Foldable iPhone ahead: Apple urges developers into flexible apps

Large smartphone manufacturers have long been offering foldables-except Apple. Although the manufacturer still does not want to comment on a “foldable iPhone”, the foundations for this are obviously laid. At the developer conference WWDC 2025, Apple now drummed again and unequivocally for the fact that apps have to be designed “adaptive and really flexible” so that they are designed for different screen sizes.

Inflexible apps will soon look old

In a session, Apple explained how apps that still use the older Uikit can also adjust to it – and also have to adjust in the long term. As a sugar bread for developers, the prospect serves that apps can run on different devices such as iPhones, iPads and Macs and each cut the best possible figure.

Apple is already sawing a previous compatibility mode with iOS 26: On devices with a new screen size, the operating system with the iOS-26-SDK will no longer be scaled with the iOS-26-SDK, warns Apple under the key point “Compatibility with future hardware”. Also, there is no longer any automatically displayed black bars on the edges to maintain the original resolution. Exerced apps look accordingly badly in the future.

At the same time, urgent uses are used: from iOS 27, the Uiscene-Lifecycle becomes a mandatory, like an Apple developer in the session “Make your uikit app more flexible” emphasized. This window-based approach is intended to ensure that apps with changing screen and window sizes can cope as well as running in several windows. iOS 27 should present Apple at the WWDC 2026.

Apple is said to work on two foldables

In autumn 2026, a first foldable from Apple is also expected. According to several reports, the group works on both a foldable iPhone and on a large foldable that has a screen diagonal of 19 inches open. This year the manufacturer has already adjusted the user interface of its operating systems and missed Ipados 26 a much more powerful window system. That would also work well on a foldable.