IFA26: Hands on the Uniq series of cases for folding iPhones: Leather is still true love
Visiting Uniq's booth at the IFA 2026 exhibition, I saw that they had already made a set of accessories in anticipation of the upcoming folding screen iPhone. Although the real device has not officially appeared yet, familiar accessory brands such as Uniq have prepared very complete templates. Personally, I have always been in love with the way Uniq handles leather on Apple accessories, and this new series of toys continues to maintain that neatness.
Folding notebook-style leather case: Comprehensive protection and kickstand
The first thing that made me stop and look was the double-sided leather case. When the folding iPhone is inserted, the entire device looks no different than a compact leather-covered notebook. Both front and back sides are covered with vegetable leather, but the inner contact surface is lined with soft suede to avoid scratches on the device.
Half-back case with MagSafe ring and unique square backup battery
If you find the double-sided leather case a bit thick, Uniq has another solution that I personally find much more practical: the case only covers half of the back. This case still retains the luxurious vegetable leather exterior and suede lining inside, but the back has a built-in MagSafe ring and kickstand.
This metal ring can rotate flexibly to support the machine from standing at many different viewing angles. Folding phones inherently have a certain thickness, so only covering half the back helps to hold the phone comfortably while maintaining the necessary neatness.
Comes with a MagSafe backup battery that is shaped in a very strange square shape. Instead of making the battery in an elongated rectangular shape like the battery for bar phones, Uniq makes the battery in a short square shape so that when it is inhaled on the back, it fits neatly in the lower half of the body without the camera cluster or extra edges. I highly appreciate this sophistication in the design stage.
Two-piece Kevlar cover and realistic grip
Besides leather goods, Uniq also displays versions covered with twill-woven Kevlar fiber and transparent plastic. The Kevlar version is made in two separate pieces: a large piece protecting the back and a thin frame covering the front secondary screen.
However, according to my experience with folding phones so far, this two-piece case is not actually convenient to use. The front hem piece has very little area attached to the bezel, so if you take it out for a while and put it in your pocket, it can easily become dislodged or fall out.
Therefore, if choosing accessories for a folding device, I still lean towards a half leather case or a folding leather case. Do you prefer a tight protective style like a notebook or do you just need a half-back cover for compactness?