The whole world has been wondering when the foldable iPhone would finally make its appearance. With foldable phones slowly making their way to the market, it seems like only a matter of time. And now one expert predicts that we will see them next year.

William LaCourse, a glass science professor at Alfred University (based in Alfred, NY), is the man behind the claim, along with new information coming from glass manufacturer Corning (via T3 )

Corning is well known for its Gorilla Glass products, which are used in a variety of top-of-the-line cell phones. The company is currently developing products for use in foldable devices, which LaCourse says likely means that Apple is "less than a year away from announcing" its first foldable phone using this new kind of Corning Glass.

LaCourse estimates that the device will be available within 12 to 18 months, meaning that the Galaxy Fold 2 and other new foldable phones will definitely hit the market before the foldable iPhone.

Currently, foldable phones do not use glass for their displays, but instead use plastic. While plastic is more flexible and ideal for foldable phones, it also makes the display more vulnerable to damage; the Galaxy Z Flip's marketing materials state that it uses "ultra-thin glass," but the Galaxy Z Flip's teardown results in the screen being found to behave more like plastic in terms of damage.

Apple is definitely working on a foldable device, as evidenced by several patents we've seen in the last year or so, including one for a three-part foldable iPhone and another for a patent that heats a flexible display so that it won't become brittle when used in cold environments. The patent for a three-part foldable iPhone is another, as is the patent for heating the flexible display so that it does not become brittle when used in cold environments. Many artists have also attempted to design a foldable iPhone, including Robbie Fester's work shown at the top of this page.

There is no indication that the iPhone 12 will be a foldable phone. However, it will likely offer 5G connectivity, a new time-of-flight sensor for augmented reality, a 120 Hz display, and other enhancements.