Apple won't make an iPhone Fold until foldables are perfect, so I don't think we'll ever see a foldable iPhone

Date:
Fri, 26 Dec 2025 17:30:00 +0000

Description:
Why play a flawed game when it can win without playing?

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Rumors have circulated for years that Apple is considering a foldable iPhone
, and even folks who dont follow every smartphone rumor have become curious enough to ask me about it.

Is Apple really making a foldable iPhone? was the most common phone question
I got over the holidays, and the answer had me thinking. Apple doesnt need to make a foldable phone. The rumors about Apples foldable phone are doing a
good enough job of beating the competition.

Since the earliest Apple iPhone Fold rumors appeared, there has been one repeated refrain: Apple wont accept a crease. Every foldable phone has a slight crease on the glass where it bends. It is hardly noticeable and not at all unpleasant. Ive used every major folding phone - from the big Galaxy Z Fold 7 to the compact Motorola Razr Ultra . I have no complaints about the crease; it doesnt bother me at all. The OnePlus Open is a gorgeous phone,
even with the crease (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

Still, it seems like a very Apple complaint, doesnt it? By leaking rumors
that it wont build a foldable phone that has a noticeable crease, Apple directly calls attention to the biggest apparent flaw in all of its competition.

I say "apparent" because its only a flaw if youve seen a foldable phone but youve never used one. The crease is no bother, but it is visible, so Apple
can highlight the issue for its own fans, who will never realize its not a problem for foldable owners.

Its a little bit genius, and a little mean-spirited. Apple gets to float
along on the rumors that it wouldnt deign to create a foldable phone.
Foldable phones have an inherent flaw, and by implication, Apple only creates flawless phones. It gets to win at the foldable phone game by calling the
game stupid, packing up its ball, and going home alone. When I'm wrong about Apple's foldable, send me this story The Samsung Galaxy Round was the first curved-glass smartphone from 2013

Will Apple ever make a foldable phone? Im less convinced than ever. If the rumors are true, Apple is holding out for a material that is as strong as glass, but can fold in half without revealing a crease. I dont see how this
is possible (please send me this story in five years when Im proven wrong!).

I think there will always be enough of a crease in the glass that Apple will have an excuse to never make a foldable phone. Then it will always be able to let the rumors do the work of implying the competition made a flawed product with a crease.

It makes more sense for Apple to skip foldable phones than to actually make a foldable. Foldable phones are not very popular, especially not in the US, where Apple is most dominant. Foldable phones are also very expensive.

It costs much more to buy a foldable tablet phone than it costs to buy a comparable phone and a mini tablet separately. And Apple is one of the only tablet makers that sells mini tablets.

You can buy an iPhone 17 ($799 in the US) and an iPad mini ($499 in the US) for just over half the price of a Galaxy Z Fold 7 ($1,999 in the US).
Foldable rumors are a helpful distraction while Apple works on... everything else Pay no attention to the man behind the curt... er, goggles (Image
credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

When will Apple release an iPhone Fold? Im not sure that will ever happen. Apple has plenty of other great products that are already on the market,
ready to mature into something even greater.

Apple Vision Pro is just the start of Apples head-mounted wearable
computers. We could see smaller goggles or even smart glasses before the iPhone Fold. Apple Watch gets more advanced health tracking and communication features with every generation. Even accessories like AirPods are getting
more robust features with every generation, including live translation and health tracking, making them much more than the simple earbuds from which
they originated.

Im giving up hope on an iPhone Fold, and Im chalking up the rumors to competition. The iPhone Fold is a red herring - its a distraction that is
more successful as a rumor than it would be as an actual product. Apple
doesnt need to sell an iPhone Fold to beat the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. It just needs to feed the rumors that foldable
phones arent good enough for Apple.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/apple-wont-make-an-iphone-fold-until-f oldables-are-perfect-so-i-dont-think-well-ever-see-a-foldable-iphone


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