One of the biggest Apple rumours is that it will release a foldable iPhone this year. Based on those rumours, a 3D mock-up was created. We got hold of it and 3D printed it so we could hold it in our hand.
We printed the mock up on the Bambu Lab H2C 3D printer. And it even folds.
The iPhone Fold mock-up has a 5.5-inch front display which opens to a 7.6-inch inner display.
The shape is shorter but the width of the front screen (3.5-inch) is the same width as the screen on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Interestingly the width of the inside display is the same width as the length of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
That means watching a movie on the inside screen of the rumoured Apple foldable won’t be any bigger than watching it on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Reports are suggesting the iPhone foldable will have a minimal crease on the display that will be virtually invisible when the screen is opened.
On the rear panel is a similar plateau that we saw with the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone Air with two lenses.
Speaking of the iPhone Air – we think it will have more in common with the new super thin iPhone.
If this design is accurate the device, when unfolded will be about the same thickness 5.8mm as the iPhone Air.
The iPhone Air was Apple’s test balloon to prove it could make a powerful smartphone that was super thin and could last the whole day.
The rumoured iPhone Fold will be liking having two shorter iPhone Airs stacked on top of each other.
On the mock up the volume keys appear to be on the top edge while the power button, which could also be a fingerprint reader, if they don’t offer Face ID is on the top right edge of the lower layer of the phone.
If this is the actual design, will it be positioned as a flagship device?
There will be no doubt the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will still be the hero devices
Apple will provide a foldable option for customers. We suspect the device won’t have the same power as the iPhone 18 Pro range.
And it certainly won’t have a better camera than the iPhone 18 Pro.
It might be the same two camera system as the entry level iPhone 18.
Pricewise it will be in the same ballpark as the iPhone 18 Pro range – new technology and new form factors are usually more expensive so we’re expecting it to sit at the same price as the iPhone 18 Pro Max – possibly even slightly more expensive.
We also think any Apple foldable phone will NOT have a physical SIM card – it will be an eSIM only device like the iPhone Air.
Bit we think the entire iPhone 18 range will be eSIM only as it has been in the US for the last four years.
This way it will be helpful to achieve a thinner foldable design and created room for a larger battery.
We won’t know till September what Apple will be releasing.
If it does go down the foldable path, we think it will be providing a huge boost for Samsung which by then would have released its 8th generation foldable smartphone with a decade of experience behind it.
If Apple releases a foldable phone, it will validate Samsung’s whole foldable strategy.
And with Apple involved it’s going to make foldables even more attractive for all customers – including Samsung’s – and really energise a category that was previously viewed as niche.
It will be a classic case of a rising tide lifting all boats.
Samsung is likely to release the new Trifold smartphone in Australia before Apple releases its rumoured fold in September.
This which will be huge flex for the Samsung and a demonstration of just how advanced it is in the burgeoning foldable market.
