Apple (AAPL.US) folding screen iPhones may encounter supply bottlenecks: daily production is only a few hundred units, and “one is hard to find” at the beginning of the market

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to reports on Friday, the foldable iPhone to be released by Apple (AAPL.US) may face tight supply in the early stages of launch, and daily production will only remain at the level of “hundreds of units.” The report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that this is mainly due to Apple's “extremely strict quality control standards” for products. Apple is working with supply chain partners to gradually increase production capacity.

Affected by this news, Apple's stock price fell slightly by 0.5% during the pre-market trading session on Friday. As of press release, Apple has yet to make an official response to this matter.

Analyst: Innovative process challenges production capacity, may cost as much as $2,500

Guo Mingyi, a well-known analyst at Tianfeng International Securities, pointed out as early as July that due to manufacturing process challenges brought about by many technological innovations, the scale of the early release of folding screen iPhones may be limited. According to its latest research report, the assembled shipment volume of folding screen iPhones is expected to be between 7 million and 8 million units in the second half of 2026, of which 500,000 to 1 million units will be shipped in the third quarter. As a comparison, the total shipments of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected to reach 20 million to 22 million units during the same period.

In terms of price, Guo Mingyi expects the starting price of the folding screen iPhone to be in the range of 2,300 to 2,500 US dollars, far exceeding current flagship models and positioning itself in the ultra-high-end market.

The press conference is approaching: the debut of the new CEO is imminent, and many new products will be unveiled on the same stage

According to the schedule previously announced by Apple, the folding screen iPhone is expected to be officially unveiled at Apple's fall product launch next Wednesday (early morning of September 10, Beijing time). This will be the first time that Apple's new CEO John Ternus (John Ternus) has hosted a large-scale product launch since taking office, and has attracted market attention.

In addition to the folding screen iPhone, the press conference is also expected to launch various hardware updates such as the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max series, next-generation Apple Watch, and AirPods.

The folding screen phone market has continued to heat up in recent years, and manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei have launched many generations of products. Apple's entry into the market is seen as an important milestone in its entry into the ultra-high-end market segment, but the reality of limited production capacity in the early stages also means that the product may be “hard to find” in the early stages of launch, and the premium space in the secondary market may be significantly higher than that of conventional models.

Analysts believe that although Apple's demand for quality will slow the pace of deployment, it will help ensure user experience and brand reputation in the long run, and lay the foundation for subsequent iterations of the folding screen product line. Investors will be watching closely for further information on pricing, delivery times, and capacity climbing plans at next Wednesday's press conference.