iPhone Fold: 5 Things We Learned This Week About Apple’s Foldable
It’s been a big week for foldable iPhone rumors. In case you missed any of them, here are five improvements we’ve made in the past few days.
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone Fold this September. For everything else we know, be sure to check out our dedicated collection.
Show Crease
Previous reports have suggested that Apple has solved the crease problem that has plagued many folds in the market, thanks to a new panel provided by Samsung that has been variously described as “almost crease free” and “no crease at all.” However, a recent report suggests that things may have gone too far. BloombergMark Gurman says that the new display technology used by Apple reduces the crease without eliminating it completely, and that the result is “not perfect,” suggesting that it might be wise to lower expectations.
Outdoor display camera
Previous rumors have revealed that Apple has opted to use a hole-punch for the front-facing camera on the 5.5-inch external display. There are no Face ID components under the display (Touch ID is integrated into the side button instead), but whether it will be embedded in the usual pill-shaped cutout was unclear. Gurman has now confirmed that the small hole-punch cutout replaces the pill-shaped notch from today’s iPhones, but that the design will still feature the Dynamic Island interface for system notifications and Live Actions.
Internal display camera
Earlier reports suggested that Apple intends to use the under-screen camera technology in the iPhone Fold’s 7.8-inch internal display, making it the first full-screen iPhone. Those rumors may have been true at the time, but it looks like Apple has abandoned the idea. Per Gurman’s latest report, Apple has apparently decided that the way under the display “produces the worst image quality,” and has now decided to use a hole-punch cutout, similar to the one on the outer screen.
iOS or iPadOS?
Since the iPhone Fold’s internal display will be close to the iPad mini in size with a 4:3 aspect ratio, there have been lingering questions about whether it will work like a regular iPhone when closed and an iPad when open, and which OS it will run. This week, Gurman provided the answer. When the device is turned on, the UI will have an iPad-like layout that supports multitasking with two apps side by side. Most apps will feature sidebars on the left side of the display, and developers will be given tools to modify their existing apps for the new interface. However, the device will run iOS, not iPadOS. Gurman said it won’t support the full range of multitasking features available on the iPad, and it won’t use existing iPadOS apps.
Storage and RAM
Like the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro/Max, Apple’s first foldable iPhone will have 12GB of RAM, and Samsung is set to start shipping DRAM in the second quarter of this year in line with Apple’s production schedule. Korean media An instrument reports that Samsung was able to negotiate a much higher price than previous memory deals with Apple. The higher cost is due to tightening the global memory allocation during the creation of the AI server. As for storage options, Apple will offer the device in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities, says respected leaker Instant Digital, suggesting that the top 1TB option could cost around $3,000. At a glance, the larger iPhone Fold can reach the cost of two 1TB iPhone 17 Pro devices.
