Apple Testing Various Folding iPhone Designs

Apple is testing various folding iPhone Designs, according to leaker Dylandkt, but a foldable iPhone may not be coming soon, especially since Apple still has reservations concerning flexible display technology and the market for foldable devices.

In a tweet thread, Dylandkt indicated that Apple is working on a hypothetical future gadget, but that foldable display technology is not mature enough and there are still too many “compromises” to cope with.

Apple is also apparently concerned about whether foldable devices will continue to remain popular with consumers or whether they will become obsolete in the future.

Apple Testing Various Folding iPhone Design Model

Meanwhile, before launching a foldable iPhone, Apple wants to be sure that the foldable design isn’t a “regression from the existing form factor of the iPhone,” which might indeed happen if there are concerns with display longevity and quality due to the folding ability. Dylandkt’s statements signal that Apple is continuing to adopt a wait and watch attitude to foldable smartphone technology, while some other reports have stated that Apple might unveil a foldable iPhone as soon as 2023.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed in May 2021 that Apple is building a foldable iPhone with an 8-inch flexible OLED QHD+ display that’s slated to be introduced in 2023. Display researcher Ross Young in December claimed that Apple would not deliver a foldable iPhone until 2023 “at the earliest,” with 2024 being a more realistic goal date. Bloomberg in early 2021 stated that Apple had started “early work” on an iPhone with a foldable display, implying that there were a few years of development left.

Foldable iPhone rumours have been swirling since 2016, and we’ve previously heard claims about several designs that Apple is testing. Samsung has supposedly delivered foldable display designs to Apple for testing purposes, although development has not yet moved beyond a display.

At least one of Apple’s foldable iPhone designs is rumoured to contain two independent display panels coupled with a hinge, a departure from the single-display versions that Samsung has unveiled. Another has been characterized as a foldable iPhone with a clamshell design similar to the Galaxy Z Flip.

Samsung has been delivering folding smartphones for years now, and other Android manufacturers have also adopted foldable technology. Smartphones with foldable displays continue to encounter challenges with durability and build quality, and they also have hefty price tags that significantly surpass the cost of normal smartphones.