iPhone fans will "flip" over the latest reports about a foldable model

If you've been hoping for a foldable iPhone, you might be happy to hear that such a device could be released as soon as 2026 according to a new report by The Information. The phone will feature a clamshell form factor similar to the Motorola Razr models and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series. The iPhone "Flip" reportedly carries a codename of v68 and when open it will keep the design and dimensions of a non-foldable iPhone handset.

Besides The Information, Digitimes has also posted information about a foldable iPhone today citing fresh reports from Hankooki and ET News. Those outlets relayed info from sources who said that Apple had started R&D on a clamshell foldable iPhone this year. The articles say that Apple has signed a deal with Samsung to supply them with the foldable panels for the phone which is something that we told you about back in May.

If the 2026 launch date is on target, the clamshell foldable iPhone would be the first foldable device from Apple. Earlier this year, TF International's prescient analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple was in the process of developing a foldable M5-powered Mac with a 20.3-inch display when open. Today's reports suggest that Apple was concerned with the foldable phones coming out in the Chinese smartphone market and decided to develop a foldable iPhone first.

Apple has been concerned with the durability of a foldable display. This past February, Apple reportedly halted work on a foldable iPhone when a foldable display supplied to Apple by Samsung "broke down after a few days" of heavy testing by Apple. The latter was recently awarded a new patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled "Electronic Devices with Durable Folding Displays" which improves the durability of such screens by making them thicker in the corners and tapering them down where the screen folds.

The top-selling foldable phone over the last few years has been Samsung's clamshell foldable Galaxy Z Flip model. The latest version of that phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 6, will be released tomorrow alongside the book-style foldable Galaxy Z Fold 6. A foldable iPhone is sure to shake up the foldable market. According to TrendForce, 15.9 million foldable phones were shipped last year accounting for 14% of smartphones delivered in 2023.