We might have just got our first sighting of the iPhone Fold screen

It’s early January and in the world of technology, that means one thing: the Consumer Electronics Show. This time of year, tech companies, fans, and journalists converge on Las Vegas for a showcase of the latest innovations, and in 2026, that surprisingly included a sneak peek at Apple’s most anticipated new product.

To be clear, Apple is not at the show. But its rival Samsung, or more precisely its subsidiary Samsung Display, East in Las Vegas this week, and it just unveiled a foldable display that will be of great interest to Apple fans.

As reported by Samsung-focused news site SamMobile, the new offering is the company’s first crease-free foldable panel. Product managers had drawn a comparison between the new screen and that of the (widely admired) Galaxy Z Fold 7, and from the photography it’s easy to see the difference the lack of a fold makes to the viewing experience. Samsung has displayed it alongside a standard foldable screen, and the difference is huge.

This development is key to the progress of the foldable sector. If foldable phone makers want to gain mainstream acceptance, they need to do two things: build a hinge that customers believe is virtually indestructible, and eliminate the fold. And it looks like Samsung Display just fixed the second problem.

Unsurprisingly, foldable products from other Samsung Electronics subsidiaries are expected to benefit from this development, and SamMobile notes that the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 will likely use the new crease-free panel. But Samsung Display is also a major supplier to another company called Apple Inc., and that could prove important later this year. Apple has reportedly been working to remove the crease from its first foldable iPhone, and judging by the looks of this prototype, its years of work have paid off.

Finally, long Finally, we expect Apple to unveil its first foldable sometime in 2026. The iPhone Fold has been delayed for so long because Apple wants this product up and running when it first launches, which is where the two missions I mentioned earlier come in.

The hinge of the device will be made of ultra-durable metallic glass marketed under the name LiquidMetal. And the screen will be wrinkle-free thanks to the work of Samsung Display. In other words, there’s a good chance that this year’s CES visitors – and you – have just seen the iPhone Fold’s screen.