Apple has been said to be about to launch an iPhone Fold just about every year since at least 2018. Most recently, it had appeared likely that it would come out in 2026, just based on the sheer volume of reports claiming so.

Now leaker Fixed Focus Digital on Weibo says that Apple is stockpiling iPhone Fold components. It's claimed that this information comes from supply chain sources, too.

The report does — in translation — slightly distance itself from those sources, though. It says that "Apple is suspected to be stocking" the components.

Nonetheless, the leaker concludes that this means the iPhone Fold "is getting closer and closer."

This does, though, follow a recent pair of reports regarding one particular component. First, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the iPhone Fold's screen hinge could be less costly than expected.

But then a separate source in Japan said that there were issues over this same hinge. Apple was reported to be still finalizing the design, said an analyst from Mizuho Securities, and that this was likely to push the iPhone Fold into 2027.

Mizuho Securities does not have a track record in Apple leaks. But then Fixed Focus Digital does not have a great or even long-running one either.

Fixed Focus Digital even reported in 2024 that Apple had given up on the whole idea of an iPhone Fold. But the leaker was accurate about various claims regarding the iPhone 16e.

Source: Appleinsider