iPhone Fold: I am bracing for disappointment, Apple Vision Pro style

It’s happening — the foldable iPhone is coming. The leaks, the reports, the analysts are adamant. September 2026 is the month we will likely see the first iPhone Fold (or however Apple ends up calling it).

And I am expecting to be… underwhelmed.

No, not because it will be a bad device. On the contrary, I am pretty sure it will be amazing. But Apple Vision Pro type of amazing.

Let me explain.

The foldable problem and why we don’t have an iPhone Fold yet

Samsung, Google, Oppo, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Vivo, Huawei — these big brands have been in the foldable phone game for years now. Perfecting them with each iteration, making them thinner with bigger screens, adding special software features, developing bigger batteries for them.

And still, they are a niche device. Why?

The reasoning is complex, but can be boiled down to three points:

• The unfolded experience is square-shaped: most foldables are better for multi-tasking, but not for multimedia consumption. A nice 6.9-inch chocobar phone is still more practical to the regular user than a heavier and clunkier foldable

• The price is still up there: it’s the nature of foldables to be expensive. Dual displays and super-complex hinges drive the price up way beyond what a regular flagship will cost you. Hence why people revert to the “normal” phones referenced above

• Hardware compromise: recent models have made huge strides in this area, but a conventional flagship will still have a better camera module and better battery life than a contemporary foldable

No iPhone Fold makes sense now

Apple is a company that historically jumps on tech trends when it makes sense. When the kinks have been ironed out, and the consumer demand is present. Then, Cupertino jumps in by adding its signature style of perfecting and simultaneously simplifying the new technology, making it desirable for the mass market.

However, there are a couple of exceptions.

Waiting too long undermines “prestige”

Biding your time until the tech blossoms and blooms is generally a good strategy. However, when you are in the race of being a tech leader, you can’t just sit on your hands forever. It’s a matter of positive image, if you will.

For example, Apple took its time to join the smartwatch game. The Samsung Galaxy Gear released in 2013, the first Apple Watch came out in 2015. To be fair, since then, Apple has done quite a lot to innovate and shape what a smartwatch should be and do for you (back in the mid-2010s, they were glorified notification bracelets that used to overheat on your wrist).



But that’s a “good” example of biding your time. What I want to look at today is a different device, which Apple delayed and only released for the prestige points:

The case with the Apple Vision Pro

We are living past the age when Virtual Reality was considered to be “the future”. Now, tech pundits agree that Augmented Reality glasses may be more suitable for everyday life.

That said, VR is still a high-tech niche that’s seeing some development and support from big companies. Which is why Apple couldn’t go on without at least dabbling in the field… right?

Out came the Apple Vision Pro — a good 8 years after the first Oculus Rift CV1 (the goggles considered to be the “first” modern, consumer-grade VR set).

However, since it’s a super-tiny niche that won’t generate a ton of sales anyway, Apple decided to go another way with the Vision Pro glasses. Instead of trying to make something that’s mass-market and accessible, Cupertino chose to flex its muscles with its VR glasses.

Technically it does offer Mixed Reality with its many sensors and external cameras, but for all intents and purposes, it’s a set of huge VR cans that weigh on your face and need you to carry a battery in your back pocket.

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