Three-way folding smartphones likely to arrive before Apple even manages an iPhone Flip
Raising more questions about Apple’s response to the booming foldables market.
![Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/25hj6wKUAm5XyuunJhLToc-320-80.jpg)
While Apple eyes up what’s expected to be a relatively iterative update to its smartphone line with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro launches next month, the Android competition is going into a foldable frenzy.
Just weeks after the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 launched, and ahead of the grand unveiling of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Huawei is looking to up the ante with a phone that not only folds, but folds in two separate places.
According to Gizmochina, Richard Yu (the former CEO of Huawei, and the company’s current Executive Director and Chairman of the Board) was spotted on a flight using a tri-fold handset. It adds a third screen panel to the usual book-like fold of bendy smartphones, giving even more screen real estate to play with. Though you end up with a thicker device when folded, unfolded you’ve got way more screen to enjoy — in the case of this unidentified handset, something around the ten-inch mark:
Spotted out in the wild with a former CEO, it suggests Huawei may be on the cusp of a consumer launch for the device — one that may raise even more questions about Apple’s slow response to the foldable boom.
What’s Apple’s foldable answer?
Apple has long been rumored to have a foldable phone of its own waiting in the wings. It’s been working on an iPhone Fold or iPhone Flip for several years, not only in an attempt to face off competition from Android rivals, but to also re-invigorate an iPhone line-up that has been relatively static in terms of industrial design since the iPhone 12.
Rumors have pointed to Apple using a ‘ceramic shield’ wraparound glass that can be folded, and the company has been experimenting with a bendable display technology that can ‘heal’ itself. As for whether the design would settle on a clamshell or book-like hinge design is not yet clear — though the most recent rumors point to Apple being at least equally interested in getting a folding iPad out the door as much as an iPhone.
Either way, the wait is set to stretch on. Investor notes suggest Apple’s first foldable device won’t appear until 2026 at the earliest, which gives Huawei, Google, and other Android manufacturers a gigantic head start in development over Apple. That said, Apple historically is always fashionably late to any new hardware trend party — it’d rather be late and best, rather than early and mediocre.
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Gerald Lynch is the Editor-in-Chief of iMore, keeping careful watch over the site's editorial output and commercial campaigns, ensuring iMore delivers the in-depth, accurate and timely Apple content its readership deservedly expects. You'll never see him without his iPad Pro, and he loves gaming sessions with his buddies via Apple Arcade on his iPhone 15 Pro, but don't expect him to play with you at home unless your Apple TV is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system.
Living in London in the UK, Gerald was previously Editor of Gizmodo UK, and Executive Editor of TechRadar, and has covered international trade shows including Apple's WWDC, MWC, CES and IFA. If it has an acronym and an app, he's probably been there, on the front lines reporting on the latest tech innovations. Gerald is also a contributing tech pundit for BBC Radio and has written for various other publications, including T3 magazine, GamesRadar, Space.com, Real Homes, MacFormat, music bible DIY, Tech Digest, TopTenReviews, Mirror.co.uk, Brandish, Kotaku, Shiny Shiny and Lifehacker. Gerald is also the author of 'Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future', published by Aurum Press, and also holds a Guinness world record on Tetris. For real.
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FFR Just_Me_D said:Booming foldable market? I’m not seeing the boom here in central Florida.
Won’t really see the boom anywhere else either
Current estimates are that Samsung will sell less than 5-6 million total foldables this year, it’s a declining marketshare. -
Wotchered I cannot believe anybody is going to be crazy for any kind of folding Phone. particularly if they're old enough to remember the last ones ! They were extremely vulnerable to impact damage. I most certainly don't want a screen with a crease across it,and can't see why others would !Reply -
FFR Wotchered said:I cannot believe anybody is going to be crazy for any kind of folding Phone. particularly if they're old enough to remember the last ones ! They were extremely vulnerable to impact damage. I most certainly don't want a screen with a crease across it,and can't see why others would !
I believe you are right.
For context, It’s been 6 years and they are still calling anyone who gets a foldable an “early adopter” -
TNT
Well, I am. I am currently on my 3rd folding phone. Been waiting on a foldable iPhone forever.Wotchered said:I cannot believe anybody is going to be crazy for any kind of folding Phone. particularly if they're old enough to remember the last ones ! They were extremely vulnerable to impact damage. I most certainly don't want a screen with a crease across it,and can't see why others would ! -
FFR TNT said:Well, I am. I am currently on my 3rd folding phone. Been waiting on a foldable iPhone forever.
You kind have to , those foldable screens start cracking around the 15 month mark. Probably why resale value drops like a rock. -
TNT FFR said:You kind have to , those foldable screens start cracking around the 15 month mark. Probably why resale value dropsDD like a rock. -
TNT Don't keep a phone more than 12 months. Resale value is not an Issue because I usually give them away to friends or family.Reply