Cupertino, California, April 14, 2026, 4:13 AM PDT
Apple’s first foldable iPhone still appears headed for a September debut, and fresh reports suggest the company may be closer to solving one of foldables’ most visible flaws: the crease running down the middle of the screen. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said this week the launch window still points to September, while TrendForce said new display materials are becoming central to crease reduction.
That matters because Apple has stayed out of foldables while Samsung and Huawei built the early market, and TrendForce said Apple’s arrival could let it capture nearly 20% of the segment in 2026, pushing those two rivals to around 30% each. The research firm said the edge is shifting away from hinges alone and toward materials that better manage stress inside the display stack.
The timing question sharpened after Reuters, citing Nikkei Asia, reported last week that engineering problems in Apple’s testing phase could delay first shipments by months in a worst-case scenario. Bloomberg, however, reported the company still plans to introduce the foldable alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September, and Gurman reiterated in his April 12 newsletter that the device remains on track despite production worries.
The latest design clue came from dummy units shared by leaker Sonny Dickson and reported by The Verge, which were shown alongside iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max mockups and pointed to a book-style phone with an unusually wide body and two rear cameras in a pill-shaped module. The mockup did not reveal the inside camera arrangement or Face ID layout, leaving key hardware details unresolved.
On the engineering side, TrendForce said the biggest 2026 advance may come from ultra-thin glass and optically clear adhesive, or OCA, a transparent glue layered inside the display assembly. The firm said the adhesive can stay soft during gradual bends and add support under sudden force, helping spread stress, limit deformation and make the crease less visible over time. Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has separately described the inner panel as “virtually crease-free,” according to MacRumors, though later reporting tied to Gurman has framed Apple’s goal more cautiously as reducing the crease rather than eliminating it outright. TrendForce
Analysts have mostly sided with the on-time camp. Investor’s Business Daily said Morgan Stanley’s Erik Woodring saw no change in component orders and kept his September view, while Evercore ISI’s Amit Daryanani called a delay “unlikely.” Investors
But there is still room for slippage. MacRumors, citing DigiTimes, said on Monday that mass production may have slipped from June to early August even if the fall launch window survives, and the device remains in engineering validation testing, an early phase before full manufacturing. A tighter schedule could still mean thin supply at launch.
Apple would also be arriving to a market that is moving under it. Huawei this week unveiled the wide-format Pura X Max in China, while TrendForce noted Samsung showed a crease-free panel at CES 2026 and Oppo recently marketed the Find N6 as “virtually crease-free.” The next few months will show whether Apple can enter late with a cleaner screen and still hit shelves in volume by September. The Verge
