IPhone Foldable Prototype Reaches Carriers for Network Testing

Prototype foldable iPhones are now in the hands of carriers worldwide for network compatibility testing, which puts Apple closer to a commercial launch than any previous report has suggested. Mass production is rumored to begin as early as July, with a September debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.

The $2,000 starting price is the number that deserves the most attention here. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 launched at $1,899, and that phone has spent years iterating toward something most buyers still consider a niche product. Apple entering at or above that price point, on a first-generation device, is a significant bet that its brand alone can absorb the premium.

The Hinge Question

The liquid metal hinge had been the main technical concern in earlier supply chain reports, with quality control failures during durability testing. The latest claim from leaker Fixed Focus Digital is that those issues are resolved, though “resolved according to a leaker” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

Liquid metal alloys are amorphous, meaning they lack the grain structure that causes traditional metals to fatigue and crack under repeated stress. Apple has used the material in SIM ejector tools and small internal brackets, but a load-bearing hinge that must survive hundreds of thousands of fold cycles is a different problem entirely.

The rumored spec sheet fills in the rest of the picture:

• 7.8-inch internal display, 5.5-inch external display
• A20 chip and C2 modem
• Touch ID in place of Face ID
• Dual rear camera system

The Touch ID choice is the quiet oddity on that list. Apple has pushed Face ID as its identity for years, and reverting to a fingerprint sensor on its most expensive device suggests the folding form factor creates geometry that Face ID cannot reliably handle yet.

Carrier testing is a late-stage step, but it is not the last one. Hardware can still change between now and any September announcement.