Kuo Says iPhone Foldable And Big Changes Over 2 Years

The latest analysis from generally-accurate Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests Apple's about to get weird. In the latest note from the analyst, it's suggested that Apple will release an 8-inch iPhone with a foldable display by the year 2023. It's also suggested that there'll be a notch-less iPhone by 2023.

It's rare that a note from Kuo via 9to5Mac will suggest Apple is working on anything completely out of left field. Generally Kuo suggests that Apple is working on products we've heard of before – in leaks, in insider tips, in predictions from analysts with slightly less-than-perfect track records. Today, though, Kuo seems to have a line on a pair of iPhone products that break out of the norm, to some degree.

One of two predictions for significantly different sorts of iPhone devices is a notch-less smartphone. For the past few years, Apple's main iPhone lineup included a notch in an otherwise total-coverage frontside display. Given the number of sensors needed by said device in order to deliver features like Face ID, the notch became a mainstay of the iPhone line.

Now, it would suggest, that the 2023 high-end iPhone will feature Touch ID under its frontside display, and a periscope camera. That is the sort of camera that's mechanically integrated with the phone, able to pop up when called for.

Kuo also suggested that the iPhone 13 Pro could launch in 2022 with a punch-hole display. That'd be Apple's sort of half-way point between the notch and a totally notch-less total-coverage frontside display for the iPhone in 2023.

The more wild prediction has to do with a foldable display panel (as seen in a concept image from this page above. Kuo predicts that Apple's current work could lead to a 7.5-inch or 8-inch foldable iPhone. That new device would, potentially, be able to launch in the year 2023. First, said Kuo, Apple needs to "solve the foldable mobile device's key technology" and mass production challenges.