Is the iPhone Fold DOA a year before it even arrives?

Last week was another tough one for the beleaguered iPhone Air, whose commercial failure is now so widely accepted that even copycat products are getting pre-emptively canceled. According to industry sources, Chinese manufacturers, including Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, have abandoned plans to launch Air-esque ultraslim phones and are now exploring other areas. Apple may currently be wishing it did the same.

The Air’s errors–its Airrors, if you like–have been discussed numerous times on this website, so I will refrain from hashing them out again. Suffice it to say, Apple was wrong to assume that what customers really wanted was an amazingly thin and light phone, and that they would be prepared to pay a high price and compromise on camera and battery performance to get it. It just didn’t manage to read the room.

There are several consolations for Apple amid this isolated failure. One is that the company as a whole continues to make extravagant amounts of money. Another is that the other new phones launched this fall, particularly the premium 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, are selling just fine. But the silver lining most relevant to the iPhone Air is the juicy prospect of the iPhone Fold, currently expected to arrive next year.

Most phone makers have had a foldable on the market for years; Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold launched way back in 2019, and it was followed by folding phones from Motorola, Google, Huawei, and others. But Apple has been biding its time, waiting for the moment and the available technology to be just right. In other words, it doesn’t want to launch a foldable until it can make one without a crease.

Reports last week suggest Apple has indeed solved the crease problem, and is on the point of beginning mass production of the first-gen iPhone Fold. And if the Fold is a success, Apple could retrospectively vindicate the Air project, since the Air’s breakthroughs in chassis strength and battery design were always going to come in handy when it moved onto its folding follow-up. Apple was just a year ahead of itself. “Guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet,” Tim Cook might have said. “But your kids are gonna love it.”

The question is this: has Apple learned its lesson? There’s certainly an appetite for foldables, but that doesn’t mean any foldable phone will automatically be a success. If you’d asked a random customer in September whether they liked the idea of a phone that was 2.5mm thinner and more than an ounce lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro, while still squeezing in a larger screen, I’m sure they would have said, “Yes, please!” But it’s the small print, the monkey’s paw repercussions, which make all the difference. Would we like a foldable iPhone? Yes please. But what’s the catch?

The iPhone Fold may suffer from some or all of the Air’s limitations, because its two folding halves will need to each be similarly ultraslim in order to make the folded device acceptably pocketable. But that’s not necessarily a dealbreaker. Where the Air weakened the camera and battery for the sake of aesthetics, the Fold’s sacrifices will be in the name of achieving a genuinely useful functional upgrade. I think many Apple fans would take that deal.

Here’s the catch. If you look again at that report linked above, it includes a prediction that the iPhone Fold will start at an eyewatering $2,399. Let’s just pause for a moment to give everyone who fainted a chance to get their breath back. Feeling better? So anyway, $2,399… oh dear, they’ve gone again.

A while back, we posted an article discussing the idea that the iPhone Fold would be essentially two iPhone Airs in a trench coat. Our main concern was that this would be too thick. But there was also the danger that the iPhone Fold would cost the same as two iPhone Airs–an alarming prospect. And now we hear it’ll actually cost the same as two iPhone Airs and an Apple Watch Series 11. Once again, Apple is determined to test how much we want the thing we’ve asked for, and I fear it will again get the answer, “Not that much.”

Of course, this is only a rumor. Based on other sources the iPhone Fold might cost as little as $2,000. Then again, it might cost as much as $2,500. If you’re hoping for the Fold to cost less than two Airs, you’re probably going to be disappointed. And I fear that, unless it makes more of an effort to understand what phone buyers actually care about, and how much they’re prepared to pay and sacrifice to obtain it, Apple will be disappointed too.

Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.

Trending: Top stories

Reports of Tim Cook’s demise are greatly exaggerated, says the Macalope.

Mahmoud Itani lists 9 essential iPad accessories to unleash your tablet’s full powers.

iPhone Air is such a flop even copycat products are reportedly being canceled.

But on the plus side, here’s why the iPhone Air’s USB-C port is actually a technical marvel.

Podcast of the week

On the latest episode of the ‪Macworld Podcast‬ we talk about what we’re thankful for. Plus, a look back at the Apple Cafe concept, and your emails.

You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.

Reviews corner

• Foundation: Galactic Frontier review: TV-inspired iPhone game fails in so many ways.
• Audio Pro A28 W review: Classy stereo speakers with AirPlay 2 for Apple devices.
• Keychron Q1 HE QMK review: Premium mechanical keyboard worth a premium price.
• Ugreen NASync DH series review: A perfect home NAS for Mac users.

The rumor mill

Folding iPhone on track to launch next year with wild $2,399 price tag, reports claim.

iPad mini may be on track to get a display upgrade before the iPad Air, weirdly.

iOS 27 could be Mac OS X Snow Leopard all over again.

Software updates, bugs, and problems

Suspicious behavior prompts concerns about ‘hackers’ on Apple Podcasts app.

This hidden iOS 26 setting lets you turn off Apple Wallet ads.

And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters, including our new email from The Macalope–an irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, or X for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.