Apple is significantly expanding its iPhone product roadmap over the next two years, planning to launch at least five new models while ramping up production of its long-awaited foldable iPhone, as the company seeks to strengthen its position in the premium smartphone market during a global memory chip shortage fueled by artificial intelligence.

According to a Nikkei Asia report published Thursday, Apple has instructed suppliers to prepare production of approximately 10 million foldable iPhones this year, increasing its earlier target of between 7 million and 8 million units. The move underscores Apple’s growing confidence in foldable devices as it prepares to enter one of the few segments of the smartphone market where it has yet to compete.

The report said Apple has already secured components for roughly 80 million smartphones across its new product lineup scheduled for the second half of 2026, ahead of what is expected to be the company’s first foldable iPhone launch.

Overall, Apple’s smartphone production is projected to exceed 220 million units in 2026, reinforcing its position as one of the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturers. The expanded production plans come as the company looks to capitalize on an industry-wide component shortage that is reshaping competition across the global smartphone market.

Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other advanced memory chips has surged as hyperscalers, cloud providers and AI companies invest hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The resulting supply constraints have tightened the availability of memory used not only in AI servers but also in consumer electronics, forcing many device manufacturers to rethink production plans.

Apple, however, appears to be weathering the disruption better than most rivals. Thanks to its enormous purchasing power, long-term supplier relationships, and ability to negotiate large-volume contracts years in advance, the company has maintained stronger access to key components than many competitors.

That advantage is becoming increasingly evident across the smartphone industry. According to Nikkei Asia, Chinese manufacturers including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have each reduced their annual smartphone production targets to fewer than 100 million units, reflecting mounting pressure from constrained memory supplies and rising component costs.

One executive at a supplier serving both Apple and Xiaomi said Apple’s scale continues to give it a decisive advantage during shortages.

“Compared with Apple’s bargaining power, the Chinese smartphone makers are in a weak spot in terms of getting more supplies of memory chips or increasing the prices.”

The executive added, “It gives Apple a good motivation to launch the iPhones in spring and take more of their share.”

Industry analysts say the comment underlines a broader structural advantage enjoyed by Apple during periods of supply disruption. Because Apple represents one of the largest buyers of semiconductors globally, suppliers often prioritize its orders, allowing the company to secure production capacity even when inventories tighten.

The company’s aggressive product roadmap also signals a shift toward more frequent hardware releases. According to the report, Apple intends to introduce at least two additional iPhone models during the first half of 2027, including the standard iPhone 18 and a new version of the iPhone Air, extending its launch calendar beyond the traditional autumn release cycle.

The strategy could help Apple generate more consistent sales throughout the year while enabling it to respond more quickly to competitive pressures from Android manufacturers.

The push into foldable devices marks one of Apple’s most significant hardware initiatives in years. While competitors including Samsung Electronics, Huawei, Honor, Oppo and Motorola have spent several years refining foldable smartphones, Apple has largely remained on the sidelines, choosing instead to wait for improvements in display durability, hinge design and consumer demand.

Industry observers believe Apple’s entry could accelerate mainstream adoption of foldable smartphones, much as previous iPhone launches reshaped other premium device categories.

Apple is simultaneously seeking to diversify its component supply chain. According to a separate Bloomberg report published Thursday, the company is in discussions to source memory chips for devices sold in China from Chinese manufacturers ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC).

Both companies appear on a U.S. Pentagon list of firms alleged to have links to China’s military, although inclusion on the list does not automatically prohibit commercial transactions.

Apple has not confirmed the discussions, and Bloomberg reported that negotiations remain ongoing. If completed, such agreements would represent part of Apple’s broader effort to broaden its supplier network as AI-driven demand continues to strain global semiconductor production.

The search for additional suppliers comes at a time when virtually every major technology company is competing for limited supplies of advanced memory. Cloud providers, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle, have been purchasing unprecedented volumes of memory chips to support expanding AI data centers, while semiconductor manufacturers such as Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung Electronics continue operating near full capacity.

The supply imbalance has pushed memory prices sharply higher across both enterprise and consumer markets.

The effects are already being felt throughout Apple’s product portfolio. Last week, the company raised prices for several MacBook and iPad models, citing higher memory and storage costs. Other technology companies, including Amazon through its cloud business, have also increased prices for AI-related services as component costs continue to climb.

Analysts say Apple’s ability to secure long-term supplies while competitors scale back production could allow it to capture additional market share over the next two years, particularly if component shortages persist.

More broadly, the company’s expanded iPhone roadmap highlights how AI is reshaping the consumer electronics industry in unexpected ways. While artificial intelligence is driving demand for cloud infrastructure and advanced chips, it is also tightening supplies of critical components used in smartphones, tablets and personal computers, creating new competitive advantages for companies with the scale and financial resources to secure scarce semiconductor capacity.

Meta Platforms has pushed back against concerns raised by the Indian government over WhatsApp’s planned username feature, arguing that the new functionality includes multiple safeguards against fraud and impersonation, even as New Delhi warns it could significantly increase cybercrime across the world’s largest WhatsApp market.

