**Apple**’s first foldable iPhone is expected to have an average selling price of about $2,550, according to market research results. The outlook, released ahead of Apple’s September 9 new product unveiling event, suggests that high-capacity models could rise to around the $3,000 mark.
Key points
IDC expects Apple’s first foldable iPhone’s average selling price to be $2,550 or higher… the top-tier capacity is expected to be around $3,000
Estimated to ship over 17 million units cumulatively by 2027, and to exceed $45.7 billion in revenue
Foldables are expected to be the only smartphone segment to maintain growth momentum in 2026
iPhone Ultra price outlook, well above $2,500
This forecast was presented by market research firm IDC, which is well known for compiling global smartphone shipment data in the “Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.” In its latest report, IDC expects the average selling price of Apple’s foldable phones to exceed $2,550. Over the nearly 20-year period since the iPhone’s release, there has been no price range close to this level.
This figure is the average summed across the entire capacity model, and it explains that the top storage model could reach $3,000 or exceed it.
IDC also estimated that after Apple enters the foldable market, it will ship more than 17 million units cumulatively by the end of 2027 and generate more than $45.7 billion in revenue in this new category alone. That means Apple will secure about a 40% market share in the global foldable market it enters for the first time this year.
According to supply-chain sources, Apple reportedly instructed component suppliers to raise its production target for its first-year foldable iPhone from around 7–8 million units to around 10 million units. This was confirmed in coverage that addressed supply-chain trends.
Competitor **Samsung Electronics (Samsung)** has already launched the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra in the U.S. market in July, setting the price of its base model at $2,099 and the price of its top-tier storage model at $2,699. However, Apple has offered no official comments regarding whether its foldable iPhone exists, nor about the product name and price.
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“After Apple’s entry, the entire trajectory of the foldable market changed.”
IDC senior research director **Nabila Popal** said Apple’s entry will not just revive the atmosphere in an already withering foldable market—it has essentially changed the growth trajectory itself.
She pointed out that without Apple, foldable smartphone shipments would have recorded a double-digit decline year over year. However, IDC currently views foldables as the only segment in this year and next’s smartphone market expected to sustain growth.
IDC expects foldable smartphone shipments in 2026 to grow 12.6% to 22.9 million units, and for an additional 18% growth the following year. All other smartphone categories are expected to register declines.
Popal also said that with only foldable products that are just two years old at the time of launch, Apple has positioned itself to directly challenge **Huawei** and Samsung Electronics—companies that have dominated the market for years. Both companies have been selling foldable smartphones since 2019 and entered the market six years earlier than Apple.
The memory shortage upheaval reshapes smartphone pricing structure
Such a outlook came amid a weak market situation that is being called, in terms of smartphone shipments, “the worst year on record.” IDC expects 2026 smartphone shipments to plunge 16.7%, leaving annual shipments at a level that barely exceeds 1 billion units.
The key cause cited is a surge in memory prices. Memory prices jumped by more than 300% compared to a year ago, and as a result the global average selling price of smartphones rose 27.6% to reach $581. It’s said that the sub-$100 ultra-low-end smartphone segment has effectively disappeared.
In fact, global smartphone shipments fell 6.7% in the second quarter to 275.5 million units as the memory crisis fully kicked in, recording two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
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