Apple's long-rumoured folding iPhone will launch in late 2026, according to display analyst Ross Young.
It'll inject new excitement into a "stagnating" market for foldables.
We've been hoping for a folding iPhone for some years now, and there's a growing consensus that we'll see it in 2026.
A new report from a respected industry analyst adds fuel to the folding-iPhone fire, saying that not only will Apple enter the market for foldables in 2026, it'll reinvigorate the entire sector too.
It comes from Ross Young of Display Supply Chain, which monitors the many companies involved in every stage of manufacturing products, and helps tech firms plan for the future. In his latest analysis, he describes a declining market for folding phones alongside his "optimism" around Apple's entry into it.
Apple's folding phone is tipped to be a big hit
According to Young, the folding phone market is starting to stagnate.
It is dominated by just two brands – Samsung and Huawei – and sales of even the most exciting foldables, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, are expected to be relatively disappointing. According to Young, the market is very regional.
Demand for foldables is "highly concentrated" in Korea and Europe, but the brands have struggled to persuade US and Chinese customers to get excited about folding phones.
Apple, of course, has a dominant position in the US market and its move into foldable iPhones is likely to electrify the sector – especially if, as Young suggests, Apple improves on existing designs: "Any improvement in form factor, functionality, use cases, durability etc could drive new demand for this market," he says.
With Apple on board, 2026 could prove to be a record year for folding phones. Any foldable iPhone is going to be an enormous success unless it's really ridiculously priced, which seems unlikely. And Young also predicts at least one new brand offering a tri-fold phone in 2026.
