A large foldable iPhone dummy emerges amid rumors of a delay

We may need our first good take a look at the form of the oddly large iPhone Fold, after leaker and journalist Sonny Dickson shared pictures of what he says is a dummy unit of the foldable, alongside related fashions of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. The obvious design leak comes because it’s reported that early engineering exams of the foldable have suffered from manufacturing issues which can trigger it to ship months later than different iPhones this yr.

Dickson, who has a very good monitor document for sourcing correct dummy fashions of Apple and Samsung telephones utilized by case makers to check and design their merchandise, shared images of the foldable unit on Bluesky this morning. It reveals the cellphone from either side, although the within of the dummy reveals little concerning the probably design, not even the potential format of a selfie digicam or Face ID sensors. The exterior is extra informative, exhibiting two rear cameras side-by-side in a raised pill-shaped island that stretches about two thirds of the best way throughout the cellphone’s unusually large physique.

Dickson doesn’t present precise measurements for the dummy unit, although it appears to be like squatter and wider than any book-style foldable we’ve seen to date. It’s closest in model to Google’s first-gen Pixel Fold, although seems wider nonetheless than that cellphone. That selection might sound odd, however Samsung can be rumored to be engaged on a “Wide Fold” variant of its foldable to launch later this yr, suggesting this manner issue might have legs.

The query may be which firm will get there first. Apple has been broadly anticipated to launch the primary foldable iPhone alongside the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max at its traditional iPhone launch occasion in September, with the bottom iPhone 18 to comply with in 2027, however that schedule could also be unsure. Nikkei Asia reports that early manufacturing runs have encountered “engineering challenges” which might be taking longer to resolve than anticipated, which “could delay the first shipment by months.”

“Apple and the supply chain are working under a pressured timeline and the current solutions are not enough to completely solve the engineering challenges,” one supply instructed Nikkei. “More time is needed.” The reported delay echoes a recent prediction by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that the foldable will ship a while after the 2 Pro iPhones, even when it’s revealed alongside them.