- Apparently, Apple has begun to create folding iPhone prototypes
- This escape is echoed by saying a launch in 2026 is likely
- However, the development of an apparently folding iPad has stopped
The folding iPhone has been rumored for years, but it could finally be a reality, with the last filtration that suggests that Apple has begun to produce prototypes.
This agrees with Digitimes (through @jukanlosreve), which states that Apple aims to finish the creation of prototypes of the folding iPhone at the end of 2025. At that time, the device will enter the engineering verification test phase (EVT), before a launch in the second half of 2026.
That is in line with other rumors of recent folding iPhone date, and it would probably mean that the phone lands along with the iPhone 18 series in September 2026.
But although that is still out of shape, if the phone is really being prototyped now, we are likely to begin to see filtered images of the phone soon, which should give us a much clearer idea of how it will look.
There may not be a folding iPad
However, not all are good news for Apple’s folding ambitions, because in another Digitime report (also through @jukanlosreve), it is claimed that the company has stopped the development of a folding iPad.
Apparently, this is probably due to a combination of manufacturing difficulties, higher production expenses and limited demand for larger folding devices.
The last thing we hear, the folding iPad would possibly land in 2027, but if this last leak is precise, then we will probably not see it until later, if it does. The writing here suggests that Apple may continue to develop the folding iPad on a later date, but it is not clear if this will happen or when.
We think that it is likely if the development has really stopped, the company will probably wait and see how the folding iPhone does before deciding whether to resume the development of a folding iPad. In which case, said device is still probably at least a few years away, and may never arise.
