Foldable iPhone: Learn Everything About The Future Launch
To compete with Samsung and Motorola, Apple is developing its own foldable smartphone model. In the last decades, every Apple innovation causes huge excitement among tech lovers. Their new models and products have always been a reason for high speculations, heated debates, and consumption desire. The latest news, which still has many details to be confirmed, is about the new foldable iPhone — the absolute innovation regarding the iPhone models.
The leaks about the new iPhone came in 2020, speculating details about its design, price, and colors. Most of the rumors came from Jon Prosser, tech analyst, creator of the YouTube channel “Front Page Tech,” and “reliable leaker.”
The new foldable iPhone has no name yet. Most tech sites have been calling it “iPhone Flip” or “iPhone Fold.” Although Apple is yet to release official information about the foldable model’s launch, market analysts stipulate that the model may be launched in 2023. What do we know about it? Enough to feel excited about its arrival!
Leaks, rumors, and expectations
Many tech sites have spent the last months discussing the foldable iPhone’s development. Currently, the main information about the device is its design, components, functionalities, and price.
Design
Until February 2021, the rumors were focused on the foldable iPhone shape, which included two distinct possibilities: a real folding display, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold model, and two different screens, apart from a hinge, in a clamshell design, more similar to the Motorola Razr or the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.
After the latest leaks made by Prosser, everything indicates that both models could be considered, but the flip one would be at an advanced testing stage and, therefore, more likely to be launched first.
Internally, Apple discussed different screen sizes, including one that unfolds at 6.7 inches, the same size as the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The screen size is in the average of foldable smartphones’ standard sizes, which are between 6 and 8 inches.
Components and functionalities
The rumors about this clamshell model, composed of two screens and a hinge, suggest that the foldable iPhone’s edges shall be made of stainless steel and rounded (like the iPhone 11 line), distinguished from the squared-off edges in all iPhone 12 models.
About its camera, information from a patent office in the United States indicates that Apple registered the prototype of a system that would operate on a flexible screen phone, named “camera systems for bendable electronic devices” (patent number 20210021768). This applies not only to foldable iPhones but also to the Apple Watch.
The smartphone still may come with flexible OLED panels provided by Samsung, supposedly supplied even last year. OLED screens are generally seen as more sophisticated than LCDs, and their flexible feature is fundamental to the folding model.
Beyond the camera innovation and the panels’ technologies, the iPhone colors were also a target of rumors released by Prosser. According to the YouTuber, the foldable model may be available in “fun colors,” not defined yet.
Quality tests and price
The tests have been done in a Foxconn fabric, a Taiwanese manufacturer of computers and electronic components. The prototypes were folded about 100,000 times to attest to the durability and resistance of the device’s hinges. Since the intention was to test durability and resistance, the speculation points out that the phones tested had minimal internal components.
This fact proves there is an intention to launch the foldable iPhone soon, but the features and internal details that make the smartphone what it is are still in the decisive process. Considering most iPhone prices, the estimated price is not low but is probable. According to Prosser, the foldable iPhone may cost $1,499.
Why is it taking so long to launch the foldable iPhone?
As there is already consensus worldwide, Apple devices are known for high quality and fast operation, without crashes or other common problems. Considering this point, it would be hard for the company to release a new iPhone, with an innovative and unprecedented design, without attesting to its quality and resources. That is why the launch of the new and foldable iPhone does not have a release date. The launch is postponed because the adjustment of all these resources is not finalized.
