While the world is still testing the iPhone 16 series for the first time, somewhere in the basement of Apple's R&D department is an iPhone Flip sample that is actually being tested

The source for this information is Bloomberg chief correspondent and Apple expert Mark Gurman, who, when responding to X's argument that Apple is ignoring foldable phones, said that Apple has so far “mostly ignored” foldable phones, but that “the prototypes with folds, which they naturally don't want,” he claimed, ”but they do have prototypes with folds

Since display creases are a universal problem for foldable phones, it is not surprising to hear that Apple is addressing them But even if there are still obvious folds in these test devices, it is interesting to hear that Apple is at least working on them

As Gurman points out, foldable devices are a small part of the smartphone market Even when manufacturers tout them as the pinnacle of design talent, standard smartphones, including the iPhone, outperform them by a huge margin This seems to be the reason why Apple has yet to release a foldable device, even though rivals like Samsung are on their sixth iteration of foldable devices with the Galaxy Z Fold 6

Despite being so late to the party that most invitees would assume it is not a turn-up, Garman has high hopes for Apple's eventual foldable handset “I believe in the form factor and a foldable iPhone by Apple's expected standards would be the best Apple device ever and would be a game changer,” he wrote in a follow-up post And assuming Apple can learn well from the best foldable it currently has, like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Motorola Razr Plus, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, that first foldable, if it ever actually launches, will be revolutionary! It could be

Other rumors suggest that the iPhone Flip could be released in 2027, so Apple still has a little time to fix display folds and other bugs before it starts manufacturing the device It is said that Apple may even manufacture other foldable devices, such as a giant iPad-MacBook hybrid, before making a foldable iPhone However, Gurman makes no mention of any prototypes of that device in his post