Samsung is reportedly making Apple’s first foldable phone & will get $250 per device

​Samsung is reportedly manufacturing the most important components of Apple’s first foldable phone, iPhone Duo. The South Korean tech giant’s display division may be charging Apple around $250 for each inner folding panel. According to Weibo leaker Instant Digital, Samsung Display has signed a three-year exclusive supply agreement with Apple covering the iPhone Duo and subsequent models. However, Apple has not publicly confirmed the reported agreement or the $250 price.​The deal would reportedly give Samsung a big role in Apple’s entry to the foldable smartphone market. The inner screen of the iPhone Duo is far more complex than the standard OLED panels used on current iPhones, and at a reported $250, the display would be one of the priciest core components in the device.​Samsung Display was already known as the supplier of the folding panel for the iPhone Duo, and earlier reports alleged that the company has an exclusive deal with Apple. The latest claim provides more detail about the length of the agreement and the price Apple is reportedly paying per panel.​​In a recent Weibo post, Instant Digital wrote, “Samsung Display has signed a three-year exclusive supply agreement with Apple to supply foldable screen panels for the iPhone Duo and subsequent models. Apple will pay approximately $250 per panel, making it one of the most expensive core components in the entire device.”​

Why Samsung is supplying Apple’s foldable display

​Apple’s usual display suppliers do not currently appear to offer an easy alternative for the folding panel the iPhone Duo requires. Previous reports have said that LG Display does not yet manufacture folding screens, while BOE supplies foldable panels to companies including Huawei.​Reports claim that Apple considers BOE’s panels substandard and is concerned about BOE’s reliability. That puts Samsung Display in a better spot for Apple’s first foldable, particularly with the inner-screen technical requirements.​The iPhone Duo uses Samsung’s M16 OLED material set, which is reported to improve brightness, colour performance, lifespan and power efficiency compared with previous OLED generations. The panel also uses multiple layers to withstand repeated folding.​Apple has described the material above and below the folding display panel as “high-strength glass”. Industry reports say Samsung assembles the dual Ultra Thin Glass, or UTG, panel, while Samsung partner Dowoo Insys supplies the UTG layers and Samsung Display develops the OLED middle layer.​

The $250 display makes up a significant share of the phone’s cost

​The price is far more than what Apple had been paying Samsung and LG Display for regular iPhone displays. Those payments were previously estimated at about $70 per display panel for devices such as the iPhone 18 Pro Max.​Part of the difference comes down to how a foldable screen is built. Unlike a regular smartphone screen, the inside panel of the iPhone Duo has to fold and unfold while maintaining image quality and durability. The source material says that Apple uses 10 layers in the display, including the nano-texture layer.​At $250, the inner display would make up around one-eighth of the iPhone Duo’s selling price. Additionally, because the assertion makes no mention of the phone’s external display, the figure seems to apply only to the inner folding screen and does not include assembly and testing costs.Potential repair costs are also somewhat contextualised by the reported display cost. Apple has not verified the cost of upgrading the iPhone Duo’s screen, although a recent report indicated that it would be as much as $1,000.

What the three-year deal could mean for Samsung

​If the report is correct, Samsung Display would provide the foldable screens for both the current iPhone Duo and any future versions covered by the three-year agreement. If Apple adopts an annual release cycle for its foldable iPhones, it may provide Samsung and its suppliers with a consistent source of income.The new iPhone Duo will launch at $1999 (Rs 2,99,900 in India). According to one forecast, the company is expected to ship more than five million foldables by the end of 2026, accounting for 25% of the market share. However, this is just a forecast, and the figures may vary in reality.