Yet another report insists that the iPhone Fold launch will happen in September, after a rumor-monger back-and-forth about hinge issues. The iPhone rumor silly season has officially kicked off.

Apple is widely expected to bring out its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Fold, in September. In a Wednesday report about the supply chain, Apple is forging ahead with mass production in the next month.

According to interviews with supply chain officials by The Elec, Apple has finalized key specifications for the iPhone Fold. After confirming the display, case, and mechanical components are up to task, it has started to prepare for the mass production phase.

This follows what the report calls a first-round trial production in April, all according to schedule. Long-time partner Foxconn will handle the initial production batch, with mass production anticipated to begin at the end of July.

Getting unhinged

The report also touches upon the hinge, which is a favorite topic of the rumor mill. Over the months, there have been repeated reports of issues with the hinge, which seemed to be a crucial issue for a foldable device.

During development, a Taiwanese official said that there was a "slight noise" created by the hinge after durability testing to millions of cycles. Also, there were some "larger than expected" tolerances in some assembly processes.

The official adds that "most" of the problems have been resolved.

The Elec has a reasonably good track record when it comes to supply chain stories, though it doesn't fare as well when dealing with product feature claims.

The hinge problem has inevitably led to speculation that the iPhone Fold had a possibility of being delayed. There was even talk as soon as June 15 that the model could end up shipping in 2027, but announcing it in the fall of 2026 anyway.

In April, early testing apparently uncovered some issues with the model, which fed into earlier rumors of a delay.

By May, this had turned into problems, specifically with the hinge. There were apparently failures with the mechanism in testing, after repeatedly opening and closing the model.

However, just after that claim, a Weibo leaker insisted Apple's hinge design will become an industry standard approach. It will be copied by rivals, or at least a non-patented equivalent will be adopted by rival manufacturers, they said.

Later that same month, there was a new issue involving putting components on the circuit board, continuing the problematic narrative for the model.

Silly season is here

The time between WWDC and the fall is considered to be the "silly season" for Apple reporting by the AppleInsider editorial team. Since news about Apple's fall launches are a hot commodity, the rumor mill speeds up to compensate.

For the next few months, you can expect more rumors and claims from leakers of all shades. Everything from the questionable claims of Weibo-based rumor merchants to the more credible supply chain reports, and even supposed dummy phone leaks.

It'll also get worse over time, with the cries for attention and wild claims intensifying until the September special event.

AppleInsider advises treating any rumors about the upcoming iPhone models and other fall launch candidates with caution. Not everything will be true, and with the rise of AI, it'll be harder to determine fact from fiction.

The only absolute truth on the matter will arrive when Apple officially announces its products in the fall.