Rumor has it that the iPhone Fold will launch later this year, with the common consensus being that it'll arrive alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. However, this might not be the case after all. Barclays analyst Tim Long (via MacRumors) believes the iPhone Fold might actually arrive in December.
Specifically, Long believes that iPhone Fold shipments will begin in December, rather than the usual September iPhone release window. But it may be that the iPhone Fold still gets announced at the standard September Apple event; the release date would just come later.
Apple did something similar nine years ago with the release of iPhone X, which was the first iPhone with Face ID and ditched the Home button. The tenth anniversary iPhone was announced alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in September 2017, but didn't actually get released until November.
Long also reiterated the long-standing rumor that the regular iPhone 18 won't be released until next March. He believes that it will arrive alongside two other iPhones: an iPhone 18e and (strangely) the iPhone 18 Plus.
Whether we'll actually see an iPhone 18 Plus next year is unclear, but considering the larger models were the least popular iPhones, I don't think it's likely Apple would bring them back. I'm more inclined to believe that Long is instead referring to the rumored iPhone Air 2.
How likely is this new iPhone Fold release date?
A slightly later release date for the iPhone Fold wouldn't be all that surprising. It would give the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max a bit more time in the spotlight, and it also gives Apple a couple more months of production time to work out any kinks with its first foldable phone. Our editor in chief, Mark Spoonauer, argues that the iPhone Fold could blow away the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 on Apple's very first try.
The question is whether Apple will be able to match demand, or if the usual iPhone shipping delays will come back to haunt foldable enthusiasts.
The $2,000+ rumored price tag means the iPhone Fold is the furthest thing from an impulse purchase, but I still anticipate a fairly high level of demand for the device as a holiday gift for people with money to burn. Should the first wave of iPhone Fold pre-orders sell out, that December release date likely means those people will have to wait until the new year.
Of course, there's no guarantee that Long is even right. But I'd wager there's a very good chance that the iPhone Fold will definitely arrive this year. Not only has it just taken a big step towards mass production, but any further delays to the release mean it'll miss out on Apple's 50th anniversary year. That would be a huge missed opportunity, even if next year is also the 20th anniversary of the first iPhone.
