Foldable iPhone Leak Points To Touch ID And Two 48MP Cameras

What Happened

The foldable iPhone rumor machine is back with unusually specific hardware details.

According to a leak attributed to Weibo account Digital Chat Station (a name that reliably shows up in phone rumor circles), Apple is testing a horizontal, book-style foldable iPhone with two screens, a dual rear camera setup, and a biometric approach that would look like a throwback if it wasn’t also the most pragmatic option for a foldable.

As always: this is not a product announcement. It’s alleged prototype detail. And prototypes change.

What You Need To Know

Touch ID Instead Of Face ID

The attention-grabber here is biometrics.

The leak claims Apple is using a side-mounted Touch ID sensor. Think iPad Air / iPad mini style, rather than Face ID. The stated reason is simple and believable: space.

Foldables are already fighting for millimeters. You’re stacking a hinge mechanism, a flexible display, multiple rigid frames, batteries split into two halves, and the reinforcement needed so the whole thing doesn’t feel like a cheap notebook.

Now try cramming in the full Face ID hardware stack on top of that.

Even if Apple can technically do it, this leak suggests Apple might be choosing not to. Because in a foldable, thickness isn’t just “thicker.” It’s “feels worse in your pocket and becomes harder to justify at a premium price.”

The leak also suggests Apple isn’t going with an advanced in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor (the kind some Android flagships use), again framing it as a space tradeoff. A side button reader is compact, proven, and doesn’t require the display to play nice with fancy sensing hardware.

Two Screens, Two Different Selfie Camera Choices

The second big claim is the camera approach.

The leak says Apple’s prototype uses:

• An inner display around 7.58 inches with an under-panel selfie camera
• A cover display around 5.25 inches with a punch-hole selfie camera

That’s a very “2025 foldable” setup: keep the cover display conventional so it’s functional and predictable, then try to make the inside feel like a clean slab of glass with minimal visual interruptions.

The under-panel camera claim is also exactly where you should tighten your skepticism.

Under-display selfie cameras exist today, but they usually come with tradeoffs: softness, weird contrast, hazy light handling, and generally “good enough for video calls, not great for photos.” Some brands have improved them over time, but the laws of physics are still in charge.

Apple could potentially brute-force a better result with smarter processing (and by being picky about when that camera is used). But if you’re imagining an under-panel camera that looks like a normal iPhone selfie cam on day one, that’s not a safe assumption.

What About Dynamic Island

If the cover display uses a punch-hole, the obvious question is: what happens to Dynamic Island?

This leak doesn’t answer it, and that’s not surprising. Dynamic Island is a UI concept tied to a hardware cutout. A single punch-hole could still support some kind of “Island-like” software treatment, but it’s not a given.

If Apple ships a foldable iPhone, it could choose to:

• Keep Dynamic Island only on certain screens
• Redesign the UI so “Island” becomes less literal
• Or quietly de-emphasize it on the foldable model

Right now, all of that is speculation. The leak just gives us the physical camera cutout claims.

Rear Cameras And The Hinge

The leak also claims a dual 48MP rear camera setup.

That could mean a lot of things:

• It could be “two of the same-class sensors,” which would be unusually generous for a first-gen foldable.
• It could be a wide + ultra-wide pairing.
• Or it could be a wide + telephoto pairing.

The leak doesn’t provide lens types, sensor sizes, apertures, or stabilization details, so treat “dual 48MP” as a rough signpost, not a spec sheet.

There’s also a vague hinge claim: that the hinge is “very strong.” That’s the kind of line that shows up in leaks when there’s no measurable data to share, but it also points to the basic reality: Apple won’t ship this unless the hinge feels confident and the crease isn’t embarrassing.

Why You Should Care

Foldables have gotten better, but the category is still defined by compromises.

You usually pay more for:

• A phone that’s thicker than you want
• A camera system that’s slightly behind the best non-folding flagship
• A hinge you’ll always be mildly anxious about
• A screen crease you’ll pretend not to notice

If Apple’s first foldable iPhone really is prioritizing thinness, that’s a clear strategic choice: make the form factor feel “Apple-finished” before trying to win every spec fight.

And the Touch ID angle, if true, is a reminder that foldables can force even the most stubborn design philosophies to bend. Apple has spent years positioning Face ID as the default future. A foldable might be the one place where Apple decides the future can wait.

There’s another important meta-point: leaks like this can conflict with earlier claims about what a foldable iPhone will include (biometrics, release timing, camera layout). That doesn’t automatically mean someone’s lying—sometimes it just means different prototypes exist and different sources are describing different snapshots in time.

Tony’s Take

If Apple ships a foldable iPhone with Touch ID, I’m not mad at it.

A side-mounted fingerprint reader is fast, reliable, and doesn’t care if you’re wearing a mask, sunglasses, or you’re half-awake in bed. Face ID is great—when it fits. A foldable is the one product category where I’m willing to accept the “practical” choice without calling it a downgrade.

But the under-panel selfie camera rumor is the part that makes me squint.

Apple doesn’t usually ship “fine, I guess” cameras. And under-display cams are still mostly in that zone. If Apple does it, I expect a lot of computational tricks and probably a lot of subtle UX decisions to hide the weaknesses. If it can’t meet Apple’s standards, I wouldn’t be shocked if that part of the prototype quietly disappears.

The other angle: the screen sizes being smaller than some existing foldables could be intentional. Apple might not be trying to build the biggest foldable—it might be trying to build the one that feels the least like a compromise.

What To Watch Next / What Readers Should Do

• Look for repeat confirmation of the same three points: Touch ID, the two selfie camera approaches, and the approximate screen sizes. A one-off leak is interesting; repetition from unrelated sources is where it gets meaningful.
• Watch the “why” claims. If multiple leaks explain Touch ID as a thickness play, that’s a coherent story. If the rationale changes every time, it’s probably just rumor spaghetti.
• Don’t buy based on this. If you want a foldable now, buy based on what exists today and what you can return if you hate it. Apple’s first-gen foldable—if it happens—will be expensive, and it’ll be the kind of product you buy because you want the form factor, not because it’s the most rational upgrade.