Rumors about a foldable iPhone have bubbled up before, but a new one has
more credibility. Reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors that Apple plans
to launch an 8-inch foldable iPhone by 2023 according to documents seen by
Engadget and an article from MacRumors. The report, based on an "industry
survey," predicts that Apple plans to sell 15-20 million units in 2023.
Kuo said already revealed the possibility of a folding iPhone in March, but
his latest report has more detail on suppliers. It predicts that the QHD+
flexible OLED will be supplied by Samsung Display, while the DDI display
controller will come from Samsung Foundry. It also notes that Apple will use
silver nanowire touch tech supplied by TPK, "because of its several
advantages over [Samsung's] Y-Octa technology."
The report is highly speculative, so don't start saving up for an iPhone
Fold or whatever just yet. However, other details give it some extra
credibility. Kuo expects Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Honor to launch new foldable
models in late 2021 or early 2022, and shipments to ramp up to 17 million by
2022 if component shortages improve.
If that happens, foldable phones could become the "next innovative
selling point of high-end models" as Kuo puts it. In that case, Apple
would of course want to be ready with its own model. However, if consumers
don't take to the devices like Kuo predicts, Apple could drop the project like
a hot rock. In other words, a lot can happen in the next two years.
