Analysis: Mixed signals emerge on Apple's 1st foldable iPhone

Apple's much–anticipated entry into the foldable phone market is shrouded in confusion.

Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday that the company's first foldable iPhone is hitting engineering snags that could delay mass production by months. Multiple sources told the publication that the engineering development phase has proven more complex than Apple expected.

But Chinese media outlets cited supply chain sources saying the project was "moving forward normally" and the product would launch in the second half of 2026, adding that Apple's long-time assembly partner Foxconn has already begun trial production.

An increasingly crowded market

While Apple grapples with its first foldable phone, nearly every major smartphone maker has already brought multiple generations of foldables to market. The technology that Apple is still testing has been available from competitors for years.

Samsung, the pioneer of modern foldable phones, released its first Galaxy Fold in 2019 and now offers its 7th-gen lineup.

Huawei, despite facing US sanctions that have limited its access to the best chip-making and Western markets, has released multiple generations of the Mate X series and the Pocket line. The company also pioneered with tri–fold devices that open into a larger screen format, while inventing the "wide folding" form, whose display expands into a 16-to-10 ratio that is good for both video and productivity.

Other Chinese manufacturers have joined the race. Xiaomi offers the Mix Fold series, Oppo has the Find N line, Vivo sells the X Fold and Honor produces the Magic V. ZTE's Nubia has released an affordable foldable called the Nubia Flip.

Why foldables remain niche

Despite the growing number of options, foldable phones still represent a tiny slice of the overall smartphone market. IDC, a market research firm, estimates that global shipments reached roughly 20.6 million units in 2025 – less than 2% of the more than 1 billion smartphones sold worldwide.

The reasons for this limited adoption come down to persistent trade-offs that manufacturers have struggled to overcome.

The crease that forms where the screen bends remains visible and, for many users, unavoidable. The folding mechanism itself is fragile. What's worse, the repair costs for screen replacements can be staggeringly high. Battery life also suffers from the large screen. Price is another barrier. Foldable phones typically cost 1.5 to 2 times as much as their flagship non-foldable counterparts, with some models retailing for the equivalent of $1,800 or more.

Apple's track record of taking emerging technologies and making them accessible to mass audiences has fueled expectations that it could do the same for foldables. But the conflicting reports suggest that even Apple, with its massive supply chain leverage and engineering resources, is finding the technology harder to master than anticipated. If the company cannot solve the engineering challenges by early May, delays could push the launch well into late 2026 or even 2027.