After months of swirling concern over hinge reliability, Apple’s long-anticipated foldable iPhone, aka iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold, now looks to be on solid footing for a fall launch, according to a new supply chain report Wednesday.
Report: Apple foldable iPhone hinge woes resolved ahead of likely September debut
Apple has apparently resolved the folding iPhone hinge problem, locked in key specifications for the device and entered the final preparation phase for mass production, with Foxconn set to kick off full-scale manufacturing around the end of July, Korean supply chain outlet The Elec reported.
A troubled hinge, now largely tamed
The hinge has loomed as the defining anxiety of the foldable iPhone’s development cycle. Unlike the glass-and-aluminum slabs Apple has refined for nearly two decades, a folding phone lives and dies by the mechanism at its spine. It dictates the feel of opening and closing, the depth of the crease at the fold and whether the device survives years of daily use.
Those concerns proved well-founded during testing. A Taiwanese industry source told The Elec that the hinge produced faint noise after enduring durability tests spanning of opening and closing cycles. In certain assembly steps, manufacturing tolerances also ran wider than expected, pushing defect rates higher than Apple would accept. The source added, however, that engineers have since addressed most of those problems.
Hinge components for the device come from two suppliers: Taiwan’s Shin Zu Shing and U.S.-based Amphenol. Both companies manufacture their hinge modules using 3D-printing techniques.
What’s inside the device
Samsung Display supplies the foldable 7.8-inch OLED panel, which uses a newer design that eliminates one of the traditional screen layers and instead builds the color-filtering layer directly into the display stack, making the screen thinner, lighter and more power-efficient. Samsung Display recently cleared Apple’s approval process for initial module shipments out of its Vietnam factory, clearing one of the last hurdles before volume production.
Beyond the inner display, the device is expected to sport a 5.5-inch cover display. It should also feature Apple’s A20 chip, a C2 modem, a Touch ID power button in place of Face ID, and two rear cameras. Pricing estimates come in around $2,000.
September still the target — with some asterisks
The Elec‘s supply chain sources indicate that Apple aims to unveil the device at its traditional September event, and that the schedule holds without major disruption. That news arrives against a backdrop of contradictory rumors: as recently as mid-June, some voices in the industry floated the possibility that Apple might announce the phone in the fall but push sales to 2027, citing lingering hinge concerns and the strict quality bar Apple tends to apply to a first-generation product in a new category.
The report also points to a broader shift in Apple’s iPhone launch strategy this year. With the foldable joining the lineup, the September event spotlight looks set to fall on the Pro, Pro Max, and the foldable itself. Supply chain sources suggest the standard iPhone models could split off into a separate launch window, potentially slipping to spring of next year.
Worth keeping in perspective
The Elec carries a solid reputation for supply chain accuracy. But its track record on product feature details is spottier. And while “most issues resolved” sounds reassuring, it stops short of a clean bill of health — something worth bearing in mind for anyone planning to pre-order on day one.
The coming weeks, as mass production ramps and trial builds give way to shipping units, will tell the fuller story. For now, the evidence points toward September.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
