Foldable iPhone May Not Hit Store Shelves Until Months After iPhone 18 Launch, Says Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple Analyst Predicts Strong Demand, Limi

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL ) long-rumored foldable iPhone could arrive later than the rest of the iPhone 18 lineup, with supply constraints potentially delaying preorders and sales until the fourth quarter of 2026, according to prominent analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Foldable iPhone Launch Could Mirror iPhone X Rollout In a post on X over the weekend, Kuo said his latest supply-chain checks indicate assembly shipments of Apple’s first foldable iPhone will total roughly 7 million to 8 million units in the second half of 2026. Third-quarter shipments are expected to reach only 500,000 to 1 million units, far below the estimated 20 million to 22 million iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max units being assembled during the same period. Because of those limited volumes, Kuo believes Apple may follow a strategy similar to the one it used for the iPhone X in 2017. While the foldable device could be...