Foldables are sort of boring now — and that’s great news for Apple
This Verge column traces how foldable phones have evolved from a shaky, gimmicky category into a mature, reliable segment of the smartphone market — and argues that this newfound stability is precisely why Apple can now confidently enter the space with a folding iPhone. Early foldables, starting with Royole's flawed FlexPai and Samsung's fault-ridden first Galaxy Fold, were plagued by durability problems and poor reviews, but successive generations from Samsung, Motorola, Google and Chinese rivals have steadily ironed out the flaws.
Foldables have since become thinner, sturdier and cheaper, with entry-level models such as Motorola's Razr now costing $799 and Samsung's Z Flip 7 FE $899, even as flagship book-style foldables remain around $2,000. Durability has also markedly improved, with Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold achieving an IP68 rating and Honor's Magic V6 going further with IP69 while also being the thinnest foldable with the largest battery. Manufacturers including Huawei and Samsung have begun experimenting with new form factors, such as trifolds and wider flip designs, signalling that the technology has moved from novelty to a settled, dependable product category — the kind of maturity Apple typically waits for before joining a market.
- Foldable phones have matured from buggy novelty to reliable mainstream category
- Prices have fallen and durability, cameras and design have improved significantly
- This stability likely paves the way for Apple's rumoured foldable iPhone
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Foldable phones fold or flip in half, cramming a bigger screen into a pocket-sized device. Samsung has led the market since 2019, with Google, Motorola and several Chinese manufacturers, including Huawei, also competing. Apple, which makes the iPhone, has not yet released one, though it is widely expected to.
Early foldables were unreliable, with hinges and screens that wore out or broke, and reviewers were often critical. Over several years, manufacturers have made the devices thinner, tougher and more water-resistant, while also bringing prices down, so they now compete more directly with ordinary high-end smartphones.
This matters because Apple has a long-standing habit of entering new product categories only once the underlying technology has settled down and proved itself reliable, rather than being first to market. The state of the foldable market today is therefore seen as a signal for whether, and when, Apple might launch its own folding iPhone.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of the piece's optimistic reading point to genuine, measurable progress: entry-level foldables now start under $800, flagship models carry proper IP68/IP69 water and dust ratings, and hinge and crease engineering have improved markedly since the fragile first-generation devices. From this view, a category that has spent years shedding its gimmicky reputation in favour of dependable engineering is precisely the kind of settled, de-risked market that a historically cautious entrant like Apple would wait for, and its arrival could validate foldables as a mainstream format rather than a niche curiosity.
The case against
Sceptics would counter that apparent maturity can be overstated by comparing today's foldables only to their worst early predecessors rather than to conventional phones, which still outperform them on durability, resale value and long-term crease-free display life. They might argue that flagship book-style foldables remaining around $2,000 shows the category has not truly solved its cost problem, and that experimentation with trifolds and unusual flip designs suggests manufacturers are still searching for a compelling use case rather than having settled on one, meaning Apple's entry is no guarantee that foldables will move beyond a devoted but limited enthusiast audience.
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