Although Apple has produced many new products such as iPhone 13 and Apple Watch 7 this year, and its commercial achievements are quite impressive, the outside world has still been obsessed with Apple's folding iPhone. Recently, some analysts predict that the folding iPhone may appear in 2023 and 2024.
Apple iPhone folding screen phones will be released as soon as 2023
Rumors about the iPhone's folding screen have subsided in recent months, but there is still evidence that Apple is at least working on a prototype of a foldable device. In September 2020, it was reported that Samsung provided Apple with a foldable display sample for testing, and there were also rumors that Apple was working with LG Display.
As early as May this year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple was working on launching a foldable iPhone with an 8-inch flexible OLED display in 2023, but there has been no further explanation of Apple's work on foldable devices since then. Apple has begun "early work" on the foldable iPhone, but development at the time has not yet expanded beyond the display.
Looking ahead, Kuo believes that foldable smartphones will become a "must-have" for all major smartphone brands, and at least for sure, Samsung has been working hard to perfect its foldable smartphone options. Earlier this year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3, the third iteration of its foldable smartphone.
Samsung's original Galaxy Fold devices were fraught with problems, but now Samsung has had three years to solve these problems, and there are few competitors in the foldable smartphone space. If Apple does choose to launch a foldable smartphone in 2023 or 2024, it will need to compete with Samsung, which already has several years of experience in foldable devices.
Kuo has previously said Apple needs to address "key technology and mass production issues" to launch a foldable iPhone by 2023, so it wouldn't be surprising if the technology was delayed until 2024.
The folding mobile phone market is becoming more and more mature, and the shipment volume in 2025 is tens of millions
The folding mobile phone market has become more and more mature, and it is predicted that global folding mobile phone shipments will reach 4 million units in 2021, an increase of 106.6% from 1.9 million units in 2020, and it is optimistic to reach 13.9 million units in 2025 at a compound growth rate of 48.1%.
Although in 2019, when Samsung took the lead in launching the Galaxy Fold folding phone, this new phone was initially regarded as a gimmick by the outside world, in fact, from the beginning of sending it to the media for testing, it was constantly reported that the screen film fell off, cracks appeared in the folding place, and other issues, plus a mobile phone asked for a high price of 10,000 yuan, which made the folding mobile phone more popular with the outside world.
However, the Galaxy Fold did not become a masterpiece, and under the strategy of Samsung continuing to develop new folding phones, improve design problems, and reduce the price, folding phones eventually became recognized by consumers.
Samsung's newly released folding phone Galaxy Z Flip 3 is popular with consumers around the world and is currently the best-selling folding phone.
Samsung released the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Fold 3 this year, with sales of 1 million in 39 days, which is the third mobile phone form sold in Samsung's history, of which the More Accessible Flip 3 is more favored by consumers, accounting for 70% of the overall sales.
At present, more and more manufacturers have begun to invest in the field of folding mobile phones, last year Motorola released its folding phone Razr, Xiaomi released the first folding phone Mix Fold in March this year, Oppo also launched the flagship folding mobile phone Oppo Find N that claims to have been built after 4 years, and the development of folding mobile phones has become a general trend.