Apple has said it is working on a foldable device larger than the iPhone before mass production

Apple is working on developing a foldable device that could be bigger than a smartphone, according to a report. The alleged foldable device could arrive in the form of a laptop or tablet, according to a DigiTimes report that cited Taiwan-based supply chain sources. The iPhone maker is said to have been working on a foldable device for at least half a decade and is expected to decide on the design of the device before the company starts production.

According to report (through MacRumors), the Cupertino company is working on a “bigger device” that could come in the form of the aforementioned devices instead of a foldable iPhone. To do this, the company commissioned engineers from the Vision Pro team to develop components for the foldable device, including the hinge.

If Apple does release a foldable device in the coming years — the report says a release before 2025 is unlikely — it will likely compete with products from Samsung, Oppo, Google, Huawei and Xiaomi. These are just a few of the companies that already offer foldable devices that are currently available for purchase by consumers.

Earlier this month, Chinese tipster “Fixed Focus Digital” (translated from Chinese) claimed that Apple had halted development of a foldable screen device due to a screen test that did not yield satisfactory results, and that the iPhone maker had bought several competitors foldable smartphones to take them apart while “accelerating the research and development process.”

The report contradicts this claim, stating that work on a foldable phone has not stopped and the company is working on more than one foldable device, with different departments tasked with developing each product. Apple has not yet announced any plans to release a foldable smartphone in the coming months or years.