Leaker “Instant Digital” today revisited its February design report on the foldable iPhone, claiming that the device’s internal design would make it the easiest foldable phone to take apart and repair in the industry.
In a new post on Weibo, Instant Digital said the device’s “incredibly rigorous underlying engineering logic” had “really paid off” and predicted that teardown videos would substantiate previous claims once the device ships. The leaker described the stacking of internal components as “logical yet elegant”, and said the design eliminated the complex flat cable routing that typically complicates disassembly of competing foldables, instead achieving what they call “a really high level of modularity”.
The comments appear to be a callback to Instant Digital’s Feb. 2 report, which offered several design details about the foldable iPhone, including relocated volume buttons to the top edge of the device, Touch ID and Camera Control on the right side of the device, an iPhone Air-style camera tray, single-hole front cameras, and just two color options. This report also touches on the device’s internal design language, which the leaker claims is even more important than readers initially estimated.
At that time, Instant Digital explained that the device’s motherboard was apparently located on the right side of the device. In order to avoid running cables across the screen to the left side for the volume buttons (where they are on all other iPhone models), Apple reportedly decided to route them directly up, maximizing internal space.
The internal structure would feature an innovative stacked design, with the space almost entirely dedicated to the screen and battery. It is also said to have the largest battery ever in an iPhone.
Instant Digital has been reporting on the foldable iPhone for some time. The leaker previously claimed that the device would cost around $2,000 at launch, that it would be eSIM only, that Apple’s foldable displays were almost in production in March, and that the device would come in three storage capacities. More recently, the leaker said that camera control was internally considered a key feature of the foldable iPhone.
The rumored foldable iPhone, called “iPhone Ultra,” is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in the fall. The device is said to feature a 7.8-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch cover display, A20 chip and C2 modem, Touch ID and dual rear cameras.