Apple has ordered 22 million display panels for its first foldable iPhone, targeting a fall 2026 launch at around $2,400. IDC forecasts Apple will capture 22% of the foldable market and 34% of market value in its first year. We cover the leaked specs, the crease-free display technology, the under-display camera breakthrough, and why Samsung is scrambling to launch new foldables before Apple arrives.Join our FREE Business Community - https://whop.com/apex-content/
Episode Transcript
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Thank you so much. Apple has ordered 22 million
OLED panels from Samsung Displayfor its first foldable iPhone.
That production target is more than 30% higher than what the
(01:28):
display industry has expected. I honestly didn't see those
numbers coming, and the foldableiPhone has been a rumor for
years, constantly slipping further into the future.
But now Foxconn is stockpiling components and mass production
is scheduled for summer of 2026.IDC forecasts that Apple will
capture 22% of the foldable market in its first year.
(01:52):
So why does everyone think Appleis about to dominate a category
Samsung has owned since all the way back in 2019?
Now, the device is expected to launch in fall 2026 alongside
the iPhone 18 Pro models like normal, and the price could be
about $2400. Now we're going.
(02:13):
To walk through the leaked design.
Specs. The technical features that
Apple is betting on and what this means for Samsung's
seven-year head start in foldables.
And we'll be right back after this break to get into that.
Now Apple is finally building a foldable iPhone.
The company has been filing patents on foldable technology
(02:36):
for over a decade, but it never shipped any products.
Now, supply chain reports indicate the.
Foxconn. Entered the engineering
validation stage and is preparing for mass production
now. This could be a phone that folds
in half like a book, fits in your pocket when it's closed,
and opens into something the size of an.
IPad Mini. And it will be thinner than all
(02:59):
other phones on the market, guaranteed.
They wouldn't put out a brick, but here is a really key.
Point. Apple's using a book style
design that folds horizontally, similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z
Fold series. When closed you get a 5.5 inch
outer display that works like a normal iPhone.
(03:19):
When opened, the device reveals a 7.8 inch inner screen.
The photo measure between 9 and 9.5mm when folded and around 4.6
to 4.8mm when. Old folder.
That's thinner than any foldableSamsung currently sells.
Now the crease is the problem. Apple thinks that it is solved.
(03:40):
A crease is the visible line that forms along the fold of a
foldable display where the hingesits.
Every foldable phone on the market has 1.
Apple is reportedly using a metal plate inside the display
that disperses the stress generated by bending.
The company is also using liquidmetal in the hinges to improve
durability. And if Apple ships a foldable
(04:02):
with no visible crease, that would be a genuine first to the
market. Now the camera system AJP Morgan
Research report says the foldable iPhone will feature a
24 megapixel under display camera built into the inner
screen. Under display cameras hide the
lens beneath the screen so there's no visible cut out or
punch hole. And the technology exists on
(04:24):
some Android phones, but those cameras typically use 4 to 8
megapixel sensors because image quality suffers when light
passes through display layers. A 24 megapixel under display
camera would be a huge leap. That suggests Apple has achieved
something other manufacturers have not and are probably using
some sort of computational AI software to get a good look out
(04:46):
of this thing. And the photable iPhone will
skip Face ID apparently, and useTouch ID in a side button
instead. Apple needs to save internal
space and the Face ID sensor array is pretty bulky.
The face will also lack a physical SIM slot.
The rear camera system will be adual lens set up with 248
(05:08):
megapixel sensors, which is lesscapable than the triple lens
system on the Pro models. So this is a new category with
its own set of trade-offs. The price is the number that can
make or break this device. Estimates range from 2000 to
$2400. Fuban Research, citing supply
chain data, expects the phone tocost around $2399.
(05:33):
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 cost $1999, Google's Pixel 10 Pro
Fold cost 1799, and Apple would be entering the market at a
steep premium. Some think this is like an
iPhone Ultra, that it might be the name of it more than the
(05:56):
iPhone fold. Because iPhone fold be kind of
boring. It's like Galaxy Fold and Pixel
Fold. They want to be different,
right? So the iPhone Ultra.
So what do we know, right? Now a.
Survey from KeyBank found that 45% of iPhone users are
interested in a foldable device,but 65% of those people said
(06:17):
they would only consider buying one if it cost less than $1500.
It creates a huge gap Apple's expected price 60% higher than
the threshold most interested buyers set for themselves.
The company is betting that its brand, its ecosystem, and its
technical advantages will justify that premium.
In IDC, forecasted Apple will capture 34% of total foldable
(06:39):
market value in its first year, even though it will only have
22% of units shipped. That gap exists because Apple's
device will be priced so much higher than the competition in
dollar terms. Apple could become the biggest
foldable brand immediately, and by 2028, IDC projects Apple will
hold 34% of the foldable market by units, with Android brands
(07:01):
combined holding 52%. That's a huge shift.
Samsung is not standing still, though.
As usual, the company will launch something, and they
launched the Galaxy Z trifold this month, a device with two
hinges that opens into a 10 inchdisplay.
It'll arrive in the US in early 2026, months before the Apple's
(07:21):
foldable. Samsung is also preparing the
Galaxy Z Fold eight in a second Fold model with a different form
factor. Huawei is expanding
aggressively, too, and IDC expects its foldable shipments
to nearly double in 2026 on the strengths of its Harmony OS
platform. In China now, the foldable
market is still pretty small. Shipments hit about 18.7 million
(07:45):
units in 2024, which is roughly 1.5% of the 1.2 billion
smartphones shipped globally. IDC expects that.
To grow. To 20.6 million units in 2026,
as Samsung's trifold launches early and Apple's device closes
out the year. And the category isn't niche,
(08:05):
but the margins are very high. Average selling prices for
foldables are three times higherthan smartphones, and Apple
tends to be a catalyst for mainstream adoption.
The iPhone defined touchscreens.The iPhone defined tablets.
The Apple Watch set standards for wearables.
If the foldable iPhone follows that pattern, the entire
(08:26):
category could shift from early adopter novelty to something
ordinary consumers consider. Samsung has spent seven years
and seven generations refining its foldable tech.
Apple has spent zero. But Apple has a user base that
trust it to enter a category only when the product is
completely ready. Whether the foldable iPhone
lives up to that trust will determine if 2026 becomes the
(08:48):
year foldables finally matter tothe regular public.
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