Now, it looks like Samsung wants in on the act, with Kuo reporting that the company will also use these laser-drilled metal plates in its next foldable phone. The current Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, in contrast, does not use these plates, and that results in the kind of visible seam that both Apple and Samsung now want to avoid.

It looks like Apple's foldable iPhone will have some "crease-free" competition. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today

Disregard the fact that there’s a whole world of Chinese-made book-style foldables as thin and light as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 that Americans can’t buy, and Samsung’s latest phone-to-tablet foldable is what we’ve been waiting for.