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Gurman: Foldable iPhone and ‘another new iPhone design’ coming in 2026

The iPhone 16e just launched, but Apple has four more iPhone models launching this fall—including the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air. But per Mark Gurman, 2026 may be even bigger for the iPhone thanks to two brand new designs in the works: a foldable and another mysterious new design.

Next year’s iPhone lineup could bring two brand new designs

This weekend in his Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman detailed Apple’s current iPhone plans for this year and next. And it’s what he shared about next year that was especially interesting.

Gurman writes at Bloomberg:

[Apple is] readying a skinnier iPhone for later this year and focused on finishing up development of its first foldable device for 2026. There’s also another new iPhone design in the works for that year, I’m told.

There are two significant details worth noting here:

  1. Apple’s foldable iPhone is still expected for 2026 and nearing the end of development
  2. and also, a second iPhone next year will come with a new design

This is the first we’ve heard of two new iPhone designs in 2026.

It’s especially surprising, too, since Apple plans to launch the new 17 Air design this year, plus some noteworthy design changes to the iPhone 17 Pro models.

Top comment by Throwback

Liked by 7 people

I'm looking forward to a foldable iPhone. I'm curious to see Apple's take on the design.

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Gurman doesn’t go into any details on this second ‘new iPhone design,’ but it will be fascinating to see what Apple’s plans are as more information is revealed in the future.

Perhaps the base model iPhone 18 will get that new design, since it’s the only model not changing much in the iPhone 17 lineup. Then again, Gurman’s wording seems to hint at something more substantial than a base model revision.

Apple’s 2026 iPhone lineup is still a ways off, but these rumors definitely seem to support recent teases from CEO Tim Cook and hardware chief John Ternus that their iPhone roadmap is more ambitious than ever.

What do you think this mystery new iPhone design in 2026 might be? Let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Ryan Christoffel

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.