Quick summary
Apple is reportedly preparing two foldable devices: a folding iPhone larger than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and a 19-inch folding MacBook.
The latter would be biggest MacBook we've seen to date.
Apple is claimed to be making some major changes to the iPhone and iPad, and a new report gives us a really good indication of what those changes will be.
In addition to radically redesigning the iPhone in the form of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple reportedly intends to make its biggest MacBook ever – a laptop that's different from any MacBook you've seen before.
That's because it's could be a foldable device.
The Wall Street Journal (paywall) says that Apple is working on three key new devices: the iPhone 17 Air, a folding iPhone, and a folding MacBook with a 19-inch display.
When will Apple launch its foldables?
According to the source, the folding iPhone is currently scheduled for a 2026 or 2027 release, with the innovative MacBook following along later.
The larger foldable is allegedly "intended to serve as a laptop" and "would have a screen that unfolds to be nearly as large as some desktop monitors, at about 19 inches". The folding iPhone would be smaller, of course, but still big when unfolded. Its display would be "larger than an iPhone 16 Pro Max", it is said.
Apple has been relatively slow to enter the foldables market, and the report says that one reason is that current foldable phones on the market don't meet Apple's requirements for thinness, lightness or energy efficiency.
Apple has also reportedly encountered issues around the hinge and the cover that protects the folding display.
Those challenges haven't been completely solved, so while some executives really want a 2026 release for the folding iPhone, it may take longer to meet Apple's demanding specification.
That means that the iPhone star of the show in 2025 is likely to be the iPhone 17 Air, which we're expecting to launch alongside the other iPhone 17 models in September. That's going to be sold primarily on its lack of porkiness.
Apple is also apparently gambling that its reduced feature set – most likely including a lesser camera system than the one in the other iPhones – won't be a deal-breaker for style-conscious purchasers.
