Apple hasn’t shipped a single foldable iPhone yet, and it’s already thinking about the third one. That’s either impressive long-term planning or a sign that Cupertino is moving fast to catch up with Samsung and Google. Probably both.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has an internal roadmap that extends two full generations beyond its first foldable iPhone. The debut foldable is expected to land this year, which puts the second generation somewhere around 2027 and the third around 2028. Gurman, writing in his “Power On” newsletter, also noted that the first foldable is set to receive what he described as its first major design change, which is a bold thing to say about a product that hasn’t launched yet.
That framing matters. When Apple talks about a design evolution for something still in its debut year, it signals that the current form factor is a starting point, not the destination. Apple did this with the original Apple Watch and the first iPhone. Ship something that works, then iterate fast once real-world feedback comes in.
The foldable phone market has been heating up for a few years now. Samsung has been doing this since 2019, and the Galaxy Z Fold series has matured into a genuinely good product. Google entered with the Pixel Fold. Motorola has been folding phones for even longer. Apple is late, and everyone in the industry knows it. But Apple being late to a category and then owning it is basically a tradition at this point.
What makes this rumor interesting isn’t just the timeline. It’s the confidence behind a three-generation plan. Companies don’t map out two successors to a product unless they believe the category has real legs. Apple clearly thinks foldables are going to be a major part of its lineup, not a niche experiment.
There are still a lot of unknowns about the first foldable iPhone. Pricing will be a big one. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at $1,899, and Apple rarely undercuts the competition in premium categories. Availability and which markets get it first are also open questions. And of course, the form factor itself, whether it’s a book-style fold or a flip style, hasn’t been officially confirmed.
But here’s the thing. The fact that Apple is already locking in plans for generation three tells you the company isn’t hedging. This isn’t a trial balloon. Foldable iPhones are coming, they’re going to keep coming, and Apple is treating them like a long-term platform. For anyone who’s been waiting to see what Apple does with folding hardware, the wait is almost over. And apparently, it’s just getting started.