Danny Weber
12:49 18-11-2025
© A. Krivonosov
Apple advances its foldable iPhone with a crease-free OLED display and a Foxconn line ready, but hinge design and battery safety still delay mass production.
For its future foldable iPhone, Apple is putting special emphasis on the display—one of the trickiest pieces of the puzzle. The company is aiming for a panel with virtually no visible crease to stand apart from rivals. According to fresh leaks, work on the screen has wrapped, and Foxconn has reportedly set aside a dedicated assembly line for this module. Even so, other critical parts, including the hinge and the battery, are not ready for mass production.
Earlier reports said Samsung would be the sole supplier of displays for the foldable iPhone. Prototypes currently use a 7.74‑inch main OLED panel and a 5.49‑inch outer screen. These dimensions could still change before launch, but they are what appear in test units now. The focus on the panel suggests Apple wants to win on fundamentals rather than gimmicks.
The hinge remains the toughest challenge. A Weibo source posting as Momentary Digital claims Apple has yet to lock in a final design. Numerous leaks point to a construction that uses liquid metal to boost resistance to repeated bending. Apple has already driven the hinge’s unit cost down to about $70–$80, yet the company is not rushing into mass production—an indication that the mechanism’s longevity and feel are still being tuned.
The battery story is also unsettled. Test devices are running packs in the neighborhood of 5400–5800 mAh, exceeding the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Safety is a priority: a foldable has many moving parts, and any shifting components or pressure along the fold could damage the cell. Caution here feels warranted given the form factor’s inherent stresses.
These risks aren’t theoretical. The foldable Pixel 10 Pro Fold failed a stress test by the blogger JerryRigEverything, and the damage led to a battery fire. Apple appears intent on preventing similar outcomes, which is why the timeline for the foldable iPhone remains unclear. The strategy leans conservative, but it’s hard to argue against durability in a device built to flex.
More detail on the project’s status may surface in the coming weeks.