More news on a critical part of the iPhone Fold has been shared by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, which gives hope not only that this phone is actually real, but that Apple's found ways to keep costs down.
Kuo claims that the hinge at the heart of the foldable iPhone will cost noticeably less than previous expectations for Apple to buy. He expects a per-unit price between $70-80, rather than $100 - 120 as had previously been assumed, a reduction of between 20% and 40%.
The price drop is apparently due to an optimized design, as well as the involvement of Foxconn, Apple's primary iPhone assembly partner and one of the largest such companies around.
Foxconn and Shin Zu Shing will be the joint primary manufacturer, with Amphenol also building a minority of the hinges. Kuo goes on to explain that other companies will join the effort down the road in 2027, with the possibility of companies like Luxshare implying further price drops for foldable phone hinges in the future.
A lower price is good news for everyone
The possibility of the hinge's price getting even cheaper is especially interesting. Not just because the iPhone Fold being cheaper can only be a good thing, but that Apple's ability to grow infrastructure will benefit other foldable phones, too.
The one issue uniting all the best foldable phones, including our top pick, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, is their price. Components like the flexible display, dual batteries and additional cameras all drive up the price too, but the volume at which Apple orders parts for iPhones has a knock-on effect for the whole market. And I hope that will apply to the hinges that folding phones rely on to function.
There's still almost a full year to go until the iPhone Fold is expected to launch. Many rumors and leaks could appear between now and then to change our impression of the phone's features and pricing. But hopefully the majority of them will carry good news like this one has.
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