Apple Prepares Big Production For IPhone Fold, Orders For Folding Panels To Reach 22 Million Units

JAKARTA - Apple was again hit by fresh rumors about its first foldable phone plan. Supply reports that appeared on ET News and later deleted without explanation claimed the company ordered about 22 million folding OLED panels from Samsung Display for devices known as the iPhone Fold. This information was continued by MacRumors and sparked new speculation about Apple's ambitions in the folding phone market.

If this order figure is accurate, the production could lead to nearly 10 million devices so after taking into account the panel's failure rate in the manufacturing process. This volume far exceeds the initial expectations predicting Apple will enter carefully into the category that is still small in the global market.

The information in the deleted report describes the design of a folding phone for a book model, with an external screen of 5.35 inches and an internal screen of 7.58 inches. The specifications include new generation hinges, anti-creas material, polarizerless OLED, and a possible under-screen camera feature previously cited in a series of rumors in recent years.

The foldable phone category actually still accounts for small share in the global market, with annual shipments only in the range of tens of millions of units. Consumers generally still choose slab model phones because they are lighter, cheaper, and do not raise concerns about hinge density and screen folding. If Apple really targets production of nearly 10 million units, that number would be equivalent to the scale of the entire foldable market today.

For years, Apple has studied various flexible screen concepts. The company has registered a number of patents related to hinges, folding mitigation, to bending screen experiments. However, the rigorous internal validation process makes new form factor devices usually appear after the components are considered mature and durable.

Production challenges are also still large. Folding OLED panels must survive thousands of folds without leaving a permanent folding line, while thin defects in the material can thwart the entire screen. The cost of panels, booster frames, and complex hinges make the price of foldable devices always higher than conventional models.

However, these latest rumors highlight again the possibility of a change in Apple's strategy. Many analysts expect Apple to introduce the fastest iPhone Fold by 2026, along with expectations that the company will try to increase component resilience or efficiency to be competitive.

Until now, Apple has not provided any comment or confirmation regarding the existence of the iPhone Fold. The 22 million panel order claim still needs to be proven by clearer supply chain signals. For now, the most robust prediction remains at the launch in the fall of 2026, pending whether the classic iPhone Fold'' rumor is being postponed again in the future.