Foldable iPhone Production Target Rises to 10 Million Units

Apple’s production target for its first foldable iPhone has quietly climbed. Suppliers have been asked to prepare around 10 million units for this year, up from an earlier estimate of 7 to 8 million. That revision suggests Apple is betting on stronger demand than it initially projected for a device that doesn’t exist yet in any shipping form.

The foldable sits inside a broader second-half 2026 order that Nikkei Asia reports at roughly 80 million iPhones, covering the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable. Full-year iPhone production across all models is expected to cross 220 million units, which puts the foldable’s 10 million allocation in perspective: it’s a meaningful slice, but still a fraction of Apple’s overall output.

Supply Pressure Across the Industry

A memory shortage is currently forcing brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo to lower their own production targets. Apple’s purchasing scale gives it better positioning to lock in components while smaller players pull back, and that advantage matters when a new product category depends on securing parts in volume from the start. Samsung Display and LG Display have already begun mass production of OLED panels for Apple’s 2026 lineup, which covers the devices in this order window.

Apple has reportedly worked through the main hinge engineering problems, though early shipments may still be constrained before production scales through the end of the year. The device is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.

The rumored specs are worth laying out plainly:

• 7.8-inch inner display and 5.5-inch cover display
• A20 chip and Apple’s C2 modem
• Touch ID power button

Pricing is expected to start around $2,500, with higher storage configurations approaching $3,000. Some reports have it launching under the iPhone Ultra name, which would place it above the Pro Max in Apple’s lineup hierarchy, at least in price.