6 big problems Apple’s folding iPhone won’t solve (from a long-time foldable user)

Apple is gearing up to launch its first foldable iPhone on September 9, coming years after Android OEMs launched the first foldable phones. Nevertheless, this will be the first folding phone that many people will actually be interested in, let alone buy.

Unfortunately, Android foldable phones have some enduring weaknesses and compromises, and Apple’s first foldable will almost certainly have most of these same issues. So, if you’re an Apple user and you’re buying into the iPhone Ultra hype, maybe keep reading before you pre-order it.

All foldable phones have large folding screens that are mostly made out of plastic. And you can bet your bottom dollar that Apple’s iPhone Ultra will also feature a foldable plastic screen. This often results in excess glare and fingerprint grease, although we’ve seen anti-glare coatings on foldables before. However, this is very bad news for durability.

Folding screens are significantly softer than conventional glass displays, making them more prone to scratches. In fact, Samsung and other manufacturers often warn users that a hard press of a fingernail can damage or dent the folding screen. Seriously.

In other words, Apple’s foldable screen will almost certainly have this same issue. The good news is that virtually all foldable phones have a pre-applied screen protector. It’s therefore possible that lighter scratches won’t actually affect the display itself. But then there’s more bad news.

Another thing worth knowing about inner screens on Android foldables is that they indeed come with pre-applied screen protectors. However, you aren’t supposed to peel this off by yourself.

“If you remove the main screen protective film by yourself or attach a non-official film, it may cause touch abnormalities, screen damage, etc.,” Samsung notes on its support website. “If you need to replace the protective film during use, please visit a service center for assistance.”

Google echoes this advice, noting that removing or peeling back the screen protector can result in display damage. Needless to say, if the iPhone Ultra has a pre-applied screen protector on the folding screen, as almost every other foldable does, you definitely shouldn’t try to remove it.

Another thing you should know about foldable phones is that they’ve long offered inferior camera hardware compared to the best candybar phones. That’s not a surprise, as the thinner, more complex design leaves little space to fit several large camera sensors.

Take a look at the Galaxy Z Fold 8, for example, which lacks the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 3x and 5x cameras. Meanwhile, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold uses much smaller or lower-resolution cameras than the Pixel 11 Pro XL. Even cutting-edge foldables like the OPPO Find N6 and HONOR Magic V6 use smaller sensors or skip features like 200MP telephoto cameras. There’s just not enough space here.

Put simply, the iPhone Ultra will almost certainly have worse cameras than the conventional iPhone Pro phones. In fact, leaks suggest the first foldable iPhone will skip a telephoto camera altogether. In other words, you probably shouldn’t pre-order Apple’s foldable iPhone if camera zoom is important to you.

One challenge that Android foldables are only recently coming to grips with is the IP rating. The first foldable phones lacked an IP rating altogether, meaning they weren’t protected against water or dust. It took until last year’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold for us to get the first foldable phone with an IP68 rating, giving proper protection against water immersion and dust.

Unfortunately for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, this IP rating came at the expense of a very thick design. But the good news is that the HONOR Magic V6 delivered an IP68 rating earlier this year without a thick form factor. OPPO and vivo also offer slim foldable phones with respectable IP58 and IP59 ratings. On the other hand, Samsung’s latest foldables still have IP48 ratings. That means these new Galaxy Z8 devices aren’t dust-resistant.

I’m therefore hopeful that the iPhone Ultra could offer an IP58 or IP68 rating without a thick design. However, Samsung’s disappointing IP rating shows that full water and dust resistance is far from guaranteed in 2026.

One of the most enduring iPhone Ultra rumors is that Apple will offer a crease-free folding screen. This would finally address one of the most prominent issues with Android-powered foldables. But maybe don’t buy those claims just yet.

Android OEMs have gradually reduced the size and depth of the display crease over the years. This has culminated in phones like the OPPO Find N6, which has a “zero-feel” crease. As the name implies, this means you can’t actually feel the crease on the folding display. I can also confirm that the Galaxy Z8 foldables have similarly shallow creases. However, both OPPO and Samsung’s creases can be seen at extreme angles or under specific conditions.

We therefore wouldn’t be surprised if Apple’s first foldable iPhone also has a “zero-feel” crease that’s still visible in certain scenarios. But we’d love to see this problem solved once and for all.

Foldable phones are often rated for hundreds of thousands of folds and unfolds. For instance, OPPO says the Find N6 can withstand one million folds and unfolds, while the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rated for 500,000 fold cycles. But did you know that cold weather significantly degrades screen durability?

Samsung Display previously told us that the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s inner screen was only rated for 60,000 folds at -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit). That still means you’ve got 30 folds a day for five years or 40 folds a day for just over four years. Google goes a step further for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. It specifically warns users against opening or closing the device in extremely cold conditions (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), stating that this could damage the device.

Either way, you’ll want to think twice about buying a foldable phone if you live in a very cold place and are hoping to keep the device for as long as possible. And this degraded durability almost certainly applies to the iPhone Ultra as well.