An Apple analyst believes that a foldable iPhone and an all-screen MacBook Pro are coming far sooner than expected, but there are reasons to be cautious about the latest rumor.
The 'iPhone Fold' is expected to take design cues from existing Apple products
In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, Jeff Pu from Hatton International Securities has laid out a timetable for Apple's foldable lineup. This includes the long-rumored "iPhone Fold" and a more recent revelation, an all-screen folding MacBook Pro.
Pu believes that the MacBook Pro will arrive first in late 2025. He believes the folding iPhone will hit the market a year later alongside or as the iPhone 18, in 2026.
This is not the first time we've heard rumors of these devices. As we've mentioned, the "iPhone Fold" rumors have been floating around almost as long as foldable smartphones from other vendors have. The general timetable for the iPhone Fold isn't clear, but has been one of those rumors that is perpetually "next year."
As far as the all-screen folding MacBook Pro goes, Ming-Chi Kuo and Ross Young both believe that this is a 2026 or 2027 product. There are others who think that 2026 is early and 2027 is far more likely.
It's also not clear why Pu believes that the MacBook Pro will ship first. Folding screens for smaller devices are more mature and less of a present engineering challenge than larger form-factor devices.
Pu believes that the folding iPhone will be either 7.9 inches or 8.3 inches when unfolded. The existing iPad mini has a 8.3-inch screen, so folded, this would be a wider device but not as "tall" as the existing iPhone 15 Pro Max. It's not clear how thick the device would be yet.
A 20.3-inch all-screen folding MacBook Pro as rumored by Pu would likely be in-between the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in width and length, depending on how the hinge area is handled. Again, device thickness is in question.
Pu is prolific with Apple rumors, but not that accurate. He's been doling out timetables for Apple releases for about three years, and has been wrong more often than he's been right.
We believe that there are folding devices in Apple's labs. We're less certain that they'll ever see the light of day, and Pu's timetable is much faster than everybody else's.
So, there's enough smoke behind the fire of foldable device rumors. We just think right now that the smoke is obscuring the release date for Pu.