iPhone Fold Dummy Unit Surfaces, Looks Just Like the CAD Renders

Photo credit: Digital Chat STation
The latest iPhone Fold dummy floating around online provides a good picture of what Apple’s first folding phone could become. Built from 3D-printed plastic and based on leaked screen information and specifications, this mockup folds up into a nice little rectangle before opening up to reveal a much larger display.

When closed, the device is around the same height as an ancient iPhone 4, but somewhat wider than the current 17 Pro Max. The reason for the breadth is a 5.3-inch outer screen with a strange, short 2:3 aspect ratio, which is extremely different from the super tall, slender screens Apple has utilized since the iPhone X. One-handed use feels really awkward because your thumb covers the majority of the screen but it’s difficult to reach the far side without altering your hold. The little square corner at the bottom left, which gets its shape from the hinge positioning, is bound to catch on something in a pocket, although Apple will probably fix that before manufacturing.

When you open it, a 7.7-inch inner screen appears, laid out in landscape and with a squarish 4:3 aspect ratio more suited to an iPad Mini than a phone. When fully extended, the device is around 167.6 mm wide by 120.6 mm tall, providing ample space for two apps side by side or a complete keyboard without feeling cramped. One thing is for certain: you can now use both hands, and your reach now extends practically the entire screen, with the exception of a small area at the very top.

The camera is positioned horizontally on the rear, with two lenses side by side in landscape mode. This should allow you to film all sorts of beautiful spatial footage, and it works well with all of the other camera features you’ve come to expect from previous iPhones, such as wide and ultrawide settings for all that fancy macro and portrait business. The pill-shaped camera appears to have been lifted from another recent phone model, but the mockup remains simplistic, with no attempt to jam in any genuine lenses or sensors.

What about the buttons and ports? There’s one noticeable button near the camera that could be an action button, and another down at the bottom that could control power or volume. Those speaker grilles look a little weird, with one tiny hole at the bottom and two at the top, which doesn’t give us much faith that the audio output will be equivalent to a conventional iPhone.

Thickness-wise, it appears to be roughly 9.6 mm when folded up in CAD renders, which is slightly higher than some of the current crop of iPhones but fair given the complexity of the folding mechanism. In terms of weight, the plastic mockup weighs almost nothing, so who knows what it’ll be like once they start putting in some genuine glass, aluminum, and components. The hinge itself opens and shuts rather easily, however this differs when you consider the precision damping and magnets that you’d expect from an Apple device.

According to leaks, this will be released in 2026, potentially alongside the iPhone 18 series. Screen sizes appear to be approximately consistent across the board: 5.3 to 5.4 inches on the exterior and 7.7 to 7.8 inches on the inside. Apple is aiming for a tiny little device that just happens to expand into tablet territory, rather than the tall, book-style fold that other manufacturers use.
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