Apple is developing a folding screen iPhone with a size of 8 inches that uses an OLED panel and QHD + resolution. The folding screen iPhone is expected to launch in 2023, according to predictions of Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
On a note to investors, Kuo said Apple might partner with Samsung as the exclusive supplier of flexible OLED displays to be used for the foldable iPhone. But Kuo didn’t reveal any other details such as the specs or the design.
Based on the production capacity plan requested by Apple, Kuo predicts this technology giant will sell 15 to 20 million units of foldable screen iPhones by 2023.
Kuo predicts that in the future, folding screen phones will be offered by all major cellphone vendors and become a must-have product. The existence of folding screen phones can also encourage the ‘super replacement cycle’ for high-end phones.
“We predict that folding screen devices will blur the segmentation between smartphones, tablets and laptops in the future,” Kuo said as quoted by MacRumors, Monday (3/5/2021).
“With a cross-product ecosystem and hardware design excellence, Apple will be the biggest winner in the new foldable display device trend,” he continued.
Kuo believes the foldable iPhone will use a ‘silver nanowire touch’ solution for its screen, which will provide long-term benefits for Apple in the foldable screen phone market. This technology will be needed for folding screen devices that have more than one fold.
Kuo said Apple is already using silver nanowire technology for the touch interface on the HomePod smart speaker. So they have mastered this technology even in a lower cost and smaller production volume.
This isn’t the first time Kuo has spread rumors about a foldable iPhone. In March, he said Apple plans to release a foldable iPhone with a screen size of 7.5 to 8 inches by 2023.
But at that time Kuo said the launch schedule depended on how Apple resolved important technology issues and mass production.
According to Kuo, Apple hasn’t officially started developing a foldable iPhone yet. But they have already started exploring by asking Foxconn to produce two prototypes with different designs.