Apple’s first folding iPhone may not arrive in 2026 after all. A new report from Nikkei Asia suggests the iPhone Fold is facing serious production delays that could push its launch all the way to 2027.
Supply chain sources told Nikkei Asia that multiple production lines, including those at Foxconn — Apple’s main manufacturing partner — have been warned about a possible delay in the iPhone Fold’s production cycle.
The cause is early engineering complications that Apple has been unable to resolve on schedule. One supply chain source told Nikkei Asia: “More issues than expected have emerged during the early test production phase, and additional time will be needed to resolve them and make necessary adjustments.”
The problems are said to require months to fix, not days. That makes it nearly impossible for Apple to hit its original target of unveiling the iPhone Fold at its September 2026 event.
If the delay holds, the iPhone Fold could now launch in the first half of 2027, potentially alongside the iPhone 18 lineup.
Apple had reportedly planned to produce between 7 and 8 million units. With the timeline now uncertain, the company may have to decide whether to maintain that target or scale back to manage costs.
Samsung and Oppo have both been developing their own wide foldables to compete with the iPhone Fold — but it looks like they’ll have to wait a little longer too.
