Apple's first foldable phone specs revealed ahead of imminent launch

Apple's first foldable phone is finally becoming a reality.

With the unveiling just days away, Apple and Samsung are set for a head-to-head foldable showdown — seven years in the making.

Apple's entry into the foldable market, long dominated by Samsung, is expected to trigger a major shake-up. Chinese manufacturers are also joining the fray, making September shaping up to be the most fiercely contested month yet in the global foldable phone market.

Apple will hold a product launch event themed "Surprise and Shine" at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, at 2 a.m. Thursday (Korean Standard Time), according to industry sources. Apple's first foldable phone is expected to be unveiled at the event.

The device will adopt a "passport-ratio" form factor that opens like a book — a design similar to Samsung's recently released Galaxy Z Fold8. The outer display is expected to measure around 5.5 inches, with the inner screen spanning 7.6 to 7.8 inches. Apple is reportedly engineering the phone for an unfolded thickness of approximately 4.5 millimeters.

To achieve the ultra-slim profile, Apple is expected to replace Face ID with a Touch ID sensor embedded in the side power button. The rear camera system is expected to be simplified to a dual setup — a 48-megapixel main lens and an ultrawide lens — with no telephoto.

Apple's launch comes seven years after Samsung released its first foldable phone in 2019. Samsung has held the lead in the global foldable market during that time. According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung Electronics held a 40 percent share of the global foldable phone market last year, ranking first.

The Galaxy Z Fold8 series, released in July with a redesigned aspect ratio, has been breaking sales records and rewriting the history of Samsung's foldable lineup.

Pre-orders in South Korea during the week before the official domestic launch reached about 1.44 million units — the highest pre-order figure ever recorded for any Galaxy smartphone. Overseas pre-sales also surged, rising more than 30 percent in the United States and more than 20 percent in Europe.

Apple's entry is expected to intensify the market share battle. Counterpoint Research projects Apple will capture a 25 percent share of the global foldable market this year, while Samsung Electronics' share is forecast to slip from 40 percent last year to 32 percent.

Chinese manufacturers are also pressing their challenge in the foldable phone market, following Samsung and Apple.

Xiaomi unveiled its new Xiaomi 18 Fold at IFA 2026, Europe's largest consumer electronics trade show, held in Berlin from Friday through Monday. The device adopts the same passport-ratio design as Samsung's latest foldable.

The phone is powered by the XRING O3, a mobile processor Xiaomi designed in-house. The XRING O3 is Xiaomi's latest chip, built on a 3-nanometer process. Xiaomi has previously relied mainly on processors from outside suppliers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek.

Huawei is also fielding a comparable form factor with its Pura X foldable lineup.

With Samsung, Apple and Chinese manufacturers all converging on the passport-ratio design, competition in what has become the foldable market's defining segment is set to intensify further.