Apple pushes foldable iPhone to 2027, moves Vision Pro engineers into the project

Rumor mill: Reports that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone or iPad date back to 2017. While competitors have released multiple versions of foldable handsets, Apple hasn't even acknowledged that it's considering such a device, except in patents. The latest reports say the foldable isn't arriving until 2027.

Apple has reportedly delayed the heavily rumored foldable iPhone again. An unnamed Apple "senior official" told Korean news outlet AlphaBiz that the company has pushed back the release of a foldable device from the fourth quarter of 2026 to the first quarter of 2027.

Meanwhile, Apple told its supply chain to continue part production as previously scheduled. So, the postponement appears to be related to the device launch rather than problems assembling the foldable. In fact, Cupertino has shifted some of its engineers from the Vision Pro team to work on the foldable.

However, take the news with a whole shaker of salt. Supply chains tend to be reliable sources of information since they work directly with Apple, but this is just the latest in a long line of "coming soon" rumors.

Even the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 couldn't escape creasing/warping.

In 2020, a supply chain leak said Apple was already testing a foldable iPhone prototype that would be ready for launch by 2022. That never happened. In 2021, well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that an 8-inch QHD foldable would arrive in 2023. Those plans fell through. Last year, Ming said a foldable iPad would launch this year. According to this leak, that prediction won't pan out either.

So, rumors, expectations, and delays have been scattershot. Furthermore, Q1 2027 is still nearly three years away - literally, anything could happen between now and then, including Apple abandoning the project altogether.

At this point, the display appears to be the only thing holding the device back (and perhaps the hinge). Cupertino is supposedly planning to source its foldable display from Samsung or LG. In February, an insider said that Apple had two working clamshell prototypes, but they were having issues with screen creases.

Flexible displays are still immature, and recent devices have had issues with warping and creasing, which is unacceptable for Apple. If its engineers cannot find a solution to completely eliminate screen defects, it might put off the project indefinitely.