Stop us if you've heard this before — a new report claims that Apple's long-rumored iPhone Fold has been delayed yet again.

A recent rumor claimed that the hinge on the iPhone Fold might prove to be cheaper than expected. Now a new report suggests that perhaps Apple should have spent more on it, as this component is said to be delaying the device from its expected 2026 launch.

According to Mizuho Securities of Japan — as spotted by The Elec — Apple is still finalizing the iPhone Fold's design and specifications. The company is said to have yet to decide on details of at least a couple of components.

The crucial hinge is specifically called out.

"It is not easy to mass-produce a foldable phone in the third quarter of 2026 and release it in September," the firm said in a note to investors (in translation). "It takes time to decide the final design and specification of Apple's hinge."

The securities firm's analysts are not entirely ruling out a 2026 launch. However, they believe that if Apple does manage to release one alongside the iPhone 18 range, it will produce between five and seven million fewer than previously expected.

This new report also lists the expected dimensions of the iPhone Fold, which are similar to other recent rumors, but not identical. The report claims that the iPhone Fold will have an external screen of 5.38-inches diagonally, and an internal one of 7.58 inches.

While rumors have varied, two from April 2025 put the internal screen at 7.76 inches, and the external one at 5.49 inches.

Mizuho Securities does not have a track record in Apple leaks at all, though. Back in 2019, it predicted that the year's new iPhones would "lack novelty," only for Apple to launch the iPhone 11 Pro.

If it's correct that the iPhone Fold will now not launch until 2027, that would mean Apple has lagged behind Samsung by eight years. It would also mean, though, that rumors of an iPhone Fold have persisted for even longer.

Since at least 2018, Apple has been said to be working on one. And whenever any rumor circulates, it comes with an insistence that the iPhone Fold is a year away.

The sheer volume of rumors in 2025 has made it seem more likely that one is coming in 2026. You could probably have set a timer on how long before a delay for another year was suspected.