Foldables are hot right now, with brands racing to make the slimmest, slickest designs yet. But while the focus is on thickness, the real obstacle to mainstream adoption is still the price. And that’s where Apple could flip the entire game.
Rumors suggest Apple is planning to launch its first foldable iPhone in 2026, priced between $1,800 and $2,000. 
That’s less than earlier whispers of $2,400+, and it puts Apple right in line with current foldables from Samsung, Google, and others. For a company known to charge premium prices for late entries, this signals something big: Apple wants in on foldables – not from above, but as a direct competitor.
Foldables are everywhere on the Android side. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 just dropped with a price bump. Honor, vivo, Oppo, and Google are all churning out foldables with each new cycle. But these devices remain niche – they look futuristic, sure, but the $1,800+ price tags keep them out of reach for average users.
Apple’s move here isn’t just about catching up in hardware. It’s about shifting perception. If Apple enters at the same price point as Samsung or Google, it essentially validates that range as the industry standard. Consumers, retailers, and carriers all take note. And perhaps more importantly, developers finally get serious about optimizing apps for foldable screens.
We’ve seen this before – Apple arrives late, but changes the landscape. Take the Vision Pro: priced too high and sold as the future, it ended up being a cautionary tale about pricing tech out of reach. Apple seems to have learned that lesson. A $2,000 foldable iPhone won’t be cheap, but it feels strategic rather than indulgent.
If it does launch as rumored, Apple’s foldable will bring with it legitimacy, mainstream awareness, and likely, a surge in interest from users who wouldn’t touch a foldable from anyone else. Because let’s face it: foldables might not need Apple to exist, but they might need Apple to matter.