The on/off back and forth about when the iPhone Fold will be released continues, but now a shaky report claims the first batches have been manufactured and will ship alongside the iPhone 18 Pro in September.
The likelihood of Apple launching an iPhone Fold in September 2026 seems to change depending on the day. The latest rotating rumors have been either that it's delayed until 2027, or that it is exactly on schedule. Now according to China Securities Journal, a supplier has revealed that Apple has begun shipping the iPhone Fold in small batches.
If correct, that would be a significant step considering that the iPhone Fold is believed to have only entered manufacturing testing in April 2026. It's also variously been reported that this testing has uncovered serious problems with the hinge, and also the main circuit board.
There's no information concerning what components this supply chain source produces. But the claim is that this supplier is also relaying the guidance Apple has issued about launching in September 2026.
The new report is sufficiently unclear, at least in machine translation, over whether this guidance information comes from the same or a second source. Reporting on the China Securities Journal article, for instance, Digitimes says the news comes from "multiple Chinese media outlets."
That's not quite the same as the supply chain saying it directly, though. Then none of the half-dozen Chinese media outlets checked by AppleInsider refer to anything but the one supply chain source.
Nonetheless, that is one more source saying that the iPhone Fold will be released in September 2026. One possibility that might account for the conflicting rumors, though, is that Apple could announce the iPhone Fold then, but not ship it until early 2027.
There is precedent for Apple doing almost exactly that, too. The original AirPods, for instance, were announced in September 2016, but only a small quantity was released by December of that year.
The likelihood and cost of an iPhone Fold
Apple has of course not revealed whether it is planning a folding iPhone, although it has many patents regarding one, and now there is code in iOS 27 that suggests it. Then, too, there have been strong rumors of an iPhone Fold since at least 2019, when Samsung released its first folding smartphone.
It does appear as if there are more and stronger rumors about the iPhone Fold in 2026 than ever before, though. There have also been dummy models, although those could easily have been made from CAD drawings that themselves could readily have been faked.
But then there are also reports from more reliable sources that, for instance, Samsung has the exclusive contract to make the iPhone Fold's screens.
If Apple does at least announce an iPhone Fold in September 2026, it is also expected that it will be by far the most costly iPhone ever made. A leaker in March 2026 claimed that the iPhone Fold would start at $2,325 for a 256GB model, going up to nearly $3,000 for a 1TB version.
