the world's first foldable iPhone is here - and it wasn't made by apple

introducing the first flip iphone

The world’s leading smartphone manufacturers have been launching foldable screens for several years now. Samsung, Huawei, and Motorola in particular have released various models with clamshell designs and bendable displays since 2020. However, tech giant Apple has not yet entered the foldable smartphone market, and it looks like there will be no official folding iPhone anytime soon.

Taking matters into his own hands, Hong Kong-based YouTuber known as KJMX decided to modify an iPhone into a foldable model. The newly unveiled ‘iPhone V’ uses the hinge of the Motorola Razr flip smartphone to incorporate a bendy display and shaft.

the foldable iPhone V | all video stills by the first iPhone folding phone review flip © KJMX

extracting a bendable iPhone screen

In a recently uploaded video, KJMX explains how he worked with a team of engineers to create the foldable model, and then walks viewers through the complete modification. The YouTuber explains that in order to build a flip iPhone with optimized looks and functionality, the team had to use an iPhone X screen. ‘To make a bendable display, you have to dismantle it without destroying the original screen,’ he then explains.

Because the original iPhone screen is a delicate multilayer structure, the team had to go through a lot of trial and error to complete the separation process successfully. ‘You have to do it with the right force. It could be damaged if it’s not right.’ notes an engineer from the Hong-Kong-based team. Factors like pressure and temperature should also be taken into consideration. After approximately five months and 37 screens, KJMX finally managed to extract a single bendable display.

to complete the foldable model, the team had to use an original iPhone X screen

IPHONE V – the final result

To design the shaft, the team turned to solutions from the big tech giants. Looking to Samsung’s bendable models, the engineers found that the folding designs did not make a good fit for the extracted iPhone screen, so they rejected them. While inspecting the solutions of Motorola, they found their optimal layout in the firm’s model Razr, released in September 2020. Motorola’s hinge allows the screen to fold in a water drop shape, which seems to be the ideal mechanism for the fragile screen. To complete the iPhone V, engineers had to rearrange the rest of the original contents, such as the motherboard and battery. The team decided to reverse the entire internal structure to integrate the components into the fold-out case.

The resulting model is far from perfect — there are wrinkles, gaps, and bubbles that can not be fixed, while the smartphone itself is brittle and prone to damage from excessive bending. In addition, some of the technical functions were compromised. ‘Our main idea was to build a foldable iPhone for everyday use. But when we actually made it, we has to face another great difficulty. Many features had to go,’ the YouTuber shares. For example, the iPhone V could only incorporate a 1000mAh battery, which offers a standby time that is the shortest of any iPhone model. Nevertheless, the team has technically created the first foldable iPhone, which it plans to improve in the near future. The only question that remains is whether Apple will respond with an official product.

Motorola’s hinge allows the screen to fold in a water drop shape