Apple might have dissected this Android foldable to recreate its crease-less screen

It’s no secret that Apple is heavily invested in launching its first folding iPhone soon. It’s expected to launch in 2026 and will adopt a wider aspect ratio than most book-style foldables, so the iPhone unfolds into a layout somewhat similar to that of an iPad Mini. And one of its priorities is likely to build a folding inner screen without a visible crease.

In the pursuit of building the perfect, crease-free iPhone Fold, Apple is supposedly tinkering with existing foldables from other brands. Based on a rumor shared by a Weibo account with the username “Fixed-focus digital cameras,” Apple tore apart an OPPO Find N5 while trying to decode what enables the screen’s crease to be so minimal.

The tipster notes that Apple’s decision to specifically dig into OPPO’s latest foldable stemmed from none of its screen prototypes surpassing the unobtrusiveness of the Find N5’s crease. However, they could not disclose whether Apple could finally decipher the ingredient(s) to the secret sauce or build a prototype that finally beat OPPO.

Notably, the inner folding display deployed on the OPPO Find N5 is made by Samsung. This may be one of the reasons Apple decided to shift to sourcing displays from Samsung after supposedly trying to create them in-house. Most recently, we heard rumors about Samsung’s creaseless display technology, which was showcased at CES 2025, debuting on the iPhone Fold rather than an upcoming Galaxy Z Fold phone.

The practice of probing rivals isn’t new in the mobile phone industry, and it’s also possible that Apple tore down multiple book-style foldables, not just OPPO, for R&D. It’s difficult to know for sure without access to Apple’s real-life Testing Floor.