Apple’s New Strategy: Get Ready to See the First Foldable iPhone by 2026, Price Could Be Shocking
Apple, one of the world’s most valuable brands is ready with its next big innovation. The reliable sources have now revealed that the company primarily working on developing its first foldable iPhone. The company is not just working but, doing it fast. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this device is likely to launch in 2026. The price could be around ₹1.80 lakh (more than US$2000) which is a major strategic shift for Apple.
Lagging Behind the Competition and the AI Dream
Other giant smartphone manufacturing companies like Samsung, Google, and Oppo have already marked their presence with their flagship foldable smartphones. These have already well established a strong foothold in the foldable market whereas Apple has so far remained a spectator in this race till now.
However, now it seems the company is not just to join the competition, but under a larger vision. Analyst Kuo believes that Apple wants to compensate for its delay in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) through hardware innovation. The company believed that new AI powered first foldable iPhone will be able to do multimodal processing and complex AI tasks with ease.
iPhone Air Postponed, Foldable Given Priority
Apple company is so much interested in manufacturing of foldable iPhone by 2026 that it has diverted its main focus from iPhone Air. iPhone Air was launched this year, did not meet the company’s sales expectations. That is the reason, Apple has postponed the next version of the iPhone Air until 2027. The engineering and production workforce will now be focused on the foldable iPhone.
Challenges and Expectations: First Batch May Be Limited
Although the Apple First foldable iPhone launch date is set for 2026, analyst Kuo hinted that the availability of the device in the initial stages may be extremely limited. The mass production may take some time. It’s possible that some of the device’s final specifications (features) may not be finalized by the time of launch and will be added later through software updates. This approach is not new for Apple, which often launches hardware first and then expands its capabilities through software.
Premium Design and Build
The Apple is working to deliver something unique in terms of design. The foldable iPhone will be approximately 9 millimeters thick when unfolded, and the thickness will be only around 9.2 millimeters when closed. This will be a nice move to overcome the thickness problem often associated with foldables.
With this news, now Apple’s foldable iPhone is no longer just a rumor or a fantasy, but is becoming a clear part of the company’s strategy. Now it will be interesting to see whether Apple can set a new standard in the existing foldable market, or if this device will simply remain a premium accessory for its high-end customers.
