Apple executives are hoping to drop the foldable devices in a 2026 release, although the company may delay that to work out technical challenges, The Journal reports. One of Apple's goals is to remove the crease left on the screen cover of foldable devices -- a feat Samsung has tried, and failed, to achieve, according to Bloomberg.
In recent years, Apple has been making incremental changes to its lineup of iPhones, largely aimed at making them thinner, with faster chips and sharper cameras. The largest upgrade to the popular smartphone was the addition of a camera control button on this year's iPhone 16.
While the company has been banking on the rollout of its artificial intelligence features, known as Apple Intelligence, to supercharge sales, analysts have warned that more substantial innovations will be needed to drive interest.
Although iPhone sales jumped 6% year-over-year in the September quarter to $46.22 billion, the company's annual revenue grew just 1% in the 2024 fiscal year. Apple has struggled to impress in recent years, and it faces steep competition in key markets.
China has been a particular pain point for Apple. Earlier this year, sales of the iPhone slumped as cheaper, home-grown alternatives gained traction in the country. Apple regained some ground toward the latter half of the year, but it's on a mission to re-establish itself as a dominant force in the global smartphone market.
Apple re-entered the top 5 smartphone companies in China at second place with the launch of its iPhone 16, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation released in October.