iPhone Foldable: Three storage sizes, possible prices, RAM from Samsung
It's expected in the fall: Apple's first foldable phone is coming to market. Fresh news on this front.
Foldable smartphone (symbolic image, not from Apple).
(Image: Karlis Dambrans / Shutterstock)
Apple's new iPhone foldable is expected to launch in the fall. Now there is new information about flash storage, tariffs, and the RAM supplier. Furthermore, parts of the devices are said to enter mass production these days. It was recently reported that Apple will likely not rely on a notch for its first foldable iPhone, but intends to run all apps in full-screen mode – although two apps should be able to be displayed simultaneously in split-screen mode.
Touch ID revived – and steep prices
According to the usually reliable Weibo leaker Instant Digital, Samsung, from which Apple again sources its display, is starting mass production of the component these days. This should be rolling off the production line in quantities by May at the latest. The special feature of the flexible OLED is that, thanks to material selection and a special hinge mechanism, it offers virtually no creases when open. Other leakers claim the display is "flatter than many of the currently available foldables." What the screen lacks, however, is a face sensor for Face ID. Instead, Apple is likely planning to revive the Touch ID fingerprint sensor for the iPhone – but in the form of the sleep/wake button, as known from several iPads.
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Instant Digital further claims to know the planned storage sizes and possible prices for the foldable. These allegedly start at 256 GByte, followed by 512 GByte and 1 TByte. A 2-TByte model is apparently not planned. Instant Digital also claims to know prices: 15999, 17999, and 19999 yuan. Converted directly, that would be 2020 euros, 2270 euros, and 2520 euros, respectively. In Europe, the foldable will likely be close to the 3000 euro mark. For comparison: Currently, Apple's most expensive iPhone, the 17 Pro Max with 2 TByte, costs 2449 euros.
Doubly dependent on Samsung
Samsung is also said to be another important supplier for the iPhone foldable: According to a report by the South Korean business newspaper The Bell, the company's RAM division will supply 12 GByte LPDDR5X modules for the devices, which are already used in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air. The modules are usually integrated directly into the SoC, whose chip technology comes from TSMC as usual.
The prices for such modules have more than doubled; whether Apple benefits through bulk purchases and long-term contracts remains to be seen. It is unclear whether Micron and SK Hynix will also supply RAM for the foldable; The Bell only predicts Samsung as a supplier. This would make Apple practically doubly dependent on Samsung for its first foldable iPhone.
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