Despite the booming folding smartphone market, Apple is still out of the game, despite numerous reports regarding the company’s first folding iPhone.
According to Blazetrends, there are a number of reasons why Apple has so far not launched the folding iPhone, the most important of which are low-profit margins as well as supply chain difficulties.
The first is the profit margin. Industry sources say that Apple is not comfortable with the profit margins in the folding smartphone segment, and this is one of the main reasons preventing the US company from entering this market.
Because the cost of folding OLED screens is much higher than conventional screens, to maintain profit margins, Apple will have to significantly increase the selling price of its products. But that’s something Apple doesn’t feel comfortable with. Therefore, Apple wants to continue to delay the launch of the first folding iPhone, at least until the cost of screen production decreases.
Reportedly, unofficial numbers indicate that Apple has a profit margin of at least 50% on all its products. That means, that if a product costs $100 to produce, it will have to sell for a minimum of $150.
Regarding the issue of the production chain, in his comment, screen expert Ross Young said that the current supply chain for the production of folding iPhones has not yet met Apple’s requirements, especially when Samsung is currently the only company that produces folding screens on a large scale.
Apple is looking to diversify its supply chain, and giving full confidence to its main rival, Samsung, is not Apple’s priority. Not stopping there, Samsung Display is unlikely to be able to meet the demand for both its products and Apple’s.
