Apple held a new product launch event on Wednesday (September 9), expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone. Industry insiders believe that this foldable iPhone may become the “platinum bag” in the mobile phone market in China.
The first-generation foldable phone from Apple is positioned higher than its existing iPhone product line, with an expected starting price of around $2,000; and the price for higher storage capacity versions could be around $3,000. Apple has not officially confirmed the product name, price, and specifications, with most of the related information coming from reports by media outlets such as Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday (8th) that this foldable device will be the biggest single design change in the development history of the iPhone in nearly 20 years. Currently, the iPhone accounts for about half of Apple’s total sales revenue. Therefore, Apple’s foray into the foldable screen market is seen as an important attempt to seek new growth opportunities in the high-end smartphone market.
This event will also be the first major product event following the appointment of Apple’s new CEO, John Ternus. Ternus took over as CEO on September 1 and is expected to unveil the new generation iPhone and Apple Watch at the event. Tim Cook has transitioned to the role of executive chairman and is expected to attend the event.
Market analysts predict that Apple will lead a new cycle of high-end product with the foldable iPhone.
David Naranjo, Vice President of Counterpoint Research, stated that Apple may further push the iPhone 18 product cycle into the high-end market, with the first generation foldable device expected to be the core product of this strategy.
In the current economic environment, high-end consumers may have relatively lower sensitivity to the price of the iPhone. In recent years, Apple has gradually tested consumers’ acceptance of high-priced iPhones through the Pro series and higher storage versions.
According to Bloomberg, Apple originally wanted to price the foldable iPhone at $1,999, slightly below $2,000; but due to factors such as cost increases caused by memory shortages, the company has recently discussed a starting price of around $2,199, with some large capacity versions potentially nearing $3,000.
Nabila Popal, Senior Smartphone Market Researcher at IDC, believes that even with a high price, Apple’s foldable phone may still succeed; she described the product as possibly becoming the “Birkin” of smartphones in the Chinese market.
Apple aims to provide a wider internal screen ratio, making the device more suitable for watching videos and running multiple apps simultaneously when unfolded.
Bloomberg reported that Apple considered a foldable iPad mini during the design phase, but ultimately chose to develop the foldable iPhone with greater market potential.
On the first-generation foldable phone, Apple’s R&D team focused on solving four key issues: reducing screen creases, improving the hinge system, developing flexible cover glass, and expanding the effective screen area.
However, the foldable structure itself means that certain functions must be compromised. According to Bloomberg, the durability of the device may not be as good as traditional flat iPhones, users need to unfold the phone to fully utilize the advantages of the large screen; its camera system and battery life may also be weaker compared to Apple’s traditional high-end models at the same period.
It is reported that Apple’s hardware engineering team had already started researching foldable phones, flexible displays, and related components before Samsung released its first Galaxy Fold in 2019. Around 2020, during Cook’s visits to China and other regions in Asia, he observed the increasing popularity of foldable phones from brands like Samsung and Huawei, prompting Apple to accelerate the progress of this project.
Foldable screen phones are still a niche category in the overall smartphone market, but their growth rate is faster than other phone categories. IDC predicts that global foldable screen phone shipments will increase by about 13% in 2026, reaching 22.9 million units; in comparison, the total global smartphone shipments exceed 1 billion units.
Bloomberg reported that Wall Street expects Apple’s foldable iPhone to sell between 7 to 10 million units in its first year. Internally, Apple believes that initial supply may be limited by manufacturing complexities, but they believe the market demand is sufficient to absorb all produced inventory.