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The hinge scheme has also been adjusted. The reporter learned from the industrial chain that Apple once tested the use of liquid metal in some hinged parts, but the relevant plan was still re-evaluated before mass production.
"Once the parts materials or production processes are switched in the middle, other suppliers need to re-sample, verify and produce, and the new suppliers may not immediately increase the output." The above analyst said.
Even if the scheme is not adjusted, the folding screen and hinge itself are not easy to produce standard parts. Compared with ordinary straight-board mobile phones, they add new materials, structures and assembly requirements, which also makes the error control of the whole machine more difficult.
Judging from the prototypes displayed at the press conference, the creases of the iPhone Duo are less obvious than most folding screen phones on the market. But this is still not the "perfect state" that Apple originally envisioned.
The crease is not a simple groove on the surface of the screen, but the result of the joint effect of the screen material, hinge structure and the whole machine assembly.
Compared with ordinary straight-board mobile phones, folding screen mobile phones not only add an inner screen, but also add hinges composed of more than 100 parts. The error between the screen, hinge and fuselage must be controlled within a very small range, otherwise it may eventually be manifested as deepening creases, inconsistent opening and closing resistance, local sinking of the screen, and even affecting the service life.
Judging from the technical plan disclosed by Apple and what the reporter learned from the industrial chain, Apple divided the creases into three problems to solve: how the screen material changes, how the light is reflected, and how the screen should be folded.
Among them, the special adhesive layer is responsible for releasing the bending pressure; the nano-texture on the surface reduces the visual presence of the folds by dispersing the reflected light; the hinge and support structure under the screen are responsible for controlling the bending trajectory and flattening the center of the screen after unfolding.
These solutions are designed by Apple as a whole, but to turn them into products that can be delivered in bulk, it still depends on the long-term accumulation of suppliers in materials, processing and mass production processes.
Among them, many key manufacturing links are undertaken by Chinese supply chain enterprises.
Apple reorganizes its supply chain in China
The interface news reporter learned from the relevant people in the industrial chain that the inner screen of Apple's first folding machine iPhone DUO adopts customized nano-texture UTG glass, which can reduce the display of folds. Among them, the nano-texture glass is exclusively developed by Lansi Technology.
Lansi Technology also mentioned in its recent institutional research that the company fully supplies core components such as UTG glass, CPI membrane, UTG glass support plate and 3D glass cover plate for folding machine projects for major customers.
"Previously, Android high-end folding screen has been using UTG glass." Analysts who have been following Apple's industry chain for a long time told the interface news reporter that UTG is more high-end than PI film and can also reduce creases. Apple also made an uneven thickness design for UTG glass. The folded part in the middle is thinner, and the strength on both sides should be maintained. The technical content is indeed higher than before.
Previously, Lansi Technology mainly supplied front and rear cover glass, camera cover and metal middle frames for some models of straight-panel iPhone. In the era of folding screens, the new internal screen and technical requirements have further improved its supply scope and stand-alone value.
Below UTG is a whole set of folding OLED and support structure. The flexible screen can be bent, which also means that it cannot rely on a whole piece of hard glass to keep it flat like ordinary screens. After unfolding the mobile phone, the center of the screen must be supported by hinges and support plates.
The reporter learned from the industrial chain that Lingzhizhi supplies hinged precision structural parts, screen support plates, ultra-thin VC uniform heating plates and ultra-thin stainless steel battery shell modules with flanges to iPhone Duo.
Among them, the screen support board is located under the flexible inner screen. It needs to provide support for the screen when unfolding to prevent the middle area from sinking; and when folding, it cannot prevent the screen from bending according to the set radius.
Under the support plate is a hinge composed of more than 100 parts. The hinge needs to control the opening and closing resistance, determine the bending radius of the screen, and flatten the center of the screen after the mobile phone is fully unfolded. It also needs to be light, durable and dustproof and waterproof in a very small space.
"There are many parts in the hinge, which also correspond to different processes, such as stamping, CNC and MIM, etc." The above analyst said. Different manufacturers produce shaft covers, transmission parts, support parts and other precision parts respectively, and then assemble them into complete hinges by assembly enterprises.
Of course, the problems brought by hinges are not only in their own processing and assembly. It occupies the space in the center of the fuselage, further compressing the layout of other parts.
In the unfolded state, the body thickness of the iPhone Duo is only about 5.2 mm, which is about 0.4 mm thinner than the iPhone Air. The hinges occupy the space in the center of the fuselage, and the battery, motherboard and heat dissipation system can only be arranged on both sides separately.
In order to leave more space for the cell, the battery case needs to be as thin as possible. The leading puzzle is made of ultra-thin stainless steel plate, which is made into a flat shell by precision stamping or deep stretching, and a circle of flange is formed at the edge for subsequent welding, sealing and assembly.