In a statement to CNBC, Meta defended the feature, stressing that usernames are designed to complement, not replace, WhatsApp’s existing identity verification.

“Users still require a phone number to use WhatsApp, and we’ve built multiple layers of defense against scams into usernames,” a Meta spokesperson said.

The company said it plans to implement several safeguards before the feature becomes widely available. These include limiting the number of new users an account can contact, blocking repeated attempts to guess usernames, and deploying automated systems capable of identifying and removing activity that exhibits common patterns associated with impersonation, fraud or abuse.

Meta also emphasized that the feature has not yet been activated globally.

“The username feature is not live and will be rolled out slowly later this year,” it said.

WhatsApp announced the introduction of usernames on Monday, describing them as a major privacy enhancement that would allow people to communicate without having to disclose their phone numbers, similar to messaging platforms such as Telegram, Signal and Discord.

However, Indian authorities have expressed concern that removing visible phone numbers from initial interactions could make it easier for criminals to impersonate trusted individuals or organizations.

According to Indian news agency ANI, the government warned that the feature “may materially increase the incidence of online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks, by enabling bad actors to solicit and message victims.”

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reportedly directed WhatsApp to provide a detailed explanation of the feature within three days or face possible regulatory action under India’s Information Technology Rules. Authorities have also instructed the company to suspend the rollout until the government’s concerns have been adequately addressed.

The dispute comes as India intensifies its efforts to combat cyber-enabled financial crime, which has become one of the country’s fastest-growing digital threats.

According to government figures, reported cybercrime incidents more than doubled from approximately one million cases in 2022 to nearly 2.3 million cases in 2024, driven largely by online investment scams, phishing operations, impersonation schemes and so-called “digital arrest” frauds, where criminals impersonate law enforcement officials to extort victims.

Analysts say those figures have shifted the regulatory balance toward security. Reema Bhattacharya, Head of Asia Research at Verisk Maplecroft, said governments are increasingly placing greater emphasis on public safety than purely on user privacy.

“While user privacy does play a role in policymaking, the sharp rise in cyber-enabled financial crime has undoubtedly shifted the center of gravity towards security.”

India represents a particularly sensitive market for Meta. With more than 500 million WhatsApp users, it is the platform’s largest user base globally, making any product changes subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny.

Neil Shah, Vice President of Research at Counterpoint Research, said WhatsApp’s enormous reach means new communication tools can have unintended consequences if exploited by bad actors. He noted that the username feature could allow scammers to create convincing fake identities using familiar names and profile photos, potentially accelerating fraud campaigns and the spread of misinformation.

Meta says it has anticipated many of those risks.

According to the company, high-profile usernames belonging to public figures, organizations, and widely recognized individuals will be reserved so they can only be claimed by their legitimate owners. The platform also intends to block lookalike variations of well-known names to reduce impersonation attempts. These measures mirror safeguards already employed by other major social media platforms that reserve verified identities and restrict deceptive usernames.

Still, experts say the broader challenge lies in balancing innovation with public protection.

Bhattacharya noted that regulators increasingly expect technology companies to assume greater responsibility for limiting harm on their platforms. At the same time, she cautioned that policymakers must avoid creating rules that discourage technological innovation or unnecessarily weaken user privacy.

“It is difficult to draw the line between legitimate regulation and measures that could discourage innovation or weaken user privacy,” she said.

The latest standoff reflects India’s increasingly assertive approach to regulating major digital platforms. Just weeks ago, authorities temporarily blocked Telegram during a nationwide examination after investigators found channels falsely claiming to possess leaked test papers and demanding payments from students and their families.

Telegram criticized the action, arguing that the restrictions affected millions of legitimate users rather than those responsible for the fraud.

“150 million ordinary users of the app” in India were punished, the company said.

The confrontation with Meta highlights a broader global debate over encrypted messaging services. Technology companies have argued that stronger privacy protections are essential as cyber threats grow, while governments contend that new anonymity features can inadvertently make it easier for criminals to exploit users.

The idea of moving artificial intelligence data centers into orbit has captured the imagination of investors and technology entrepreneurs seeking to overcome mounting constraints on Earth.

But aerospace engineers are warning that the concept remains far from practical, arguing that enormous technical, financial, and operational obstacles make space-based AI infrastructure one of the industry’s most ambitious and controversial proposals.

Demand for AI computing power has exploded over the past two years as companies race to build sophisticated foundation models. That surge has triggered an unprecedented wave of spending on data centers, with major technology companies committing hundreds of billions of dollars to new facilities worldwide.

The rapid expansion, however, is running into growing bottlenecks. Utilities are struggling to provide enough electricity for new AI campuses, aging power grids require costly upgrades, and local communities have become increasingly resistant to large-scale data center developments because of their heavy energy and water consumption.

