How far away are we from a foldable iPhone?

Folding is the new trend in smartphones, but it’s still only in its infancy for most producers. In fact, when it comes to Apple it’s barely still in the concept phase.

Apple reportedly won’t have a foldable iPhone concept until 2025 at the earliest, but the team at Tech Aesthetics didn’t want to wait that long. So they decided to try their hand at making their own, and it works, for the most part.

The team used an OLED panel from the iPhone X, which is flexible enough for a folding handset. But it was not easy to remove, taking months of attempts before they got one that wasn’t damaged in the process. Then they disassembled some of the folding smartphones that are currently on the market from Samsung and Motorola, in order to figure out the best way to go about building one from iPhone parts.

The resulting device only lasted for a few days before the screen stopped working — Apple’s screens just aren’t made to bend repeatedly. They also had to remove the wireless charging kit and one of the speakers to make room for what they needed. So it’s just the beginning of a prototype, but as far as we know it’s still better than anything Apple’s got at the moment. The team plans to continue working on and refining its design.