We all know Apple doesn’t jump on the latest fads, so while Samsung rushed out foldable smartphones, the Cupertino company has been in no hurry to offer a folding iPhone.
But with Motorola pointing to growing numbers of iPhone users abandoning Apple to buy its foldable phones, and our sister site concluding that the Motorola Razr finally nails the form factor, the pressure is now starting to build …
Folding iPhone is expected in 2025
Folding iPhone patents date back to at least 2017, with further ones showing that Apple is working on some of the problems that have hit existing foldables: preventing folding screen damage, a double-fold design, self-healing display, an exposed notifications strip, and more.
Most of the patents point to a bendable display, but we have also seen patents for a dual-screen hinged iPhone along the lines of the Microsoft Duo.
Both Bloomberg and Apple analyst Ming-chi Kuo have confirmed that the Cupertino company is actively working on the development of a folding iPhone – not just playing vaguely with the idea.
Timing estimates have varied from this year (which is clearly not happening, as there would have been leaks by now) to 2025. Both Kuo and display analyst Ross Young now point to a 2025 launch, with the former expecting a folding iPad to launch first, sometime next year. Some pretty insane pricing has been suggested!
iPhone owners switching to Motorola
CNET reports that Motorola has seen growing numbers of iPhone users buying its Razr folding phones.
Motorola has seen 20% of new Razr users coming from Apple products. That data point is from 2021 following the launch of the previous-generation Razr.
“This is definitely the family that we have the most amount of iPhone users switching to us,” Allison Yi, Motorola’s head of North America product operations, said to CNET ahead of the company’s Razr Plus launch.
Motorola Razr (2023) finally nails it
Our sister site 9to5Google hasn’t been greatly impressed by folding phones in the past. It found that even Samsung’s fourth attempt still hasn’t solved the biggest problem with its very first folding phone: its fragility. Dust still works its way underneath the screen, causing bumps, and the ultra-thin glass still cracks along the crease.
But Ben Schoon says that Motorola’s latest Razr models finally cracked it – and not in the way that Samsung did!
After countless leaks lately, the Motorola Razr (2023) and Motorola Razr+ have arrived, with new hardware, impressive features, and more. After spending some time with both phones this week, I feel they’re the foldable flip phones that finally nail the vision of what this form factor should be […]
The Motorola Razr+ with its 3.6-inch outer display is finally the first foldable flip phone I can see myself using for an extended period.
The Razr+ will sell for $999, and the lower-cost variant is expected to come in at about $799. If other Android smartphone makers are able to create similarly appealing devices for the same kind of price, that could put a lot of pressure on Apple – not just to launch a folding iPhone, but to do so at a palatable price.
Personally, an iPhone Pro Max folding down to half the length, at a halfway sensible price, would be an instant sale for me – how about you?
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