Once again, an expected feature on the iPhone has been pushed back to next year’s iPhone line.
Recently, a market researcher announced that Apple will have both a folding screen iPhone and an under-screen Face ID, but both are not ready to launch this year. Previously, many reports said that iPhone 16 Pro will have a Face ID sensor under the screen, saying goodbye to the “rabbit ears” and Dynamic Island area. Apple is also rumored to be working on two foldable iPhone prototypes.
However, according to The Elec, senior market researcher Omdia – Kang Min-soo, “Apple House” will have a folding screen iPhone and Face ID under the screen later than expected. The iPhone 17 series will have a folding screen, the iPhone 18 Pro will have a full-screen design without Dynamic Island.
Mr. Min-soo said:
“Apple predicts the launch of a 7-8 inch folding iPhone in 2026. Next year, the iPhone SE 4 with a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) TFT OLED display will launch, and if the iPhone 17 series adopts the screen LTPO TFT model on all 4 versions in the second half of next year, the company will have to differentiate between models.”
This difference will come from hiding the Face ID sensor under the screen, the researcher claims. He said that initially, Apple planned to add this feature to the iPhone 16 generation in 2024 but now, this feature will be introduced in 2027 – later than other rumored sources.
Concept iPhone 17 Pro.
Introducing a foldable iPhone will make Apple more different from its current “competitors”. A foldable iPhone with a 7-inch or 8-inch screen size will look like an iPad mini with an OLED screen. Therefore, he stated, when “a 7-inch folding screen product is launched… they will aim for synergy and differentiation with the iPad mini.”
