iPhone foldable looking increasingly likely for 2026

It’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll be seeing the first iPhone foldable in 2026.

Back in February reports from South Korea suggested that Apple’s first ever foldable smartphone would be coming in late 2026, presumably alongside the iPhone 18.

Now a new report on Apple’s iPhone roadmap appears to corroborate those claims. According to The Information, Apple is working on a foldable iPhone release for 2026.

Apple has apparently been reaching out to Asian suppliers to make components for the new foldable. Following an earlier report from the same website, which claimed that Apple had been working on two foldable prototypes, it seems the company has finally settled on an initial form factor.

The first iPhone foldable will apparently take the form of a clamshell smartphone like the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.

It’s claimed that this compact foldable phone has been given the name ‘V68’ at Apple HQ, which seems to indicate that it has moved beyond the conceptual stage and is now an actual product in development.

Among the engineering issues Apple is said to be addressing is the familiar one of how to iron out that crease that invariably remains over the hinge when such a device is open. It’s also apparently looking to make the device thinner – an obvious boon when such a foldable device essentially doubles in thickness when in the closed position.

Another interesting snippet to emerge from this new report concerns next year’s non-foldable iPhone 17. Apparently, Apple is looking to implement a variable aperture camera, allowing for more natural and flexible bokeh effects.