The rumor mill has been simmering for some time.
The first details are now known.
Apple wants to add a completely new product to its portfolio.
Cupertino - Samsung has already developed them to series production: foldable smartphones.
With the Galaxy Z Fold and the Galaxy Z Flip, the Koreans even have two models.
Motorola is also represented with the Razr 5G in.
There have been rumors for a long time that Apple also wants to enter this market segment.
Now the plans seem to be more concrete.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has learned that the first foldable iPhone will appear in 2023.
Kuo even provides more details.
Accordingly, Samsung is the supplier of the eight-inch display with QHD resolution.
The display drivers are also said to come from the Koreans.
Apple plans iPhone revolution: hybrid operating system could be used
For touch panel technology, on the other hand, Apple could fall back on TPK.
TPK has been an Apple supplier for several years.
How much the foldable iPhone will cost and what software will run on it is not known.
IOS, iPad OS or even a mixture of both operating systems could be used.
Gizmodo
considers the hybrid version to be likely, as it will make optimal use of all the advantages of the multifunctional design.
Apple plans iPhone revolution: foldable model should overtake competition
Kuo expects Apple to target sales between 15 and 20 million units.
The US giant would overtake the competition in one fell swoop.
In 2020, 2.8 million foldable smartphones were sold, around 80 percent of which came from Samsung.
But Kuo assumes that in the future every major smartphone brand will have a foldable model on offer.
When Apple's model hits the market, Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola or Oppo will already be producing the third or fourth generation.
But this should be more of an advantage for Apple, as the company should benefit from this experience and the further development of foldable displays.
The analyst believes that Apple, with its cross-product ecosystems and hardware designs, has the best starting position in this market segment.
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