Apple has patented plenty of foldable displays, but there's still only rumors that a folding iPhone is in the works.

Samsung, Motorola and even Google have introduced foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Motorola Razr reboot and Pixel Fold, respectively. As the niche becomes increasingly crowded with Android folding phones, Apple still hasn't come out with its own foldable, despite evidence mounting for years that the company seems to be tinkering with one, possibly called the iPhone Flip. But rumors say Apple may not launch its own flexible screen device until 2025.

Years ago in 2017, folks predicted that a foldable iPhone could launch in the near future of 2020 -- which didn't happen. Analysts and leakers have been kicking the release date down the road ever since, and rumors and wish lists have hung around as phone fans keep their hopes up. Absent any confirmed details from Apple, here's everything we know so far about the company's future foray into foldables.

Release date: The iPhone Flip launch could be in 2025
It seems to be an open secret that Apple is working toward a foldable iPhone. The company has been registering patents for foldable technologies for almost a decade now, and while there's no guarantee that one will come out even after all that research (remember AirPower?), there's still been buzz and possible release dates floated for years -- though still not one solid enough to get excited about.

Early rumors pointed to 2021 as a potential target date, but the year passed with no foldable iPhone in sight. A March 2021 report from longtime Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo (via MacRumors) suggested 2023 might be more realistic, if it ever happens. According to Kuo, Apple still needs to figure out technology and mass production issues before bringing a device like this to market, hence the wait. Speculation later in 2021 from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman aligned with Kuo's predictions: In his Power On Newsletter, Gurman said that the foldable iPhone may not arrive for another two to three years.

But since then, new rumors have pointed to an even later release. Reliable display analyst Ross Young said in February that the foldable iPhone has been pushed back to 2025, and Kuo revised his predictions to 2025 in a tweet on Friday.

"Apple may launch its first foldable product in 2025 at the earliest, which may be a foldable iPad or a hybrid of iPad & iPhone," Kuo wrote in the tweet.

The rumor mill quieted down since then, and it doesn't look like we'll get an iPhone foldable to arrive this year alongside the iPhone 15 expected to launch later this year. But that still leaves two years before Kuo's prediction could possibly become reality.