Work on the foldable iPhone, which is expected to be unveiled today, has been underway for at least eight years, writes the Financial Times. A former Apple engineer told the publication that the company was in no hurry to release a smartphone in this form factor, as it was waiting for foldable phone technology to become reliable enough and not too expensive.

“There are many reasons why Apple wanted to wait before entering this particular product category,” said Radu Wright, a former Apple engineer who worked on displays. “The design of the device Apple is likely to release was technically possible more than a decade ago. But at that time, manufacturing such a screen would have cost thousands of dollars. Another aspect is commercial: is the market really big enough? At the time, it wasn’t.”

Recent advances have made it possible to increase the durability of foldable screens while making the crease less noticeable and reducing production costs, the Financial Times adds.

Samsung faced technical problems in the early stages of releasing foldable smartphones, when screens bubbled and warped, leading to a high rate of returns, the journalists note. Apple, meanwhile, is applying a familiar strategy: it watches competitors be the first to release a risky new device and encounter difficulties, then releases a refined version of the same idea.

Updated

According to Bloomberg insider Mark Gurman, Apple’s foldable smartphone will be called the iPhone Duo, not Ultra or Fold, as many journalists had previously assumed. Gurman also said that the base version of the iPhone Duo will have 256 gigabytes of storage and will cost starting at $2,000. According to the journalist, the manufacturer will also offer versions with more storage, which could cost up to $3,000.