Nikkei Asia reports that Apple’s suppliers were building only a few hundred foldable iPhones a day through August, when a normal iPhone launch needs tens of thousands a day to hit its production target. Apple added an extra trial run over the summer to confirm the phone could be mass produced to its specified design, and that round pushed commercial production back by weeks. The yields Apple wants improved are on surface flatness and hinge performance. Quality control is rejecting all but a few of the units coming off the line, while suppliers work around the clock, per AppleInsider.
Apple announces the phone on September 9. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman does not believe there are massive delays or supply chain problems at this point, and he expects the foldable to arrive at the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro or very close to it. Nikkei’s sources describe a launch Apple may not be able to supply. Both can hold at once, because a phone can ship on schedule and still be nearly impossible to buy for months. Surface flatness will not be read out on stage next week, and it is the number that decides how many of these exist in September.