Foldable iPhone Development Progressing Ahead of 2026 Launch

Apple moved its long-rumored foldable iPhone into its prototyping phase with suppliers last month ahead of a launch scheduled for next year, DigiTimes reports.

According to supply chain sources speaking to DigiTimes, Apple began its initial Prototype 1 (P1) phase in June. The device should complete prototype testing by the end of 2025 and then proceed to the Engineering Verification Test (EVT) stage, ahead of launch in the second half of 2026.

The P1 phase is followed by P2 and P3 phases before EVT. Each prototyping stage takes around two months. During this time, Apple's supply chain partners conduct limited trial runs before handing over assembly responsibilities to primary ‌iPhone‌ assemblers Foxconn and Pegatron, who will validate production yields and manufacturability.

The development status of the first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is now in line with the timeline of its other products, with P1 to P3 stages taking place around a year before Apple needs to start EVT, Design Verification Test (DVT), and eventually Mass Production (MP). The iPhone 17 lineup apparently concluded its EVT phase in the second quarter of this year.

‌DigiTimes‌ added that Apple has paused work on a foldable iPad, which was originally expected to launch around the time of the foldable ‌iPhone‌. The company's reasoning for this apparently includes manufacturing difficulties, increased production costs related to flexible display technology, and low consumer demand for big-screen foldables.

Apple's first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is currently likely to launch alongside the iPhone 18 lineup in the fall of 2026.