This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
A visual representation of the upcoming iPhone Fold | Image by Image by Jon Prosser
The iPhone Fold is coming! After years and years of anticipation, we will most likely get the first Apple foldable later this year or early next year, 2027. Of course, there's no official confirmation from Apple yet.
However, the latest leaked renders, probably taken straight from Apple's servers, along with countless leaks and rumors from respectable sources, suggest that we're going to get a foldable iPhone.
Looking at the aforementioned renders, it occurred to me — the iPhone Fold looks a lot like a first-generation Pixel Fold. And judging from all we know, it might also follow the same path. Meaning, it might take years and several generations for Apple to catch up on the foldable competition.
The iPhone Fold — a Pixel Fold lookalike?
The original Pixel Fold | Image by PhoneArena
The leaked iPhone Fold renders are everywhere, and they were corroborated by several sources. YouTuber Jon Prosser shared visuals and exact specs for the device in his most recently released video, and leaker Sonny Dickson posted on X CAD renders, depicting an almost identical design.
The leaked renders depict a device, very similar in dimensions to the Pixel Fold | Image by Sonny Dickson
The iPhone Fold is expected to sport a 7.8-inch main flexible inner screen, coupled with a 5.5-inch external display. Now, if we take a look at the original Pixel Fold, it comes in at 7.6 inches when unfolded and features a 5.8-inch cover screen.
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Google went for a 6:5 aspect ratio in the original Pixel Fold, trying to get close to a usable, tablet-like unfolded screen. The upcoming iPhone Fold looks very similar in aspect ratio and even similar in design, with the camera system positioned in a horizontal camera bump, reminiscent of the Camera Bar of the Pixel Fold.
No one wants this
The first comment under the X post | Image by X
I'm paraphrasing the first comment under the leaked renders of the iPhone Fold. It's obvious that Apple is trying to mimic the iPad Mini and give people something familiar size-wise. And it also makes sense to use this aspect ratio, as it's tried and tested in iPadOS and would require the least amount of tinkering and tweaking.
But at the end of the day, people might now want a foldable iPad Mini. Look at what happened with the original Pixel. Google re-evaluated its design and conformed to the tall and narrow foldables that we've been getting from day one.
The reason is simple — people tend to use foldable phones as normal phones most of the time, relying on the cover screen, rather than unfolding them every single time. It makes a lot of sense — you don't need the huge screen all the time for making calls, quickly checking your messages, calling or texting someone, etc.
The original Pixel Fold was pretty uncomfortable to handle in a folded state. Its wide footprint made it almost impossible to work with one-handed, and the weight didn't help either. So, Apple is making the same mistakes Google made years ago, and this will further hamper the company's foldable aspirations. Another thing that won't help is the price tag.
$2400 for a Pixel Fold clone?
Is the iPhone Fold going to follow Vision Pro's fate? | Image by PhoneArena
The latest rumors place the price of the iPhone Fold at around $2,400. This is quite high, even for a foldable. The latest Samsung foldable starts at $1,999, $400 less than the iPhone Fold's rumored price.
We’ve already seen this with the Apple Vision Pro: impressive as it is, its biggest drawback isn’t the technology but the $3,500 price tag.
Calling the iPhone Fold a Pixel Fold clone is a bit unfair, I admit. But the design and aspect ratio are so similar that I just can't not draw the parallel here.
The original Pixel Fold launched back in June 2023 with a starting price of $1,799 for the 256 GB model, which is much lower than the expected price of the iPhone Fold. Even at that price, the Pixel Fold received mixed reviews from tech specialists and also regular folks.
The latest leak from Mark Gurman suggests that the iPhone Fold could land at around $2,000, which will match the Galaxy Z Fold 7. This could help the situation but still make for an expensive Pixel Fold clone.
Apple fails at what made the company great in the first place
Apple used to be at the forefront of innovation | Image by PhoneArena
I'm actually disappointed by all this. I know that the feelings of one content creator in a single tech media don't amount to much, but still. I'm not an Apple fan, not by a long stretch, but I recognize and admire what the company does best. Innovate in a way that you feel unburdened by modern technology.
Some people call this concept "It just works"; others outright hate the simplistic approach and the tight ecosystem, but I can't ignore its benefits. There are cases where using an iPhone just feels smoother and better, and there are cases where Android phones excel and come out on top of iPhones.
My disappointment comes from the initial hope that Apple will somehow fix foldables, as I'm not a big fan of them in their current state. But looking at these renders, and having used the Pixel Fold for a while, this hope now starts to vanish. To me it seems that Apple has gone backwards rather than learning from the years and years of foldable experience we've got up until now.
Do you feel the same way? Were you expecting something fresh and different from the iPhone Fold? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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