APPLE is reportedly building a top-secret iPhone with a design twist that no other mobile has.
The handset is rumoured to have been in development for years – and might be nearly ready for release.
Recent leaks suggest that Apple is quietly developing its first foldable .
It would mean Apple joining some of its biggest smartphone rivals that have already released folding mobiles – including Samsung, Huawei, and Google.
Folding phones have the advantage of having giant screens that can be folded inwards, allowing it to still fit in your pocket.
Now Apple is expected to release its own version, which is tipped to the world's first foldable phone with no crease on the screen.
That's according to Korean industry publication ETNews, which says that Apple will have finished picking suppliers by April.
And it reports that Apple will start manufacturing the parts for the phone in the second half of 2025.
Then, the gadget would be expected to release in the second half of 2026 – probably in September, alongside the expected iPhone 18.
It would give Apple the edge over the iPhone's foldable rivals, all of which have creases in the middle of the screen.
"Apple has decided to eliminate the crease at all costs," said an industry insider speaking to ETNews.
"Regardless of price, to differentiate its foldable phone from existing models.
"It is believed that a new material property has been developed to make the crease disappear."
The company reportedly building the screens for Apple's foldable gadget is rumoured to be Samsung Display.
That might sound odd, but Samsung Display (which makes screens) and Samsung Mobile (which makes the phones) are both separate divisions of Samsung Electronics.
And Samsung Display has provided screens for Apple gadgets for years now.
Sadly there's no guarantee on an exact release date.
But prolific Apple leaker and Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman recently said that Apple is looking at "finishing up development of its first foldable device for 2026".
Several other leaks have also pointed to 2026 or 2027 releases for the long-rumoured gadget.
Of course Apple hasn't confirmed any official plans for a foldable phone.
Here's what The Sun's tech editor has to say...
How badly do you want a foldable phone? Unless you're a tech geek, you probably never even think about it.
I am a tech geek – and I hardly give it thought.
Of course, foldable phones are a good idea if perfectly executed.
After all, there's nothing wrong with wanting a phone that can have both a regular screen and giant one too – but still fit in your pocket.
The problem is that there are so many trade-offs.
You'll have to deal with a big old crease down the middle of the screen.
And foldable phones so often end up very thick, or long, or both.
That's not to mention the price of foldable phones, which often cost hundreds more than their regular counterparts.
Wallets are strained under the growing cost of life, not to mention tech and subscriptions – so new gadgets needs to feel very useful to justify forking out extra.
So until a company can resolve at least some of these problems with foldable phones, they'll struggle to reach the mainstream in the way that regular phones have.
Apple is often brilliant at making things catch on, even if it's not always first across the line.
And if Apple can solve at least the creasing issue – and maybe the thickness problem too – then it could make foldable phones more desirable.
Maybe I'll finally be converted.
For now, I'm sticking with tapping my flat slab of metal and glass.
And it won't even reveal details of its 2025 iPhone launch event until a week or two before the big day.
Meanwhile Apple's rivals have raced ahead on the foldables phone front.
The battle kicked off in late 2018 with Chinese start-up Royole's folding Flexpai.
But it didn't grab mainstream attention until the Samsung Galaxy Fold launch in 2019.
Since then, we've seen foldable phones from Huawei, Motorola, Google, and Vivo – but nothing from Apple.
Complaints around foldable phones often focus on device thickness, the crease on the screen, and the higher prices.
So Apple might need to resolve one or more of those issues to send the gadgets mainstream.
Here's how iPhone screen sizes have changed over the years – as measured in inches diagonally from corner to corner...
Picture Credit: Apple / The Sun
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