Apple’s foldable iPhone could land in September 2026, alongside the iPhone 18

With the help of the Vision Pro team

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It’s looking like we might still be waiting quite a while for the firstfoldable iPhone, but we now have a clearer idea of exactly when it could land, with the latest leak pointing to September 2026.

This leak comes from Korean siteAlpha Economy(viaAndroid Authority), citing “an official familiar withApple’s internal affairs,” and while some previous leaks had also suggestedthe foldable iPhone might land in 2026, this is the first time the release window has been narrowed down to a month.

A launch in September 2026 would likely mean the foldable iPhone lands alongside the iPhone 18, as Apple tends to launch its flagships in September. That would also mean it would probably land slightly after theSamsungGalaxy Z Fold 8, which will likely launch in August of 2026 based on past form.

The best selling foldable by a long way

In any case, this source additionally claims that a “significant number” of people who were working on theVision Prohave been shifted over to development of this phone, and that Apple expects to sell around 50 million units.

For reference,DSCCpredicted in mid-2023 that 15.8 million foldable phones would be sold throughout the whole of 2023, so 50 million just from own brand – even if that brand is Apple – seems an extremely high number. But if any company can make foldable phones truly mainstream, it’s this one.

We would however take all of this with a pinch of salt, especially the September 2026 release date. That’s still a long way out, so even if this information is accurate, anything could happen to change Apple’s plans in the meantime.

We also recently heard that apparentlydevelopment of the foldable iPhone was on holdbecause Apple hasn’t been able to find a screen that meets its requirements, and that claim seems a little at odds with this latest leak.

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One thing’s for sure – we won’t be seeing a foldable iPhone anytime soon, and while it might land alongside the iPhone 18 it’s really too early to be at all sure.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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