Stunning iPhone Fold video teases Apple’s foldable future

iPhone foldable — (Image credit: Svyatoslav Alexandrov/YouTube)

Apple’s iPhone Flip may still be the stuff of rumors, but that’s not stopping on concept design from suggesting a different approach for the company’s anticipated foldable phone. Instead of a clamshell design that flips open to reveal an extended screen, why not an iPhone that folds open like a book?

That’s the argument put forth by YouTube creator Svyatoslav Alexandrov anyway. Alexandrov’s created an iPhone concept video for a mythical product called the iPhone Fold that has more in common with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 than the clamshell design that other leakers have tipped for Apple’s foldable.

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Alexandrov makes a compelling case for a folio-like iPhone with an external 6.3-inch screen that unfolds to reveal an 8-inch folding screen on the inside. Opening the iPhone would mean blowing it up into a larger iPad mini that's still viable as a portable device but also large enough to be considered a tablet.

The video showcases a sleek iPhone concept. Instead of relying on FaceID, it would turn to TouchID, using the primary screen as support for an embedded fingerprint sensor for you to quickly unlock your phone. As far as cameras go, the folding iPhone would feature a selfie-cam on the front with a triple camera array on the back similar to what you get from the iPhone 12 Pro, though with more advanced optics.

That setup would also include an updated LiDAR scanner, improving on what’s found in the newest iPhone Pro models. Alexandrov seems to have decided to make the telltale notch on the outer screen smaller in general, likely by opting for TouchID instead as well as only including one front-facing camera.

This concept is compatible with MagSafe and 5G-ready, though Alexandrov didn't dream up additional details, such as whether you could use an Apple Pencil with it or what type of hinges would support its folding display. However, iPhone Fold features that are teased in the video include an A15 processor — that’s the chipset likely to power this fall’s iPhones — an under-display camera on the 8-inch screen, four surround speakers and five different color options.

Given the various evolutionary forms the iPhone has gone through already, swapping from thinner to thicker edges, adopting MagSafe charging tech, and ever-improving cameras, a folding iteration is likely next on the agenda. It probably isn't in the cards for this fall’s iPhone 13 release. Reports suggest whatever foldable Apple is working on — iPhone Flip or Fold — won’t show up until 2022. Still, that leaves us plenty of time to speculate on how Apple could approach foldable phones and chip away at Samsung’s dominance in this segment of the smartphone market.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.