"Absolutely Amazing" vs. a Niche Product: The Market Is Debating the Prospects of the Foldable iPhone

Following Apple’s major product launch event, analysts and market participants debated the prospects of the event’s main new product—the company’s first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. Some experts are already calling it “a new boost for the business” and “an opportunity for premium growth,” while others point out that a foldable iPhone, like foldable Android devices, may not be a product for everyone.

— “Apple entered this market [for foldable devices] years after everyone else—and yet <...> in a single product launch event, it set both the price and the standard against which all competitors will now be measured,” — noted Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of device data and analytics at IDC for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, according to Reuters. Now the real “battleground” in this sector is China, “where Huawei controls nearly 80% of the foldable smartphone market,” the analyst noted, emphasizing that “Apple has just given Chinese consumers a reason to take notice.”

The most important takeaway from the presentation, Geronimo noted in a comment to Yahoo Finance, was the pricing: “Apple has expanded access to its ecosystem at the lower end of the price range while simultaneously creating a new segment of premium devices at the very top. This is a two-pronged move that few competitors are capable of making in a single presentation,” the analyst added.

— With the launch of the foldable iPhone, which starts at $1,999 for the 256-gigabyte model, “Apple has created a new opportunity for premium growth, opened up another source of revenue, and given new momentum to its smartphone business,” agreed PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore (quoted by Reuters).

— Bloomberg notes that the top-of-the-line iPhone Duo configuration—the model with 2 terabytes of storage—will cost buyers $3,199. This is the highest price on the market for mass-produced smartphones, the agency notes, emphasizing that it is comparable to the cost of Apple’s laptops—the MacBook Pro— — and is close to the price of the Vision Pro headset ($3,699)—a product that flopped, in part, due to its high cost. Apple’s first foldable smartphone will test whether consumers are willing to spend big on smartphones, Bloomberg notes.

— In the related mobile communications industry, Apple’s new product is still being met with skepticism: “The best description I can give right now is that, when you look at the foldable phones already on the market, [the iPhone maker launching its own such device] is nothing new,” — Yahoo Finance quotes John Stanky, CEO of mobile carrier AT&T. “There have been really good foldable devices in the Android ecosystem for several years now. We see that they’re generally used as a specific niche product and haven’t gained widespread adoption,” he added. According to Stanky, Apple’s latest device will find its own market, especially among the company’s most loyal fans. “I expect the device will remain a product for a specific segment of the user base—those who want a larger device and are perhaps willing to spend more money to get it,” concluded the AT&T CEO.

— The iPhone Duo could account for 10% of iPhone sales in 2027, compared to the 5% that Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster had predicted before the device’s unveiling, the investor himself wrote on the social media platform X. “The new foldable iPhone is a total game-changer. Seamless. Ultra-thin. A screen 50% larger than the Pro Max. My take: they [Apple] will sell more [foldable devices] than I thought they would before I saw them,” Munster noted. “If a third of Pro Max buyers switch to the Duo next year, that will increase total iPhone revenue by 5% and Apple’s total revenue by 2.5% in fiscal year 2027,” he calculated, noting that “even with somewhat conservative assumptions, the Duo could have a significant impact on the company’s business.” At the same time, “it’s hard to say” how the Duo will compare to the iPhone Pro when carried in a pants pocket, the investor wondered: for many, the size of the smartphone in their pocket and in their hand will matter more than the device’s higher price, he added.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor