According to a recent report, Apple rejected a flip-style folding phone because it didn't do anything new.
It's thought that Apple will launch a wide-style folding phone later in 2026.
Apple is thought to be preparing the launch of its first folding phone – but according to one source, the Cupertino company rejected a flip style iPhone because it was "unnecessary".
Rumours have long suggested that Apple will be launching an "iPhone Fold" that has a book-style design rather than flip style. Indeed, as an extension of that, it's thought that Apple will have a wider aspect folding phone, offering something different to what's already on the market.
According to Momentary Digital on Weibo (via 9to5Mac), Apple dismissed the idea of a flip phone, saying that it was "unnecessary". It seems that the argument was that a flip form factor doesn't do anything apart from be more compact – and Apple wanted something that came with new usage scenarios.
Phones like the Galaxy Z Flip 7 just makes the phone experience more compact, coming with retro charm that harks back to flip phones of the past, while taking up a little less space in a pocket or bag.
But they don't do anything that a candybar phone doesn't, because the screen is the same size and once opened, and the experience is very much the same too. On the other hand, designing the phone is more difficult because it's in two segments.
A book style folding phone comes with an advantage: it opens up to reveal a larger screen space than typical phones, which means it can do things that normal phones struggle with. Personally, I've found that having a larger display is mostly only beneficial for viewing spreadsheets, while other apps are pretty much the same – just larger or squarer.
A wide style folding phone might change that, opening up with more of a tablet style of device. Importantly, this might keep an aspect that's more useful for things like movie watching which isn't very good on current folding phone models, because most of the extra space just turns into black bars top and bottom.
Elsewhere we've seen some CAD files purporting to be the iPhone Fold shared by Sonny Dickson on X, although Dickson has something of a mixed history leaks, so take it with a pinch of salt.
These show a device that seems to have picked up on the iPhone Air design and taken into a wider folding phone design, reminiscent of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
Apple is a master at keeping secrets hidden, so we're unlikely to know what Apple's plans are for the iPhone Fold until they are revealed. It's likely that if Apple decides to launch a folding phone, it will be alongside the iPhone 18 at an event in September 2026.
