Another week, another round of rumors about a foldable iPhone.
While new Apple iPhone "leaks" arrive on a near-weekly basis, evidence is growing that a folding iPhone is coming soon, now bolstered by new reports about its camera and use of Touch ID.
Via 9To5Mac, Korean blog yeux1122, which covers chatter from Chinese social media site Weibo, reported that Apple's foldable iPhone will have a punch-hole camera design on its external display. The blog also shared that the internal display will be 7.76 inches with a 2713 x 1920p resolution, and the external display will be 5.49 inches with a 2088 x 1422p resolution. This is similar to the design of Samsung's flagship foldable, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
The punch-hole camera on the external display strengthens last month's report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said the foldable iPhone will use a Touch ID side button like the iPad Air instead of Face ID, which is what every iPhone since the iPhone X has used. Touch ID unlocks the phone with a fingerprint sensor, whereas Face ID unlocks the phone with biometric facial recognition.
Kuo said the foldable iPhone will opt for a Touch ID "due to thickness and internal space constraints," meaning a Face ID sensor might not fit in the foldable display. For the record, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, Apple's main competitors in the foldable category, have facial recognition unlocking, although users have also said it doesn't work very well.
If this is true for the foldable iPhone, then this would also mean it won't have the pilled-shaped Dynamic Island on the display for quick access to apps.
Rumors of foldable iPhones and iPads have circulated for years now, only for Apple users to be disappointed by their absence in the iPhone product cycle. But this time, all signs point to... maybe. If it happens, a foldable iPhone might come as soon as late 2026, a date backed by Kuo and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who both have good reputations for their insider intel.
As always, take these rumors with a grain of salt, but such specific details about the foldable iPhone's design might point to a launch coming soon.
