Apple’s first foldable iPhone may now debut in 2027 instead of 2026, according to a report from Japan’s Mizuho Securities cited by The Elec. The delay is attributed to Apple’s ongoing hinge and display design work, as new details about the device’s internal and external screens emerge.
A report issued by Japanese investment firm Mizuho Securities and cited by Korean tech site The Elec suggests that Apple has long planned to release an iPhone Fold in 2027. The research note asserts that Apple has more time to work out the hinge mechanism and display architecture, which means that it will not be able to start mass production in Q3 2026 and release it at the same time as the iPhone 18 series that September.
Mizuho Securities also changed its panel production forecast of the iPhone Fold and reduced its estimated volumes of 13 million down to 11 million, and currently to 9 million units. Even in a scenario where Apple does a 2026 production plan, Apple might start with a limited quantity of 5 -7 million units in the first shipment which is lower than the aggregate panel production. The company projects the intended volume to be between 10 million and 15 million units depending on the price, and returns rate among others.
All the display panels on the foldable iPhone will be provided by Samsung Display, which also produces the Galaxy Z Fold 7 that was released earlier this year in South Korea at KRW 2.38 million (equivalent of 1,700).
The Apple iPhone Fold will include a 7.58-inch internal screen, a 5.38-inch external one, using CoE (Colour filter on Encapsulation) to eliminate the polariser, a hole-punch display design, and LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) TFT to enhance power efficiency, as per the report.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously indicated that the average selling price of the iPhone Fold hinge may drop as low as about 70-80 USD per unit, or about 20-35 percent lower than originally estimated, due to design optimization and the manufacturing efficiency of Foxconn.
Mizuho also forecasts that Apple might start dividing iPhone releases into fall and spring that will begin in 2026. iPhone 18, scheduled in September 2026, will consist of the Pro, Pro Max, Air, and Fold, and the basic iPhone 18 and the even-cheaper iPhone 18e will be released in spring 2027.
The total amount of iPhone Apple will deliver is estimated to be 229 million units in 2026, about 7 percent less than the 246 million units in 2025, and then it will rebound to 252 million units in 2027, which is a record number in the history of Apple production. Mizuho continues by stating that Apple is already working on more technologies on the iPhone 19 series, as it happens to be the 20 th anniversary of the iPhone, where the price of a foldable phone will be less.
According to the report, the foldable MacBook, which has got an 18.9-inch flexible panel, will not be introduced until 20282029 since Apple will test demand of its foldable iPhone first.
