iPhone Fold production line almost ready for next year’s launch – report

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An iPhone Fold production line is being prepared in readiness for the launch of the first folding iPhone next year, and a new supply-chain report says that this is almost ready to begin production. The news follows a recent report that Apple is currently testing realistic prototypes of the device.

The plant will reportedly have the capacity to produce displays for around twice as many devices as Apple actually expects to sell …

The long journey to an iPhone Fold

Folding smartphones have been around since 2018, but Apple opted for its famous “best, not first” approach – waiting until it felt it was able to produce something which would be worth owning.

The wisdom of that approach was demonstrated by Samsung’s disastrous launch of the Galaxy Fold, with the same problems persisting for several generations.

Alongside ensuring that a folding phone couldn’t be killed by dust, one of Apple’s biggest concerns was said to be the very visible crease in the unfolded screen. Indeed, the company was reportedly so dissatisfied with early samples that it told its suppliers to go back to the drawing board.

It was reported earlier this year that display partner Samsung finally produced something to Apple’s satisfaction, with good supporting evidence for this contention. The display it created for the iPhone Fold was said to be more advanced than those used in its own folding phones of the time, with Apple reportedly giving the go-ahead for production.

iPhone Fold production line almost ready

A new supply-chain report says that Samsung last year started work on a dedicated production line for iPhone Fold screens, and this is now almost complete. ET News reports.

Samsung Display has started preparing to produce organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) for foldable iPhones. It is understood that they are building a production line dedicated to Apple’s foldable display […] It is said that work such as equipment replacement began in the second half of last year, and it has reached the final stage.

Will have double the capacity Apple expects to need

The iPhone Fold is expected to carry a very high price-tag that will likely limit demand, but it seems Apple wants to be prepared should the new model prove unexpectedly popular.

Previous reporting has suggested that Apple expects to sell 6-8M units in the first year, but today’s report says that Samsung will be able to produce twice as many screens if required.

The production capacity is 35,000 sheets per month based on the 6th generation glass director. Converted to the 7-inch foldable OLED standard, it can produce 15 million panels per year.

While the exact specs may not yet have been finalized, we did get a look at a few of the specs of the prototypes currently being tested: a 7.58-inch unfolded screen size, dual 48MP rear cameras, and a titanium body.