Apple is expected to debut its first foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models next month, with IDC predicting it will capture 34 percent of the foldable market by value in its first year, potentially pulling the long-niche category toward the mainstream.
Apple is widely expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone as soon as next month, arriving after nearly a decade of fitful evolution in the folding-phone segment — and analysts say the timing may be ideal.
The device is anticipated to debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models, according to multiple reports. IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo has predicted that Apple will claim 34 percent of the foldable market by value in its first year on sale, calling the launch "a turning point for the foldable segment."
The foldable category has a complicated history. Royole, a now-bankrupt flexible display manufacturer, released the first commercial folding phone — the FlexPai — before Samsung followed with the original Galaxy Fold, which suffered from durability problems severe enough to cause review units to fail within days of use. Huawei subsequently delayed its own Mate X by five months.
Early flip-style foldables from Motorola and Samsung scored 4/10 and 6/10, respectively, in contemporary reviews, underscoring how rough the category's opening years were.
Hardware quality has improved substantially since those early stumbles. Foldables are now thinner, lighter, and more durable, with creases that are considerably less visible than in earlier generations. Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold achieved an IP68 water resistance rating, while Honor's Magic V6 has since topped that with IP69 — alongside claims to being both the thinnest foldable on the market and the one with the largest battery, enabled by silicon-carbon battery designs.
Oppo's Find N6 has taken a different approach, engineering a crease so subtle that it can be difficult to locate even under direct inspection. Cameras remain the one area where foldables still trail standard flagship handsets, particularly the top-tier Ultra models, though recent devices from Oppo and Vivo have offered triple rear camera systems competitive with many slab phones.
Despite the hardware gains, foldables remain a niche category. According to Counterpoint, they accounted for just 1.6 percent of the global smartphone market in 2025.
Apple's entry has already begun reshaping the competitive landscape before the first unit ships. Huawei and Samsung both shifted to a wider, squatter fold design in the months leading up to the expected Apple launch — a proportion that leaks suggest the foldable iPhone will also adopt. Oppo and Honor are reported to have similarly wider foldables in development.
The segment has also seen experimentation with new form factors. Samsung launched the Galaxy Z TriFold late last year, though the company pulled it from sale after fewer than three months — whether due to weak demand or a limited production run remains unclear. Huawei, by contrast, has publicly claimed strong sales for its two Mate XT trifold models.
Flagship book-style foldables have held close to the $2,000 price point for roughly seven years, though cheaper options have appeared at the lower end. Motorola's entry-level Razr now starts at $799, and Samsung introduced an FE variant of its Z Flip 7 last year for $899.
The central question facing Apple — and the broader category — is whether the foldable iPhone will expand the segment's overall user base or primarily serve consumers who were already interested in folding phones but waiting for an iOS option. If Apple prices the device at a premium, analysts note, the addressable market will remain constrained even if consumer interest rises.
The next 12 months will indicate whether the wider fold design resonates with buyers broadly or represents a bet by Android manufacturers that may not pay off.
Marc Sabatini is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering enterprise software, cybersecurity, and the regulatory beats that shape both. He focuses on the deal flow and policy decisions that move markets.
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