Apple has reportedly ordered display samples from Samsung for its foldable iPhone
Earlier, Apple was expected to launch a foldable iPhone in 2023. If a new leak is to go by, the device will arrive much sooner.
Well-known leaker Ice Universe claims that Apple has asked Samsung for foldable screen samples. If things go per plan, Apple could strike a one-year deal with the South Korean giant. This year, Samsung is expected to sell 70 million units of OLED panels to Apple for the upcoming iPhone 12. LG is expected to ship 18 million units.
Back to the foldable iPhone, it was previously tipped to feature a dual-screen design like the Surface Duo. Now that Apple has supposedly asked Samsung for foldable display samples, we wonder if there has been a shift in its strategy.
Per a previous report, Apple will market the product as a foldable iPad and it will run iPad OS.
Tipster Jon Prosser, whose track record is pretty decent but not pristine, had previously claimed it wouldn’t be long before a bendable iPhone arrives. Apparently, the release time frame will depend on the launch of Corning’s foldable Gorilla Glass.
A working design is expected later this year. Samsung is apparently also working with the company to manufacture a robust Ultra-Thin Glass for its upcoming foldable phones.
Although foldable smartphones started out as niches devices, their shipments are forecasted to rise from 1 million units in 2019 to 100 million by 2025.
Research firm Strategy Analytics believes that foldable smartphones will be the fastest-growing category of the premium handset market in the next decade. It also expects every major manufacturer, including Apple, to have a foldable portfolio by 2025.
