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<\/p>\nThe phone nicknamed iPhone Fold is reported to be in development, but recent analysis has suggested that it won\u2019t be in consumers\u2019 hands until 2027. A new report challenges that and says it could be here much sooner \u2014 next year, in fact.<\/p>\n
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Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: will next year’s range include a model that’s able to fold?<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Apple\u2019s first folding iPhone is likely to be a big deal. Not just because it means iOS fans can finally get in on the folding action but because when Apple does something, it routinely has a ripple effect on the rest of the industry. <\/p>\n
ForbesApple iOS 26.1 Release Date: This Will Be The Next Key iPhone Update \u2014 Here\u2019s WhenBy David Phelan<\/a><\/p>\n As recently as mid-October, 2027 seemed the most likely release date. \u201cLong story short \u2014 we may be waiting until 2027 for the iPhone Fold,\u201d as Tom\u2019s Guide<\/a> noted, although it added, \u201cEven if the iPhone Fold doesn’t go on sale until 2027, this doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of a fall 2026 announcement. Apple has been known to leave a months-long gap between announcing a product and actually selling it \u2014 just look at the Vision Pro.\u201d<\/p>\n If that still seems too long to wait, take heart. According to a Weibo user, Fixed Focus Digital, Apple is getting ahead of the game and \u201cis stockpiling iPhone Fold components,\u201d as AppleInsider<\/a> described it.<\/p>\n That still doesn\u2019t rule out the possibility of announcing in 2026 but releasing in 2027. But I don\u2019t buy that. While Vision Pro was a completely new product category that needed developers to come up with apps using a wholly different set of requirements, I would imagine that regular iPhone apps will work on the Fold from day one while optimized and original apps are being developed. <\/p>\n And just as Apple announced the iPhone Air and released it almost immediately, I believe that whenever the phone is announced, its onsale date will be soon after. <\/p>\n All that said, Apple won\u2019t release until the device is ready and the production line is confident it\u2019s getting everything right \u2014 nobody wants a repeat of the issues that faced the first folding phone from Samsung. That\u2019s still not forgotten and Apple want the first new model to be just right. That\u2019s something it achieved with the iPhone Air, overcoming fears about both durability and battery life.<\/p>\n Right now, I believe the iPhone Fold will be announced in September 2026 and released soon after \u2014 weeks, not months, later.<\/p>\n