Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max next to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The reliable supply chain reporter Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple just boosted its folding iPhone plans.
- Apple will reportedly boost 2026 manufacturing to 8-10 million and 2027 to 20-25 million.
- That is far beyond the 2.4 million units Samsung plans to sell for its recent Fold 7 device.
Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a new report on Tuesday that Apple just issued a 20% boost in the number of foldable iPhones it plans to manufacture in 2026 and a 40% boost in the number it will make for 2027.
Apple has long been expected to launch a foldable iPhone since the company holds over 30 patents in folding phones.
Kuo’s report stated, “Apple recently revised its shipment forecasts for the foldable iPhone upward to 8-10 million units in 2026 and 20-25 million in 2027 (vs. previous estimate of 6-8 million and 10-15 million, respectively).”
In other words, Apple just got a lot more bullish about the number of folding iPhones it expects to sell in the coming years. Apple would likely not announce its folding iPhone until its fall 2026 iPhone event, a year from now.
Also: The best foldable phones of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed
By comparison, Samsung is planning to ship 2.4 million of its Samsung Fold 7 phone (a 9% increase over last year’s model), according to Korean source, The Elec. The Fold 7 is the model that is potentially the most like the one Apple is reportedly preparing to launch — an 8-inch foldable phone with a cover screen that is close to the size of a standard smartphone.
If Apple is planning to more than triple the number of units of the Fold 7 that Samsung is planning to sell, then that would indicate that the company has tremendous confidence in the prototypes it’s currently making ahead of a launch in 2026. After all, Samsung has been refining the foldable phone concept for years. And recently, Chinese manufacturers have also been producing cutting-edge foldables such as the Honor Magic V5 and the Oppo Find N5.
“I think this comes from a place of pent-up demand for an iOS foldable,” said Anshel Sag, Principal Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “But I would also say it likely requires more of a book foldable to hit those numbers.”
Samsung’s Fold 7 on top of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Jason Hiner/ZDNET
I recently started testing the Samsung Fold 7, and I’m not surprised that Apple is getting bullish. I’ve never loved folding phones, but the Fold 7 is quickly becoming one of my favorite phones I’ve ever tested. When folded, it’s roughly the same size as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, so it looks and feels like using a normal phone.
Also: I spent a week in New York City with the Samsung Z Fold 7 – and it spoiled me the entire time
But when you unfold it, it becomes more like using an iPad Mini, except that the fold itself and the camera configuration give you a lot more options for doing things you could never do on a regular tablet — such as using it like a mini laptop, taking a selfie with the back cameras while previewing with the cover screen, and even using the cover screen like a teleprompter while recording a video with the back cameras.
I’ll mention a lot more Fold 7 tricks in an upcoming ZDNET article, but the bottom line is that it gives us a preview of all the new capabilities Apple could bring to the iPhone by launching a folding version.
ZDNET reached out to Apple for comment and will update this article as we learn more.