Summary
- The iPhone 17 Air debuts this fall as Apple’s thinnest, lightest iPhone with a single rear camera, kicking off years of design changes for the iPhone.
- Apple’s book-style foldable reportedly arrives in 2026, with a design similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7.
- In 2027, a special 20th-anniversary iPhone with curved glass edges is reported to be coming.
While the launch of the iPhone 17 series is only a few weeks away in September, a lot of attention is already turning to what Apple has planned beyond that.
Earlier this summer, Samsung launched its latest book-style foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, to widespread critical acclaim for its thin, lightweight, and powerful design. During my time with the phone, I was captivated by it, and like many others, it got me thinking of what Apple’s long-awaited foldable iPhone would be like.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on Apple’s iPhone plans for the foreseeable future. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to mark the beginning of three years of design changes for the iPhone. The Air model is expected to be Apple’s thinnest and lightest iPhone yet, featuring a single rear camera and a compact battery, and is set to be released this fall alongside the rest of the iPhone 17 series. But what reportedly follows the iPhone 17 Air a year later is what everyone has been waiting for: the foldable iPhone.
Gurman reports that in 2026, Apple’s first foldable iPhone will finally arrive. Reportedly, it’s codenamed “V68” at Apple, and like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it will feature a book-style foldable design that opens into a larger screen, essentially allowing you to carry a mini tablet in your pocket. There have been other reports about the foldable iPhone arriving in late 2026, such as one from The Information earlier this year, so it’s starting to seem very likely that Apple’s first foldable iPhone will arrive in the fall of 2026, and not in 2027.
As for what Apple’s foldable iPhone has in store, the simplest way to put it is that if you like the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s design, you’ll probably be impressed by it.
- Brand
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Samsung
- SoC
-
Snapdragon 8 Elite
- Display
-
6.5-inch 120Hz 2520 x 1080 Dynamic AMOLED 2X Cover Display, 8-inch 120Hz 2184 x 1968 Dynamic OLED 2X Main Display
- RAM
-
12GB
Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy Z Fold 7 is its thinnest and lightest foldable yet.
The foldable iPhone could resemble the Galaxy Z Fold 7
Another iPhone shake-up is coming in 2027
Earlier this summer, Gurman reported the foldable iPhone will offer a “similar design” to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and not “revolutionize the category,” meaning that Apple’s first foldable will be very much in line with foldable tech we’ve already seen from Samsung, and other foldable makers like Google, which recently revealed the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
Gurman is now reporting that the foldable iPhone will feature four cameras: two on the back, one on the front, and one on the inside. Due to its thin design, it will reportedly lack a SIM card slot. While iPhones in the US have lacked a SIM card slot for several generations, iPhones in Europe and Canada still have one.
Another feature the foldable iPhone is expected to have is Touch ID. The last iPhone to be released with Touch ID was the third-generation iPhone SE in 2022, so it seems that in 2026, the foldable iPhone will make a comeback with it.
Overall, if you’re trying to imagine what a foldable iPhone might look like, imagine a slightly smaller Galaxy Z Fold 7 with one less rear camera and an Apple logo on the back.
Other features the foldable iPhone will reportedly have is Apple’s “C2 Modem,” a more advanced version of Apple’s C1 modem introduced with the iPhone 16e earlier this year, and matches more closely the performance of Qualcomm’s modems. The screen on the inside of the phone is also expected to have a less visible crease line, similar to what Samsung did with the Fold 7 this year.
Although many specifications remain uncertain, some leaks suggest that the foldable iPhone will feature a 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inner display. Which would make the phone smaller than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which has a 6.5-inch outer display and an 8-inch inner display. However, with the foldable iPhone still a year away, a lot could change. Gurman reports that production isn’t expected to “ramp up” until early next year.
Overall, if you’re trying to imagine what a foldable iPhone might look like, imagine a slightly smaller Galaxy Z Fold 7 with one less rear camera and an Apple logo on the back. That said, besides the foldable iPhone in 2026, Apple has one other major design change coming, but not until 2027, and that’s its 20th-anniversary iPhone, which, according to Gurman, will have “curved glass edges all around.” However, besides its new glass design, not much else is known about Apple’s special 20th-anniversary iPhone yet.
Personally, after years of the iPhone looking the same, I’m excited to finally hear about some major design changes coming. The past few years have felt stagnant for me, especially with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 series. The last exciting iPhone update for me was Dynamic Island with the iPhone 14 Pro, and since then, it’s felt dull, aside from the introduction of USB-C on the iPhone 15 series. 2025 seems like the start of a new chapter for the iPhone, and I can’t wait to see the foldable iPhone play a central role in the iPhone’s revitalization in 2026.
