Apple is reportedly working on two foldable iPhone models

Apple may be late to the foldable phone game, but the company apparently hasn't given up on the concept.

According to Taiwanese outlet Economic Daily News (via MacRumors), two different foldable phone prototypes have passed internal durability tests at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China.

The report claims that one of the devices is a vertically-folding phone, similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip. The other is a dual-screen phone with two displays connected by a hinge.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

SEE ALSO: Apple ships hacker-friendly iPhones to security researchers

The idea of Apple making a foldable or a dual-screen device isn't new; the company was awarded a patent for such a phone back in 2017, and a report in 2018 said Apple might be preparing to launch a foldable phone in 2020. That never happened, but 2020 was a very atypical year, with the Covid-19 pandemic messing up Apple's phone launch schedule and impacting sales.

And leaker Jon Prosser spoke about a dual-screen iPhone with display panels connected with a hinge back in June. He said that, while the phone's displays are separate, they seem "fairly continuous and seamless" when extended. A new patent, awarded to Apple just last week, describes a device with a foldable display, where the "first and second portions of an electronic device housing for the device may be joined using a hinge."

Apple is certainly considering a dual-screen phone, as seen in a recent patent. Credit: uspto.gov

The new report says it's too early to say when Apple will launch any of these two foldable models, though it mentions speculations that it will happen in late 2022 or 2023.