Apple may finally enter the foldable phone market
Apple’s big iPhone event is scheduled for tomorrow, September 10, and the company could finally reveal its first foldable iPhone. While Apple has not officially confirmed the product, multiple reports and supply-chain discussions have pointed toward a foldable device becoming one of the biggest announcements at this year’s event.
The reported device is expected to feature a book-style folding design and could sit at the very top of Apple’s smartphone lineup. Pricing is likely to be substantially higher than a conventional iPhone, with some reports suggesting a starting price above $2,500. That would make it one of Apple’s most expensive mainstream consumer devices and put it directly into the ultra-premium segment of the foldable market.
The announcement could also be significant from an AI perspective. Apple is expected to showcase a major upgrade to Siri, with reports pointing toward more capable AI-driven interactions and deeper integration across Apple’s ecosystem. The timing is important as Apple attempts to close the gap with Google, Samsung and other companies that have already integrated generative AI features into smartphones.
For Apple, the foldable launch would represent more than another iPhone form factor. The company has stayed out of the foldable market while Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Chinese competitors have spent years building products and learning from early consumer adoption.
What to watch for. The key details will be the final design, display technology, thickness, durability, battery life and, most importantly, the actual price. Apple’s approach to AI-powered Siri will also show how seriously the company intends to compete in the next phase of smartphone AI.
China is already ahead of Apple in foldable phone innovation
Huawei has launched its new Mate XT2 tri-fold smartphone, while Xiaomi has introduced the Xiaomi 18 Fold, just before Apple is expected to enter the foldable market. The timing puts China’s smartphone manufacturers directly in the spotlight as Apple prepares for what could be its first major move into foldable devices.
Huawei has been one of the most aggressive companies in foldable hardware, particularly with multi-fold designs that can transform a smartphone into a much larger display. Its Mate XT series demonstrated that Chinese manufacturers were willing to push beyond the conventional book-style foldable design used by many competitors.
Xiaomi is taking a different route with its latest foldable, focusing on a large internal display while maintaining a form factor designed to remain relatively compact when closed. Chinese smartphone manufacturers have increasingly competed on thinness, hinge engineering, charging speeds, cameras and display technology, creating pressure on Samsung and now potentially Apple.
The significance is strategic. Apple has historically entered new product categories later than competitors, but then attempted to redefine the market through hardware-software integration and a tightly controlled ecosystem. In foldables, however, China already has several generations of products in the market.
That means Apple will not be entering an empty category. It will be entering a market where Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung and other manufacturers have already established technologies, consumer expectations and pricing benchmarks.
What to watch for. Apple’s advantage could come from software integration, ecosystem lock-in and premium positioning rather than simply trying to match Chinese manufacturers feature for feature. The next battle in foldables may therefore be less about who folds first and more about who creates the most useful overall experience.
Samsung India may be cutting jobs as smartphone sales weaken
Samsung India has reportedly issued termination letters to around 80 to 100 employees, according to reports, as the company faces pressure from weaker smartphone sales and rising memory-chip prices. Samsung has not publicly confirmed the full scale of the reported workforce reduction, so the exact number of affected employees should be treated as unconfirmed.
The reported cuts come at a challenging time for the broader electronics industry. Smartphone manufacturers are dealing with intense competition in India, while component costs can put additional pressure on margins. Memory prices are particularly important because DRAM and NAND are used extensively across smartphones, computers and other consumer electronics.
Samsung remains one of India’s largest electronics brands, with a significant presence across smartphones, televisions, appliances and semiconductor-related operations. India is also one of the world’s most important smartphone markets, making the company’s local performance strategically important to its global business.
The reported job reductions could therefore represent a combination of cost optimisation and organisational restructuring rather than a simple decline in Samsung’s overall India operations. Large technology companies frequently adjust staffing levels when product demand, component prices or business priorities change.
The timing is also notable because Samsung is facing increasing competition from Apple and Chinese smartphone brands in India’s premium and upper-mid-range segments. Faster product cycles and aggressive pricing from Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and OnePlus have made the Indian smartphone market increasingly competitive.
