develop new chips to control its display, using a smaller chip fabrication process.

Their brief post hints that Apple values deeply power consumption and it's high on the company's priority list when it comes to hardware production. Apparently, Apple may have made changes to the integrated circuits (IC) components that are to be used in the display.

The leaker claims that the driver IC chips in the folding display of that elusive iPhone are being upgraded. From a 28-nanometer production process, they have reportedly been upgraded to a 16-nanometer version.

This change may bring serious benefits. The main benefit, of course, is the reduced power consumption to operate the chip. This also means the component can run cooler, and in some cases, choosing a smaller-scale production process saves the company money by producing more chips from a wafer.

Other than saving power, though, it is not clear at the moment if the new component will bring other advantages to the rumored folding iPhone's display. The components may overall help Apple achieve longer battery life, but that seems about it at the moment.

Meanwhile, rumors about the first foldable iPhone have been circulating the Internet for quite some time, and only recently did they become more concrete. Right now, it is believed that the first iPhone with a folding screen may be a book-style foldable (like the Galaxy Z Fold, OnePlus Open, Pixel 9 Pro Fold) and may be ready for mass production in the second half of 2026. And it may be expensive.

Also, tales about this mysterious creature also indicate Apple may have managed to completely eradicate the dreaded display crease on its foldable iPhone, a feat not yet completely achieved, even by the fanciest foldables.

Meanwhile, Apple is also rumored to be readying a foldable iPad with a huge screen and under-display Face ID for authentication.

When the first foldable iPhone graces the market (late 2026 or early 2027, per the latest rumors) it will have to face potentially the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a new OnePlus Open model and possibly refined foldables from Oppo and Honor, for the title of the best foldable phone. But it's still early - there's time for surprises!