Apple has increased its inventory of foldable screen iPhones (tentatively called iPhone Fold) to 10 million units, and is expected to complete sales from 2026 to early 2027. This number is significantly higher than the previous forecast of 7 million to 8 million units given by mainstream analysts.
Rumors surrounding whether the foldable screen iPhone will be officially released in September 2026 have been swaying repeatedly, but the supply chain's judgment on production is gradually converging. In April this year, Nikkei Asia and many institutions estimated that Apple’s orders for foldable screen iPhones in 2026 would be about 7 million to 8 million units; at the same time, the breaking account "Digital Chat Station" gave a higher expectation of 11 million units. Now, the latest news is that Apple has increased iPhone Fold orders for the rest of 2026 to 10 million units, which is basically somewhere between the above two statements.
According to reports, Apple expects total iPhone production in 2026 to exceed 220 million units, a figure that contrasts with expectations for 2025. At the end of 2025, outsiders had estimated that Apple’s full-year iPhone shipments would be about 247 million units. As early as September 2025, there was news that Apple was looking for ways to speed up the production pace of folding screen iPhones, and gave a growth forecast of about 10% for overall iPhone sales in 2026.
The new report also echoes previous research on folding screen market share: some analysts believe that iPhone Fold will account for about 29% of global folding screen mobile phone display panel orders in 2026, slightly lower than Samsung’s expected 31%, but higher than Huawei’s expected 24%. If Apple actually produces 10 million folding screen iPhones in 2026, it will further support the market's judgment that it has solved key structural and process issues, such as hinges and motherboard-related manufacturing problems that have received much attention.
This “ten million units” figure is for iPhone orders in 2026, so it implies from the side that the folding screen iPhone is still expected to be unveiled in September, and will not be postponed to 2027 as some rumors suggest. However, this is not a certainty: under Apple's usual rhythm, the product may still be released in September, and the official shipping time will be slightly later than the release window.
Judging from past experience, Apple usually locks in orders for about 30 million units for a new generation of Pro models in the early stages of launch. However, it is not clear whether this ratio will be adjusted after the folding screen iPhone is added to the product line. Uncertainty in global chip supply may also change the order structure of various models. In the past, Apple has generally prepared around 20 million units for the launch of non-Pro models in September, but there may be an exception in 2026, because current rumors indicate that the non-Pro iPhone 18 will be launched in the spring of 2027 instead of the traditional fall window.
In fact, as early as May 2026, there was news that Apple was rearranging the production capacity ratio of the iPhone 17 series based on changes in demand and the possible delay of the iPhone 18. This also echoes another report that Apple plans to split and partially move the launch of the next non-Pro iPhone from September 2026 to spring 2027 to account for multiple factors in the supply chain and market rhythm. At the same time, the latest report also mentioned that Apple has required the supply chain to reserve a certain amount of key iPhone 17 components, which is seen as a signal to prevent supply shortages in advance.