October 1, 2025, 8:15 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Apple has been working on its own foldable for years–but the biggest hurdle remains the production of foldable displays. It is considered certain that Samsung Display will manufacture the panels. However, mass production is not expected to start until 2026–just in time for a fall launch.
iPhone Fold to Get Premium Parts from Samsung
The main focus of a foldable is certainly the foldable screen. Currently, only a few manufacturers have the capacity to reliably produce flexible OLED panels in large quantities. Since Apple already has a partnership with Samsung Display for the production of iPhone displays, the company has been in talks for some time as a supplier for the iPhone Fold.
According to well-known industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has already finalized the foldable screen as one of the few components. Samsung Display has been commissioned with production since June 2025 and plans a production capacity of 7 to 8 million screen panels for 2026. This is unlikely to meet the expected demand, so further production runs are likely in 2027.
As reported by the South Korean industry magazine “ChosunBiz,” Lee Cheong, president of Samsung Display, stated: “We are also advancing preparations for the mass production of OLEDs for foldable smartphones, which are to be delivered to a North American customer.” This refers to Apple. Cheong also mentioned that the “8.6 Generation” OLEDs are expected to go into mass production in the third quarter of 2026. The new generation has a larger glass substrate to optimize production.
iPhone Fold Production to Begin as Early as 2025
iPhone Fold: When Will Apple’s Foldable Smartphone Arrive?
Pre-production at Foxconn from Mid-2025
According to a post by Ming-Chi Kuo on X (formerly Twitter), Apple plans to begin pre-series production of its first foldable in the second half of 2025 with its Chinese partner Foxconn. The “project is expected to officially start at the end of the third quarter of 2025 or the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2025,” Kuo said.
Currently, it is still unclear which final components will be used. The hinge, in particular, is considered a crucial component, and according to Kuo, its development status is still open as of June 2025. Only after these works are completed can the production of prototypes begin.
Apple Does Not Expect Huge Demand
According to Kuo, Apple has ordered between 15 and 20 million units of the iPhone Fold–a quantity that, according to market rumors, significantly exceeds current production capacities for displays. However, these orders are expected to cover demand for two to three years.
The model is unlikely to be a bestseller. The device is expected to cost around 2,000 euros, and Apple itself apparently does not anticipate particularly high volumes. For comparison, the company sold nearly 77 million units of the iPhone 16 alone in the fourth quarter of 2024 (Source: Statista).
The global market for foldable smartphones is growing, but the pace remains moderate. Statista forecasts sales of 27.6 million devices for 2025–a slight increase compared to 25 million the previous year. By 2027, however, the number could rise to 48.1 million, with a large portion likely attributed to Apple’s iPhone Fold.