Against that backdrop, several companies have begun promoting orbital data centers as a long-term solution. Among the most prominent is Starcloud, a startup backed by Y Combinator, which raised $170 million earlier this year to develop space-based data centers with support from SpaceX. The concept envisions massive satellites powered continuously by solar energy, eliminating dependence on terrestrial electricity grids while providing dedicated computing capacity for AI workloads.

Supporters believe that uninterrupted solar power in orbit could eventually offer a cleaner and potentially more scalable source of energy than increasingly constrained land-based infrastructure.

However, a detailed engineering critique released by Irish aeronautical engineer Brian McManus, creator of the YouTube channel Real Engineering, in collaboration with IEEE Spectrum, argues that the proposal dramatically understates the technological barriers involved.

McManus was particularly critical of Starcloud’s technical white paper, questioning both its engineering assumptions and the optimism surrounding the project.

“It really seems like anyone with some renders and a white paper written by someone being gassed up by an overly agreeable AI can get VC funding these days.”

He added, “Billionaires will attempt to pull the rug over your eyes and convince you that this technology makes total sense, but reality is, this technology is dumb.”

The criticism comes at a time when enthusiasm surrounding SpaceX remains exceptionally high following the company’s public listing, which significantly boosted its valuation. Investors now see AI infrastructure, including Elon Musk’s broader vision of orbital computing, as a potential long-term growth driver.

Yet aerospace specialists argue that building industrial-scale computing facilities in space would require breakthroughs across multiple engineering disciplines simultaneously.

One of the most immediate challenges is heat.

Modern AI processors generate enormous amounts of heat even inside conventional data centers, which rely on sophisticated liquid cooling systems, chillers and air-conditioning infrastructure to maintain stable operating temperatures. Cooling becomes significantly more complicated in space because there is no atmosphere to dissipate heat through convection. Instead, thermal energy must be radiated away, requiring extensive cooling systems and massive radiator surfaces.

According to McManus, the quantities involved would be extraordinary. Using conventional coolants such as glycol, each orbital facility would need to circulate more than 150,000 pounds of coolant every second.

He compared the required flow rates to industrial-scale infrastructure.

“Emptying an Olympic swimming pool in 40 seconds,” he said.

He noted that such volumes are typically associated only with gravity-fed hydroelectric dams.

Scale presents another major obstacle.

Starcloud’s proposed facilities would reportedly deliver five gigawatts of computing capacity, placing them among the largest computing installations ever conceived. To generate sufficient electricity, each spacecraft would require solar arrays covering approximately 1.6 square miles, nearly 5,000 times the surface area of the solar panels attached to the International Space Station.

The sheer size would translate into unprecedented launch requirements. McManus estimated that, even before accounting for coolant, pumps, fuel, shielding, structural components, and attitude-control systems, each station would exceed 113 million kilograms.

He described the scale in stark terms.

“More than an aircraft carrier sitting in orbit.”

He continued: “More than six times the total mass launched into space in history.”

Beyond construction, orbital operations introduce additional risks. The Earth’s orbital environment is becoming increasingly congested with satellites and debris. Millions of fragments, ranging from defunct satellites to tiny metal shards, already pose collision hazards.

Large solar arrays spanning square miles would present enormous targets. Even small debris traveling at orbital speeds could puncture cooling systems or damage power-generating panels, necessitating expensive repair missions.

The risks are already familiar to SpaceX.

The company disclosed that its Starlink satellite constellation performed approximately 300,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers during 2025 alone, illustrating the growing congestion in low-Earth orbit.

Radiation represents another challenge.

Unlike terrestrial data centers, computers operating in space are continuously exposed to high-energy particles capable of damaging semiconductor components or corrupting stored data.

McManus warned that these effects could be especially problematic for AI workloads.

“Ionizing particles passing through satellites will burn out a transistor or flip a bit of information stored inside.”

He added: “This would result in the mother of all AI hallucinations without a software constantly checking results.”

To address that risk, spaceborne computers typically perform redundant calculations and continuously compare outputs to detect corrupted data. Systems aboard the International Space Station already employ such techniques, but extending them to AI data centers operating at multi-gigawatt scale would add further complexity and computational overhead.

Maintenance also poses difficult economic questions.

AI chips generally remain commercially competitive for only two to four years before being replaced by newer generations. On Earth, operators can routinely swap processors during scheduled maintenance. In orbit, replacing millions of aging chips would require repeated launch campaigns and robotic servicing technologies that remain largely experimental.

McManus also questioned Starcloud’s financial assumptions.

He argued that the project’s projected launch costs and payload estimates appear overly optimistic given current launch economics and the unprecedented mass involved.

He concluded that Starcloud appears designed more to capitalize on investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence than to solve near-term infrastructure challenges.

“This is just one early rushed concept to fundraise and move on,” he said.

He added: “In the ever evolving world of tech, first movers are being heavily rewarded.”

While orbital data centers remain a compelling long-term concept for some technologists, experts say terrestrial power grids, advanced cooling systems, and more efficient semiconductor designs are likely to remain the industry’s primary focus for years before computing in space becomes technically or economically viable.