Purchase price doubles: Reports say Apple is spending heavily to buy Samsung's 12GB memory, just for the first foldable phone, the iPhone Fold

IT Home reported on March 12 that, according to a blog post published by Korean media outlet The Bell on March 9, Apple’s first foldable-screen phone, the iPhone Fold, has entered a stage of ramping up mass-production supply preparations and is said to have placed large orders with Samsung for 12GB LPDDR5X memory chips.

Citing information from the blog post, IT Home said that to improve its bargaining power, Apple is also purchasing memory from suppliers such as SK hynix and Micron, but Samsung still accounts for the largest share of supply.

However, the media noted that although Apple has secured a highly competitive starting price, due to industry-cycle effects, the memory cost under this supply contract has still surged to about twice the level of last year.

On the supply-chain side, Apple is confident about the market performance of the iPhone Fold and has recently asked to raise the initial shipment target by 20%. The main assembly manufacturer, Foxconn, is expected to benefit directly.

Since the device is scheduled for its first release in the autumn of 2026, production of its core components is expected to begin a full ramp-up from the end of the second quarter. Based on its ultra-premium positioning, Apple estimates that the iPhone Fold’s first-year shipments will roughly fall in the range of 7 million to 9 million units, with an annual sales ceiling of no more than 12 million units—accounting for less than 5% of total iPhone sales in 2025.

In terms of design, over the past 5 years Apple has modified the design方案 for the iPhone Fold more than 10 times. The final version adopts a wide-body design similar to a passport. The outer display is about 5.4 inches, and after the main screen is unfolded, it reaches 7.7 inches (resolution 2713 x 1920, 4:3 ratio).

The Economic Times noted that to achieve a visual experience with nearly no fold marks, the fold depth will be compressed to an extreme 0.15 millimeters. To do so, Apple not only uses a large amount of ultra-thin flexible glass (UFG), but also pairs it with a liquid metal hinge and a titanium-metal body, thereby significantly optimizing both the device’s structural strength and weight distribution. In addition, the screen encapsulation layer introduces the encapsulated color film (COE) technology, making the display thinner and more energy-efficient.

For hardware specifications, the iPhone Fold is equipped with an A20 Pro chip, its own C2 5G baseband, and also includes a dedicated heat spreader to enhance thermal performance. The imaging system includes a 48-megapixel dual rear camera setup and an under-display front camera with up to 24 megapixels.

To control costs and improve usability, the new model removes Face ID and switches to a side-mounted fingerprint reader (Touch ID). The device contains a large battery of 5400 to 5800mAh and will only be offered in an eSIM version. Its final expected price could be as high as 2399 US dollars.