Apple would continue to work on the design of a folding iPhone.
To be prepared for any eventuality, Apple engineers are working on many long-term projects. There is the project of an electric car, or that of the mixed reality headset which ended up giving the Apple Vision Pro. On the smartphone side, there is obviously the arrival of AI and the move to folding design.
The media The Information advance to have been able to obtain new information on the project of a foldable iPhone at Apple.
In project since 2018
According to the site, Apple has been working on a folding design since 2018. Two products are currently at the prototype stage and would adopt the clamshell format that we know well with the Galaxy Z Flip or Motorola Razr 40 Ultra.
However, development would still be in its infancy and very far from a marketable device. Apple is studying the area and wants to be ready for the year when the folding smartphone could take over traditional formats.
The objective for Apple would be to create an iPhone whose folded thickness would not exceed that of a contemporary iPhone 15. We can imagine the brand wanting to explain that a folding iPhone does not take up more space in a pocket.
Another element studied by the firm’s engineers: the integration of an additional screen on the external side of the smartphone. Here again, this is an element that we already know about folding smartphones. But this obviously creates an additional difficulty in designing a thin folding smartphone.
And a folding iPad
Another project at Apple concerning a foldable device, this time on the iPad side. The idea would be to offer an evolution of the iPad mini that folds inwards. Its design would be simpler than the iPhone, since it has a larger volume and with fewer necessary components.
It is difficult to predict when these two projects could come to fruition.