Earlier reports claimed that Apple was bullish about how many units it expected to sell of its upcoming iPhone Fold. However, a new leak suggests otherwise, with the iPhone maker taking a more “cautious” approach to the release of its first foldable phone.
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Apple is expecting to ship three million iPhone Fold units, according to Korean publication The Elec. This, the publication’s sources claim, is to gauge market interest before ramping up production if the iPhone Fold proves popular.
An earlier report from another Korean publication, Aju News, had claimed that Apple increased its iPhone Fold display order from Samsung Display to 20 million units. This has now been revised down.
The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold will have a similar wide aspect ratio to the Apple iPhone Fold. (Photo by Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
“Apple's cautious approach follows its experience with the $3,499 Vision Pro headset, which faced weak sales amid price resistance. The foldable iPhone is seen as potentially facing similar challenges,” the story reads.
The 20 million units figure, and the 10 million that came before it, were always high for a first-generation product from Apple in an unfamiliar product space. Samsung dominates the foldables market, and its own sales expectations only top out at seven million units across four devices: the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide, and Galaxy TriFold.
It is interesting, however, that the Vision Pro’s struggles are causing concern for Apple. The “price resistance” is down to the headset's $3,500 price tag. Although they’re different products, the iPhone Fold is also an entirely new product category with a high $2,000 price tag. The parallels are obvious, and Apple’s caution makes sense.
While Apple is scaling back its volume, it isn’t compromising on the hardware, locking in a three-year exclusive deal with its primary rival to ensure display quality. Huawei and BOE Technology reportedly fell short of Apple’s durability, quality, and yield requirements.
ForbesApple Stays Competitive On New iPhone Fold PriceThe iPhone Fold will use Samsung Display’s CoE (Color Filter on Encapsulation) technology, which has been used on the Galaxy Z Fold series since 2021 (starting with the Galaxy Z Fold 3).
CoE technology removes the plastic polarizer sheet that typically sits between the cover glass and the OLED panel. A polarizer’s purpose is to dampen reflections and improve contrast; without it, your phone screen would look like a mirror.
The problem is that a polarizer can cause cracking at bending points, and it blocks about 50% of the light emitted by the OLED panel. This means more power has to be pumped to the screen to mitigate the brightness loss, which drains the battery. Instead, CoE technology integrates the color filter directly onto the thin protective layer of the OLED. As a result, the iPhone Fold display should be more energy-efficient and slimmer than a panel with a polarizer.
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