Apple hasn’t even released its first foldable—a book-style one that’s been leaking out for months—and it’s already reportedly working on another kind of phone that bends in half.
At least that’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who wrote in his latest Power On newsletter that “a square, clamshell-style foldable phone” is “under consideration” by the iPhone maker.
Gurman says that Apple is anticipating its first foldable, expected to launch in September with the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, will generate enough interest for “additional shapes and sizes.” In other words, an iPhone that resembles Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series, like the current Z Flip 7, may be in Apple’s future.
It should surprise nobody that Apple is considering a flip-style iPhone. As iPhones have gotten larger, consumers have complained that they are no longer pocketable. At the same time, iPhones with smaller screens, like the iPhone 13 mini, are just too tiny. A flip-style iPhone would be the only way to give consumers a big screen that can also be compact.
Sounds great, right? The same way the iPhone mini, iPhone Plus, and iPhone Air have not been sales hits, there’s no guarantee a flip-style iPhone would be a hit. Samsung has been releasing new versions of its Z Flip series annually since 2020. The form factor is more durable than ever, and the latest Z Flip 7 pushes the external screen to its edges, but it’s still fundamentally the same as Samsung’s previous models. The crease in the foldable screen is less visible than ever, but it’s still something you can feel when your finger swipes over it. The design also hasn’t gotten much thinner or lighter; compare that to Samsung’s Z Fold 7, which has shed considerable heft generation over generation. Battery life in the Z Flip 7 hasn’t improved much over its predecessor, either.
Apple’s flip-style iPhone could, of course, solve these “downsides.” Its first foldable reportedly won’t have a visible crease. And if Apple can make the device as thin as two iPhone Airs stacked together or even slimmer, then it could have something that shows it was worth waiting for. And then there’s iOS—Apple users who have been unwilling to switch to Android despite the enticing design may actually consider an Apple-made flip-style iPhone. Together with Apple silicon, a flip-style iPhone may not have the same battery restraints as an Android-powered flip foldable.
And more than ever—especially now that the regular iPhone 17 is such a great value—pricing will ultimately determine whether or not any iPhone foldables succeed or not. In this economy, nobody is leaping to pay more for a gimmick, even if that gimmick is something that makes the iPhone fit better in a pair of skinny jeans or a purse.
Consumers have been waiting for Apple to release both book-style and flip-style versions of the iPhone. But can Apple offer something truly new or will it come off looking like a copycat for form factors that Android phone makers have been selling for years?
In Apple’s Q1 2026 earnings last month, CEO Tim Cook said, “… we’re excited for all the opportunities we’ll have in the year ahead to deliver innovations that have never been seen before.” Was he teasing the iPhone foldable, the redesigned tandem OLED MacBook Pros with touchscreens, low-cost MacBook, or something else? The truth to “innovations that have never been seen before” probably lies closer to “on Apple devices.” Because let’s be real, any iPhone foldable—whether book-style or flip-style—is not going to be a new idea, even if it is a better product.
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