Apple plans for initial year shipment of 7 million foldable iPhones, wants to battle Samsung

Apple is moving full steam ahead with the production of its foldable iPhone, requesting its partners to complete trial production of the foldable iPhone by the end of 2025.

In a new story from UDN, picked up by insider @Jukanrosleve on X, we're hearing that the current plan is to start final product testing in the first half of 2026. Following this, mass production and an official external announcement are expected in the second half of 2026. This move is interpreted as an attempt to challenge Samsung's dominance in the foldable phone market.

Samsung already has many generations (six) of foldable smartphones on the market, and is about to launch its new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 foldable smartphones in the days ahead. Apple is many years behind, but they won't be launching with a so-so foldable iPhone, it should be -- in Apple's words, I'm sure -- magical and revolutionary.

Apple reportedly plans for an initial year shipment of around 7 million foldable iPhones, where it aims to capture over 30% of the global foldable phone market share. Market speculation points to Taiwanese companies including TSMC, Foxconn, and GIS (General Interface Solution) to be the key suppliers for the foldable iPhone, which we've heard will be called the iPhone Ultra.

We recently reported that the foldable iPhone should have dual 48-megapixel cameras and a price of over $2000, a hinge made of durable amorphous metal glass composite, and a titanium alloy body.

The difference between regular glass and metallic glass is that traditional metals feature a regular, repeating crystalline atomic structure, compared to metallic glass that features a disordered arrangement of atoms that just so happens to be more resistant to bending, deformation, and denting -- perfect for an ultra-premium foldable iPhone.

This is achieved through rapid cooling techniques, where its structure is 2.5x harder than titanium alloy... it also packs a smooth, glossy finish that looks beautiful, and more like stainless steel.