- Apple apparently started to prototype the foldable iPhone
- This leak echoes others by saying that a launch in 2026 is likely
- However, the development of a foldable iPad has apparently been paused
The foldable iPhone has been supposed to do years for years, but it could finally become a reality, the last leak suggesting that Apple began to produce prototypes.
This is according to the Digitimes (via @Jukanlosreve), which claims that Apple aims to finish the prototyping of the foldable iPhone by the end of 2025. At this stage, the device will enter the phase of the engineering verification test (EVT), before a launch in the second half of 2026.
This complies with the other recent rumors of the release date of the foldable iPhone, and it would probably mean that the phone lands along the iPhone 18 series in September 2026.
But although this is still a way, if the phone is really prototyped now, it is likely that we will soon start to see images disclosed from the handset, which should give us a much clearer idea of what it will look like.
There may not be foldable iPad
This is not all good news for Apple’s foldable ambitions, however, because in another Digitimes report (also via @jukanlosreve), it is said that the company has interrupted the development of a foldable iPad.
Apparently, this is probably due to a combination of manufacturing difficulties, an increase in production expenses and a limited demand for greater foldable devices.
The last time we heard, the foldable iPad would perhaps land in 2027, but if this last leak is correct, then we will probably not see it that even later, or not at all. The wording here suggests that it is possible that Apple continues to develop the foldable iPad on a later date, but it is not clear if or when it will happen.
We believe that it is likely that if the development has really been paused, the company will probably wait to see how the foldable iPhone does before deciding whether to resume the development of a foldable iPad. In this case, such a device is probably still at least in a few years – and can never emerge.
