Inside Apple’s iPhone Flip and iPhone Fold | Here’s What to Expect and When

Apple is currently working on two different models: the iPhone Fold and the iPhone Flip.

Just so you have the concept in your mind, we have no real anecdotes about their names – so I’m using Fold and Flip as placeholders since Apple’s phones look like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Flip. 

Some months ago, it looked like Apple had stopped the development of one of them, but I’ve heard this is no longer the case. 

That doesn’t mean Apple will launch both of them; it just means that the Cupertino-based company is actively working on two different prototypes, and it is unclear which ones it’ll choose to launch. 

Let’s start with the iPhone Fold, the most evolved version in development.

This device will have a “big” 8-inch display, as far as I’m aware. It is currently unclear what the size of the “small” screen will be or if this iPhone will even have one.

My sources suggest Apple is getting ready to use some titanium parts on this iPhone, most likely in the hinge system or the housing. There are many things planned for titanium, and the Cupertino-based company is getting ready for them; you’ll see relatively soon. 

After speaking with people familiar with the matter, I now expect Apple to start this device’s mass production in H2 2023, making it available for a late 2023 or 2024 launch. However, this depends on some final issues Apple needs to solve. I’ll be able to give you a more accurate date when we get closer to it; expect an update on this topic in late 2022 or early 2023. 

And I don’t want to be that guy, but if someone claims to know the exact time this device will be unveiled, that’s a lie because I can assure you no one within Apple knows that right now, not even Tim Cook. There is a lot of work to do, and it’s not even guaranteed that this iPhone Fold will ever be launched, so the company is internally using estimates just like the ones I gave you. It might get pushed forward or backward, and I’ll tell you about it when I hear something like that about this new device. 

I think it is pretty evident that this will be an expensive device, and I don’t expect it to start at less than $1,500; and it’ll probably cost more than that. I assume it all depends on how the development goes and the issues the engineers encounter during it. As I’ve already explained in other stories, the more Apple has to invest in developing a product, the more expensive it’ll be. It needs to cover the costs, nothing crazy. 

I’m not particularly interested in folding phones, I think they are bulky, heavy, and not quite easy to carry every day, but it looks like there is a market for them, and trust me when I tell you Apple wants a piece of it. 

I prefer carrying around my iPhone 13 Pro and taking my iPad Pro in my backpack to the university. I don’t see myself using one big folded iPhone to substitute my current setup; I prefer it, although I understand why some choose to use foldable. It’s a personal choice, after all.

Let’s talk about the iPhone Flip. I’m going to be honest with you; I don’t know a lot about it; the only information I can give you now is that Apple is still working on it, that its development isn’t as evolved as that of the iPhone Fold, and this makes me believe we might not see this one until late 2024 or 2025 at best. However, this is just what I assume.

If Apple ever launches something like this, it will cost more than one thousand dollars. I prefer this model over the Fold one; if I had to buy a foldable phone, it would be this one, but I think I’ll stick to the Pro iPhone that Apple launches each September. 

One last thing, there is a current iPhone Flip prototype that has a 6.5-inch display; I can’t in any way confirm that will be the final display size, because it is just a prototype, and there could be many more that I don’t know about.

Conclusion

Whether we like it or not, foldable phones are here to stay. Apple’s approach has been brilliant, it was a new market, and the company just observed how it did. Nobody really knew if this would be just a temporary trend or if it would be prolonged in time. Now that Apple knows it is the latter, the Cupertino-based company is ready to take a piece of that pie. If the iPhone Fold and the iPhone Flip are as good as the current iPhones, I anticipate this could be one of the most extraordinary moves in the phone industry. We now have to wait and see whether Apple delivers or not. Please let me know in the comments below what you think about this. I hope you found this article helpful. As always, have a fantastic day.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]