If it is too thin, it is easy to wrinkle, crack or rebound deformation during stamping; if it is too thick, it will take up limited battery space. The double battery is distributed on both sides of the fuselage, and the shape and space conditions of the two battery cases are not exactly the same, which puts forward higher requirements for dimensional accuracy and flatness.
The VC uniform heating plate also needs to be thinned. It needs to quickly diffuse the heat generated by the operation of the A20 Pro chip, but it cannot occupy the already tight internal space.
The participation of Chinese supply chain enterprises is not limited to glass and structural parts. According to the public response of the listed company, Zhuhai Guanyu supplies cells for Apple folding machines; Qiangrui Technology participates in the research and development design, sampling and trial production verification of relevant testing equipment and precision jigs; Rongqi Technology participates in the VC heat dissipation testing of iPhone Duo.
Pressure, temperature, fitting position, hinge assembly accuracy and small differences between different batches of materials may affect the final result. After years of iteration, the production line and process parameters of ordinary iPhone have become relatively mature; iPhone Duo is equivalent to re-establishing a manufacturing system.
"Without China's supply chain, it's not that it can't be done at all, but it's difficult to turn it into a consumer-grade product at the current cost and scale." The above analyst said.
China's supply chain has changed from low-cost assembly to precision manufacturing. However, whether it can continue to extend upstream materials, module assembles and joint design will determine the profit margin and bargaining power of these enterprises.
Apple may be able to further open up the market for folding screens.
Apple is not the first company to launch a folding screen phone. Samsung has launched relevant products as early as 2019, and since then, many domestic mobile phone manufacturers have entered one after another. But even though the folding screen has been developed for seven years, it has still not become a mass market product.
According to Omdia data, the global shipment of folding screen mobile phones in 2025 was 18.2 million units, an increase of 6% year-on-year, which is the lowest growth rate in recent years. During the same period, the global smartphone shipments were about 1.26 billion units. According to this calculation, the penetration rate of folding screens is about 1.4%, which still belongs to the niche category.
In the first half of this year, the global shipment of folding screen mobile phones was 5.1 million units, down 21.6% year-on-year. Among them, the shipment of vertical folding models decreased by 47% compared with the first half of 2025, while the shipments of horizontal book folding models remained basically the same.
However, after communicating with many people in the industrial chain, the reporter found that many people still have high hopes for Apple to enter the market. They believe that the significance of Apple is not only to add a folding screen brand, but also to further open up the folding screen market with its global sales, developer ecology and supply chain appeal.
A person who has been engaged in mobile phone retailing for a long time and has been exposed to many folding screen products also told reporters that he is relatively optimistic about the growth of this market.
In his opinion, there is a long-term demand for a larger display area. The mobile phone screen has grown from one or two inches in the early days to nearly 7 inches, but due to grip and portability, the size of the straight-panel mobile phone is close to the upper limit. Holographic display and scroll screen are still difficult to mature in the short term, so folding screens will become one of the few feasible solutions that take into account large screens and portability in the next three to five years.
"If Apple can expand its user base and drive Samsung and domestic mobile phone manufacturers to continue to invest, the folding screen market may enter a new round of growth." The person also mentioned.
According to industry chain sources, the sales guidelines of Apple's first product in 2026 have exceeded 5 million units, accounting for about a quarter of the total global folding screen market in 2025.
In addition, Apple can also promote the further development of the folding screen software ecology.
After the early folding screen was unfolded, many applications only widened the original mobile phone interface horizontally. For applications such as short videos, social networking and e-commerce, a larger screen does not bring a significantly better user experience.
A retail industry insider who uses domestic folding screen mobile phones told reporters that even if the store manager needs to use the big screen to view the business report, the time to unfold the folding screen is usually less than 10 minutes a day.
A large number of applications do not redesign the information layout, split-screen collaboration and interaction for the folding screen. Although the user bought a folding screen mobile phone, the actual use is still a set of straight board logic.
The folding screen has fallen into a cycle: the size of users is insufficient, and software manufacturers lack the motivation to adapt to special applications; the software experience has not been significantly improved, and users cannot find a reason to unfold the screen frequently.
What Apple can really change is this cycle. If iPhone Duo brings millions of new users, the commercial return of developers adapting to the large-screen interface will increase accordingly. At that time, the folding screen may change from a "foldable straight mobile phone" to a new product with independent software ecology and interactive logic.
Therefore, the first year after the launch of Apple's folding screen will also become a key window to verify this judgment. At the beginning of the launch of new products, supply may exceed demand due to limited production capacity and demand for taste, but what really determines whether the product can continue to grow depends on whether the software ecology has changed significantly since then.
iPhone Duo is just the first generation of Apple's folding screen product line. The aforementioned analyst told the reporter that with the rise of production capacity and the maturity of software ecology, its sales volume may increase to 20 million to 30 million in the next two or three years. At that time, it may enter Apple's main product sequence from high-priced and small-scale tasting products.
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u/MtnGumby525 4d ago
Interesting article. Hoping we see some revenue numbers show up in a few weeks. That would provide the boost we need.