Apple is finally moving into the foldable phone market
After years of observing rivals bend the form of the smartphone, Apple is preparing to enter the foldable era with a device that carries both its most advanced chip and its highest consumer price tag yet. Set to arrive in September 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, the foldable iPhone represents not merely a new product but a philosophical statement — that Apple will not pioneer a category until it believes it can define it. At $2,400, the company is wagering that restraint, refinement, and ecosystem trust are worth more than the years it ceded to Samsung and Google.
- Apple's long silence on foldables ends in September 2026, when it will finally enter a market Samsung and Google have shaped for years.
- At $2,400, the device lands above its closest rival and signals that Apple intends to own the premium ceiling of the foldable segment, not compete in the middle.
- Engineering tensions are visible in the trade-offs: Face ID is sacrificed for thinness, replaced by side-mounted Touch ID, while a Liquidmetal hinge attempts to solve the durability problem that has haunted foldables since their debut.
- A dual-display system — 5.25 inches closed, 7.8 inches open — paired with the A20 Pro chip positions the device as both a pocket phone and a portable workstation.
- Apple's broader market segmentation is sharpening, with the foldable sitting at the apex of a lineup that now stretches from an entry-level iPhone 18e to this flagship fold, each tier more deliberately defined than before.
Apple is preparing to launch its first foldable iPhone in September 2026, arriving alongside the iPhone 18 Pro after years of watching Samsung and Google shape the category alone. The device will run on the A20 Pro chip — the same silicon powering the Pro models — and carry a $2,400 price tag in the United States, making it Apple's most expensive consumer iPhone to date.
The design follows a book-style fold rather than a vertical flip, and when open it will be thinner than the current iPhone Air. A Liquidmetal hinge holds the two halves together, chosen for its durability over the thousands of open-and-close cycles a foldable endures across its lifetime. The display system reflects the dual-screen nature of the form factor: a 5.25-inch OLED cover screen for everyday use when closed, and a 7.8-inch inner OLED panel — both running at 120Hz — for video, productivity, and anything that benefits from more space.
To keep the device as slim as possible, Apple is replacing Face ID with Touch ID embedded in the side button. The camera system spans four lenses: two 18-megapixel selfie sensors, one on each display, and a rear pair consisting of a 48-megapixel main camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide.
Priced above Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, Apple is betting that its software integration and design refinement justify the premium. The foldable sits at the top of a more deliberately segmented iPhone lineup — one that will also include a base iPhone 18 and a new iPhone 18e launching in early 2027 — marking a company that is not just entering a new category, but restructuring how it thinks about the entire market.
Apple is finally moving into the foldable phone market. After years of watching Samsung and Google dominate the segment, the company is preparing to launch its first foldable iPhone in September 2026, timed to arrive alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The device will carry the A20 Pro chipset—the same processor powering the Pro models—and will cost an estimated $2,400 in the United States, positioning it as a premium entry into a category Apple has so far avoided.
The foldable will adopt a book-style design, the kind that closes like a paperback rather than folding vertically like a flip phone. When unfolded, it will be thinner than the current iPhone Air, which measures 5.6 millimeters. The hinge holding it together will use Liquidmetal, a material Apple has experimented with before, chosen here to improve durability and longevity—a critical concern for any device that folds thousands of times over its lifetime.
The display setup reflects the dual-screen reality of foldables. The cover screen will measure 5.25 inches and serve as the phone you use when it's closed. Open it up and you get a 7.8-inch inner display. Both will be OLED panels capable of 120Hz refresh rates, matching the smoothness users expect from the rest of Apple's current lineup. The larger inner screen is where the real work happens—video, gaming, productivity—while the smaller outer display handles quick tasks and notifications.
Apple is making a notable trade-off with authentication. Rather than squeeze Face ID into the foldable design, the company will rely on Touch ID built into the side button, a decision driven by the need to keep the device as thin as possible. The camera system compensates with four lenses total: two 18-megapixel selfie cameras, one on each display, and a dual rear setup on the back with a 48-megapixel main sensor paired with a 48-megapixel ultrawide. This gives users flexibility whether they're shooting from the front or back, folded or unfolded.
The $2,400 price tag places the iPhone fold well above Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, which starts at roughly $175,000 in Indian rupees, or about $2,100 in US pricing. Apple is betting that its brand, its software integration, and the refinement of its design justify the premium. The company's broader iPhone strategy is also shifting: the base iPhone 18 and a new iPhone 18e model will launch in early 2027, separate from the Pro lineup, suggesting Apple is segmenting its market more deliberately than before. The foldable sits at the apex of this pyramid—the device for users who want the latest technology and are willing to pay for it.
Notable Quotes
The foldable iPhone will be thinner than the iPhone Air when unfolded, with a book-style design that sets it apart from Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold— Industry reports on Apple's foldable design strategy
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why is Apple waiting until 2026 to enter the foldable market when Samsung and Google have been selling them for years?
Apple doesn't rush into categories just because they exist. They wait until they believe they can do something meaningfully different—or at least better. The Liquidmetal hinge and the book-style design suggest they've spent the time solving durability problems that plagued earlier foldables.
The price is striking. Two thousand four hundred dollars. That's a lot of money.
It is. But consider what you're getting: two OLED displays, a processor that matches the Pro phones, and a hinge that's supposed to last. Samsung's asking nearly as much. Apple's betting that their ecosystem and design language make the premium feel justified.
Why ditch Face ID for Touch ID? That seems like a step backward.
It's a constraint problem. Face ID needs space and a specific geometry. In a foldable that has to stay thin, that geometry doesn't work. Touch ID on the side button is actually elegant—it works whether the phone is open or closed.
Four cameras seems like overkill.
Not really. You have two different screen sizes and two different use cases. The outer screen is for quick moments. The inner screen is where you'd do real work or watch video. Having cameras optimized for both makes sense.
What happens to the iPhone 18 base model?
It's being pushed to early 2027, separate from the Pro launch. Apple's essentially creating two release cycles now—the premium stuff in fall, the mainstream stuff in spring. It's a different strategy than they've used before.