Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone at a September event, with the latest supply chain leaks pointing to an on-sale date of Sept. 18.
Key Points:
- Apple is expected to introduce its first folding iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models this September
- A keynote on Sept. 9 would place pre-orders on Sept. 12 and put the device in stores on Sept. 18
- Forecasters remain divided, with one prominent analyst expecting pre-orders to slip into the fourth quarter
iPhone Fold Release Date Signals
A Weibo leaker known as Fixed Focus Digital signaled this month that the foldable, widely referred to as the iPhone Ultra, has not fallen behind schedule. An early problem with scaling output during the initial manufacturing phase has since been resolved, according to the post. The production line setup was completed at the end of July, only weeks before the expected keynote.
Working from the company's usual release calendar, industry watchers calculated that a keynote on Wednesday, Sept. 9 would place pre-orders on Saturday, Sept. 12, followed by shipments on Friday, Sept. 18. A keynote held a week later would push both dates back, landing the release on Sept. 25.
Technology journalist David Phelan separately landed on Sept. 18. He reasoned that a real delay would have surfaced in far more supply chain reports by this stage of the cycle. His forecast follows months of contradictory claims about hinge components, display yields and assembly capacity at the plants building the device.
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Ming-Chi Kuo Warns Of Fourth-Quarter Wait
Not every forecast agrees. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has argued that the company will repeat the iPhone X pattern, unveiling the handset in September but opening pre-orders only in the fourth quarter, echoing 2017, when buyers waited six weeks.
Kuo put the starting price between $2,300 and $2,500, and he expects the first batch to sell out almost immediately once orders open. Timing carries extra weight this year, because the standard iPhone 18 is expected to skip the fall entirely and arrive instead in spring 2027. That would leave the Pro models and the book-style foldable to carry Apple's September event on their own.
Foxconn Hinge And Display Hurdles
Assembly partner Foxconn has been carrying out what supply chain sources describe as final mass-production adjustments at its plants in China.
One report flagged engineering validation work on the folding display and the hinge mechanism, warning that the process could still add as much as two months.
The schedule has moved repeatedly since spring. Reports in May described hinge durability trouble during testing, then July brought word that mass production had started, only for fresh validation warnings to follow within a matter of weeks.
Apple has reportedly told suppliers to prepare about 10 million units this year, an increase on an earlier internal target of 7 million to 8 million.
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