Apple’s long-rumored foldable iPhone could be cheaper to manufacture that initially estimated, due to a lower price for a very important component of the device, according to Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Recently, Kuo said the foldable handset’s hinge component is expected to carry an average selling price (ASP) of approximately $70 to $80 per hinge, once mass production is running at 100%. The hinges had been expected to cost as much as $100 to $120 or more to make.
Kuo attributes the drop in cost not to a cheaper price for the materials used in the hinge, but instead to “assembly design optimization” and Foxconn’s entering a partnership with Taiwanese hinge maker Shin Zu Shing (SZS) to fill the lion’s share of Apple’s hinge requirements (65% of total orders). U.S. company Amphenol is expected to provide the remaining 35% of Apple’s hinge needs. Kuo said that Foxconn is the majority partner in the deal and will steer the projects future direction.
Foldable smartphones are expensive to produce, so any drop in the price of a component like a hinge can greatly improve Apple’s profit margin on the device, or allow for a lower retail price. While Apple shareholders would certainly applaud larger profit margins, Apple may instead lower the price to compete with established foldable devices from companies like Google and Samsung.
Hinge manufacturing costs could eventually slide even further, as Kuo indicated that Apple manufacturing partner Luxshare-ICT could be brought on as a hinge manufacturing partner sometime after 2027.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone is expected to be available in the fall of 2026.