What to watch for. The most important indicators will be Samsung’s upcoming sales performance, additional restructuring announcements and whether the reported workforce reductions expand beyond the initial group of employees.
India is consuming massive amounts of mobile data every day
Vodafone Idea users are reportedly consuming around 88.4 petabytes of data every day, while Reliance Jio reported approximately 6,940 crore GB of data traffic during the first quarter of FY27. The numbers highlight the enormous scale of India’s mobile-data economy as video, social media, gaming, cloud applications and AI-powered services increasingly become part of everyday smartphone usage.
A petabyte represents one million gigabytes, putting 88.4 petabytes into perspective: that is an enormous volume of traffic generated across a single operator’s network every day. The scale demonstrates how dramatically Indian data consumption has changed over the past decade.
Jio’s reported quarterly traffic also highlights the continuing expansion of mobile broadband. Cheap data plans, widespread 4G availability and the rapid rollout of 5G have made high-volume mobile internet usage normal for hundreds of millions of Indian users.
The impact extends well beyond telecom operators. Higher data consumption requires continuous investment in radio networks, fibre backhaul, data centres, spectrum and cloud infrastructure. Operators must also manage the rising cost of transporting and storing increasingly large volumes of traffic.
The trend could accelerate further as generative AI applications, short-form video, cloud gaming, high-resolution streaming and connected devices become more widespread. AI services in particular could create new forms of network traffic as users increasingly interact with multimodal models through smartphones.
What to watch for. The important question is whether data usage continues growing faster than average revenue per user. If traffic rises sharply without corresponding revenue growth, operators will need to find new ways to monetise network capacity while keeping plans affordable.
Rapido is expanding beyond India’s biggest cities
Around 30 percent of Rapido’s business reportedly now comes from smaller markets, showing how the Indian mobility startup is expanding beyond the country’s largest metropolitan areas. The company is also using AI to predict demand and improve the matching of riders with available drivers.
Rapido originally became known for its bike-taxi service in major Indian cities, but the company has increasingly expanded into different mobility categories and smaller urban markets. These locations can provide significant growth opportunities because competition is often lower while demand for affordable transportation remains high.
The use of AI is becoming particularly important as Rapido scales. Predicting where demand will emerge allows the platform to position drivers more efficiently, reducing passenger waiting times and improving driver utilisation. Better forecasting can also help the company manage supply during peak periods and across locations with highly variable demand.
The smaller-city opportunity is significant for India’s consumer internet companies. The largest metros have become highly competitive, with multiple ride-hailing, delivery and commerce platforms targeting the same customers. Smaller cities and towns, meanwhile, still offer large populations that are increasingly adopting app-based services.
Rapido’s reported 30 percent contribution from smaller markets suggests that the next phase of growth in India’s mobility sector may come from expansion into these underpenetrated areas rather than simply increasing competition in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and other major cities.
What to watch for. Rapido’s ability to maintain driver supply, affordable fares and reliable service in smaller markets will determine whether this becomes a sustainable growth engine. Its use of AI for demand forecasting could become an increasingly important competitive advantage as the company scales.
Also worth a look
- Apple’s AI strategy under scrutiny: The expected Siri upgrade could become one of the most important parts of Apple’s September product event as competition in consumer AI intensifies.
- Chinese foldables continue to evolve: Huawei and Xiaomi are pushing multi-fold and large-screen smartphone designs while Apple prepares its first entry into the category.
- India’s data economy keeps expanding: Rising mobile traffic is increasing demand for spectrum, fibre, data centres and telecom infrastructure across the country.
Sourcing: Product launches, workforce changes, usage figures and market developments should be verified against official company announcements and high-quality reporting. Apple’s foldable iPhone and enhanced Siri remain expectations until officially announced; Samsung India’s reported employee terminations and Rapido’s smaller-market contribution are based on reports and should not be treated as company-confirmed figures unless formally disclosed.