Is Apple One Step Closer to Coming Out With a Foldable iPhone?
There have been reports of a foldable Apple iPhone for years, but tech tongues are wagging that we could be seeing an actual, real-life model sooner rather than later.
Tech site MacRumors says two prototype foldable iPhones have passed internal durability tests recently, citing the Taiwanese website Economic Daily News. The tests for the Apple-designed folding hinge system were completed at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China.
According to the Taiwanese wesbite report, now the testing has concluded, “Apple is expected to evaluate which of the two foldable models to proceed with, and only one will be carried forwards into continued development.”
This is similar to a report by industry insider Jon Prosser, who late last month posted a new video where he revealed that Apple was testing a foldable iPhone.
In the video, Prosser says Apple is working on a prototype of a phone with two separate displays on a hinge, which he says is technically “not a folding iphone.” However, he added that that wasn’t the only prototype the tech giant is working on.
“According to my sources, there is a prototype clamshell folding iPhone similar to the style of the Z Flip from Samsung,” Prosser says. “There are shells of this device being tested in a Shenzhen Foxconn factory. I say shells of this device because it’s not the entire unit, mostly they’re just trying to test the hinge durability [at this stage].”
Prosser adds that this clamshell model will feature an actual foldable display and will use an OLED display from Samsung. According to his source, Apple only plans to push through with one of the two prototypes, meaning consumers will only get to see one or the other at launch, “at least at first.”
As for when we can expect the release of this new iPhone, Prosser said that “reports of a foldable iPhone being ready by September 2022 are ‘a good guess at best.’”
Meanwhile, reports have already come out about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 13, which is set to make significant upgrades to its cameras and make the notch even smaller.
