Apple has learned to do more with less—to squeeze endurance out of efficiency
For years, Apple has sustained iPhone endurance not through brute battery size but through disciplined efficiency — a quiet philosophy that now faces its most demanding test. As the company moves toward a foldable iPhone, expected sometime between 2023 and 2024, the physical constraints of hinges and large displays threaten to outpace what restraint alone can solve. A technology called integrated passive devices — shrinking the supporting components around a processor to reclaim interior space — may be Apple's answer, one already beginning to benefit the iPhone 13 lineup. The deeper question is whether Apple can carry its reputation for lasting devices into a form factor that, by its very nature, asks for more.
- A foldable iPhone demands more power than any iPhone before it — larger displays, 120Hz refresh rates, and space-consuming hinges all compete for room that batteries need.
- Apple's iPhones have never led in raw battery size, and entering the foldable market without a new approach risks producing a device that impresses on the table but dies before the day ends.
- Integrated passive device technology offers a path forward by shrinking peripheral chips, quietly reclaiming millimeters of internal space that can be converted into battery capacity.
- The iPhone 13 lineup is already absorbing this approach — larger batteries in unchanged chassis sizes — serving as a proving ground before the higher-stakes foldable arrives.
- Apple is watching Samsung's third-generation foldables, moving deliberately, and letting the underlying technology mature before committing to a commercial launch still two to three years away.
Apple has never won a battery capacity arms race. Its iPhones don't carry the largest cells in the industry, nor do they charge the fastest — yet they endure, year after year, through efficiency rather than excess. That philosophy is now approaching its most demanding test: a foldable iPhone, expected somewhere between 2023 and 2024, that will need more power than any iPhone Apple has ever built.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is already testing foldable prototypes in collaboration with Samsung and other display manufacturers. The challenge is structural. A folding device requires a hinge that consumes internal space, a display large enough to justify the complexity, and likely a 120Hz refresh rate to feel fluid when unfolded. The result is a geometry problem — less room for a battery, but more components demanding power.
Apple's apparent solution is integrated passive device technology, or IPD. By shrinking the peripheral chips and support components surrounding the main processor, the approach frees up physical space inside the chassis — space that can be given back to battery cells. Supply chain partners TSMC and Amkor are expected to see growing demand as Apple expands IPD across its iOS lineup.
The iPhone 13 will be an early beneficiary: all four models are expected to carry larger batteries than their predecessors without any increase in overall size. The Pro models, with their power-hungry 120Hz displays, will need it most. But the foldable iPhone is where the technology's value becomes critical. A clamshell-style device folding vertically — constrained by its hinge, drained by its display — cannot afford to be a novelty that runs out before evening.
Apple is not rushing. The company is studying Samsung's evolving foldable lineup, refining its own prototypes, and waiting for the technology beneath it all to mature. When the foldable iPhone eventually arrives, it will likely represent years of quiet convergence — battery innovation, component miniaturization, and display efficiency arriving together. The real measure won't be whether Apple can fold a phone. It will be whether that phone lasts as long as the ones people already trust.
Apple has never won a battery capacity arms race. The company's iPhones don't pack the largest batteries in the smartphone world, and they don't charge as fast as some competitors either. Yet somehow, year after year, they last. That's because Apple has learned to do more with less—to squeeze endurance out of efficiency rather than raw megawatt-hours. Now, as the company prepares to enter the foldable phone market sometime between 2023 and 2024, that philosophy is about to face its biggest test.
According to reporting from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is in the early stages of testing foldable iPhone prototypes and is working with Samsung and other display manufacturers to evaluate different folding mechanisms. The company is likely two to three years away from a commercial launch. That timeline matters because a foldable iPhone will demand something iPhones have never needed before: a lot more power. A device that folds in half needs a hinge mechanism that takes up internal space. It needs a display large enough to justify the complexity—likely one with a 120Hz refresh rate to feel responsive when unfolded. These requirements create a geometry problem: less room for a battery, but more power-hungry components to feed.
Apple's answer appears to be a technology called integrated passive devices, or IPD. According to supply chain reporting from Digitimes, Apple is planning to significantly increase its use of IPD across iPhones and other iOS products. The concept is straightforward: shrink the peripheral chips and support components that surround the main processor. Make them smaller, denser, more efficient. That frees up physical space inside the phone's chassis—space that can be reclaimed for battery cells instead. Manufacturing partners TSMC and Amkor are expected to see increased demand for these miniaturized components as Apple rolls out the technology.
The iPhone 13 lineup, expected to arrive in the coming weeks, will already benefit from this approach. All four models will reportedly pack larger batteries than their predecessors, even though the phones themselves won't grow in size. The Pro models, which will feature power-hungry 120Hz displays, will need that extra capacity most. But this is just the beginning. The real payoff comes when Apple applies the same logic to a foldable device—one where every millimeter of internal real estate becomes precious.
There's no confirmation that Apple is developing IPD specifically for the foldable iPhone. The technology is being designed as a general improvement across the iOS ecosystem. But the foldable phone is precisely the kind of device that will benefit most from it. A clamshell-style foldable iPhone, folding vertically like Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip, would have even tighter constraints than a traditional phone. The hinge alone consumes space. The larger unfolded display will drain power faster. Without a significant battery capacity advantage, the device risks becoming a novelty that dies before dinner.
Gurman's two-to-three-year timeline suggests Apple won't rush. The company is watching Samsung's third-generation foldables, which promise improved durability and more refined hinge mechanisms. Apple is learning from the market, testing different approaches, and waiting for the underlying technology to mature. When the foldable iPhone finally arrives, it will likely represent not just a new form factor, but a convergence of battery innovation, component miniaturization, and display efficiency that Apple has been quietly developing for years. The question isn't whether Apple can make a foldable phone. It's whether it can make one that lasts as long as the devices people already trust.
Citações Notáveis
Apple is expected to significantly increase the adoption of IPD for new iPhones and other iOS products, providing robust business opportunities for manufacturing partners TSMC and Amkor— Industry sources cited by Digitimes
Apple needs two to three more years to bring the foldable iPhone to market— Mark Gurman, Bloomberg
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does battery life matter so much more for a foldable phone than a regular iPhone?
Because a foldable phone is fighting physics on two fronts. You've got a hinge taking up space that could hold battery cells. And you've got a larger display that uses more power when it's unfolded. A traditional iPhone can be thin because it's just a flat rectangle. A foldable has to hide a mechanical joint. That's dead weight in terms of battery real estate.
So Apple's solution is to make the other components smaller?
Exactly. The chips that handle power delivery, signal processing, all the supporting electronics—they can be made denser without losing function. It's like reorganizing a kitchen so the appliances take up less counter space. You're not removing anything. You're just packing it tighter.
Is this technology new, or has Apple just not used it before?
It exists, but Apple hasn't adopted it widely. The company has always prioritized other things—thinness, weight, thermal management. A foldable phone changes the calculus. Suddenly, every cubic millimeter matters. That's when you start looking at every component and asking: can this be smaller?
What happens if Apple launches a foldable iPhone without solving the battery problem?
You get a device that's impressive to unfold but frustrating to live with. It becomes a status symbol that dies by afternoon. Apple doesn't do that. It waits until the technology is ready. That's why Gurman thinks 2023 or 2024 is realistic—not because the engineering is hard, but because Apple wants the battery life to feel like an iPhone.
Is Samsung's approach different?
Samsung ships foldables now because they're willing to accept trade-offs. Their phones are thicker, heavier, and the battery life isn't as good as a standard Galaxy. Apple is watching that market, learning what works and what doesn't, before committing. It's a different philosophy—patience over speed.