With Apple’s first foldable iPhone reportedly hitting the market in 2026, more details regarding the flagship product have surfaced. According to SamMobile, Samsung Display has created its thinnest-ever foldable OLED panel—one that even outclasses those in its own Galaxy Z Fold series— to power the model.
Notably, Korean Ecnomic Daily suggested that Samsung Display has been selected as the exclusive supplier of OLED displays for Apple’s first foldable iPhone. This move is expected to solidify Samsung’s dominance in the global foldable OLED display market, boosting its share from 40% to over 70%, as per the report.
The SamMobile report suggests that by embedding the touchscreen layer directly into the panel, Samsung makes the display 19% thinner and virtually crease-free, and is capable of meeting Apple’s requirements.
According to MacRumors, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is expected to be much thinner than its predecessors, with a folded thickness of around 9.5mm (including the camera bump) and an unfolded thickness of 4.5mm. If true, it could rival the Oppo Find N5, the world’s thinnest foldable, which is 4.2mm unfolded, the report notes.
However, the SamMobile report adds that Apple may receive an even more advanced version of the OLED panel used in the device.
Samsung is already Apple’s major OLED supplier, and is set to supply M14-based OLED panels for the entire iPhone 17 series, according to South Korean media outlets Etnews.
Furthermore, the collaboration between the two tech giants is likely to expand beyond iPhone. According to The Elec, Samsung Display is developing sample OLED panels for the MacBook Pro. Its 8th-generation OLED factory is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, with the A6 factory dedicated to producing OLED display panels for the MacBook Pro, the report indicates.
(Photo credit: Samsung)
