Apple May Launch 7-Inch Foldable iPhone With Apple Pencil Support in 2023

Apple may launch a foldable iPhone with a 7-inch OLED display and Apple Pencil support as soon as 2023, according to global technology research firm Omdia.

foldable iPhone concept feature

In analysis cited by investment research firm EqualOcean, spotted by iPhone in Canada, Omdia predicts that Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone in 2023. The device is said to have a display size in the range of 7.3 to 7.6-inches and feature an OLED panel.

Omdia, a global communications and digital media research organization, predicts that Apple may launch a 7.3-7.6-inch foldable OLED smartphone in 2023 and add an activity pen to its foldable iPhone.

While the machine learning translation of the original report predicts support for an "activity pen," it seems likely that this is actually referring to the ‌Apple Pencil‌, or at least a variant of the existing iPad accessory of the same name.

Apple Pencil support has been rumored for the iPhone intermittently for some years, but the feature has never materialized. In spite of this, there is a clearer motive behind bringing ‌Apple Pencil‌ support to a larger foldable iPhone. With a display as large as 7.6-inches, the foldable ‌iPhone‌ would be almost as large as the iPad mini, which has a 7.9-inch display. The ‌iPad mini‌ has supported the ‌Apple Pencil‌ since 2019, so it would make sense for a foldable ‌iPhone‌ with roughly the same display size to support it too.

The ‌Apple Pencil‌ excels in illustration, handwriting, and productivity tasks that demand fine control, so Apple may have determined that its main utilities could not be significantly taken advantage of on smaller iPhones in recent years. With a display said to be almost as large as the ‌iPad mini‌, there is a much clearer use-case for the ‌Apple Pencil‌ on a 7-inch foldable ‌iPhone‌.

The report mirrors previous speculation when it comes to the OLED display panel. Apple's rumored foldable ‌iPhone‌ has been said to feature an OLED display, namely from Samsung, according to reports of internal durability testing and display sample orders.

In January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple was testing foldable iPhones with a range of display sizes. A recent report from Taiwanese website Economic Daily News claimed that two prototype foldable iPhones had passed internal tests, and said that the device could launch in late 2022 or 2023.

Rumors about Apple working on a foldable ‌‌iPhone‌‌ date back to 2016, and the company has filed a significant number of patents related to a foldable ‌iPhone‌. There has been an increasing number of reports surrounding the device in recent months, with more details emerging and even a timeframe for launch gradually taking shape.

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Top Rated Comments

Azeroth1 Avatar
57 months ago
I’m sure they would implement it well, but I have never understood the appeal of a foldable phone. Just seems to introduce structural weaknesses for benefits I don’t just see. What am I missing?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wordman Avatar
57 months ago

Wow. Now that Apple may make a foldable phone. Look how the responses here have changed. Lol.
Went from what a stupid idea to Apple Will rock this.
Looked to me as though most people who've commented so far don't want a foldable phone; Apple or otherwise.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
az431 Avatar
57 months ago

Samsung charges their Galaxy zFold 2 $2300 or something. Apple will sell iFold for $4000
Samsung’s top of the line S21 is more expensive than Apple’s counterpart.

But hey don’t let that stop you from making up facts to support your false narrative.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syklee26 Avatar
57 months ago

Wow. Now that Apple may make a foldable phone. Look how the responses here have changed. Lol.
Went from what a stupid idea to Apple Will rock this.
Not me. I have had foldable for 5 months. It has great value for some people.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaRev Avatar
57 months ago

Apple always a few years behind...
I think you mean Apple releases technology when it answers a problem not just because they can. I still hate the idea of a chunkier foldable phone, only use I can almost see is an iPad mini that opens up to a full size or larger iPad.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jsmith189 Avatar
57 months ago

Wow. Now that Apple may make a foldable phone. Look how the responses here have changed. Lol.
Went from what a stupid idea to Apple Will rock this.
There's been like one positive response above your post. Not sure what's "changed" here lmao.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)