IDC senior research director Nabila Popal expects Apple to deliver more than 10 million foldable iPhones in the first year of sales, a forecast Bloomberg reported ahead of the September 9 event. The phone is rumored at roughly $2,500, which would make it the most expensive iPhone Apple has sold, and IDC still has it taking 40 percent of all foldable shipments in 2027.
The comparison a shopper has today is Samsung, whose Galaxy Z Fold 8 uses the same passport-like aspect ratio Apple is reported to be planning and starts at $1,899 with 256GB. Popal frames the audience as a very elite set of consumers who will line up for the device. Counterpoint Research, forecasting the same market, puts book-style phones at 76 percent of foldable shipments in 2026, up from 52 percent in 2025.