Apple's foldable 'Ultra' rumor
Apple may launch a foldable billed internally as an “iPhone Ultra,” but leaks say it will carry noticeable compromises that make the pricing awkward — think a passport‑sized short-and-wide device that opens to a 4:3 display yet may only have two rear cameras and swap Face ID for Touch ID. The rumor thread also pins an expected price of roughly $2,000–$2,400 and a steep production cut from 10 million units to about 3 million, which suggests Apple itself is lowering demand expectations for the format. (MacRumors Show, Episode 189) (x.com)
Apple’s first foldable phone is being pitched in leaks as the most radical iPhone in years, but the strangest part is the spec sheet: a device expected to cost more than $2,000 may ship with only two rear cameras and a fingerprint sensor in the side button. The name in the latest rumor is “iPhone Ultra,” not “iPhone Fold,” and multiple Apple-focused reports now say Apple is aiming to launch it alongside the iPhone 18 line in September 2026, even if shipping slips by a few weeks. The hardware Apple is said to be building is a book-style foldable, which means it opens like a notebook instead of snapping shut like an old flip phone. Current rumors point to a 5.5-inch outer screen and a 7.8-inch inner screen, so unfolded it lands just under the 8.3-inch iPad mini. Leaks also describe a 4:3 screen ratio, which is the same basic shape Apple uses on the iPad. That would make the opened device shorter and wider than Samsung’s tall foldables, more like a small passport than a TV remote. Apple has reportedly spent years chasing one problem that every foldable phone fights: the crease in the middle where the screen bends. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in March 2025 that Apple wanted a 7.8-inch inner display with no visible crease, which helps explain why the company is arriving after Samsung, Google, and OnePlus. The catch is thickness. MacRumors says the device could be about 4.5 millimeters when open and 9 to 9.5 millimeters when closed, and that kind of thin body leaves less room for the parts Apple usually uses to justify its top-end prices. That is why the camera rumor matters so much. Instead of the triple-camera stack on a Pro Max, this foldable is rumored to get two 48-megapixel rear cameras and lose the telephoto lens entirely, which would make zoom one of the first sacrifices buyers notice. The other sacrifice is Face ID, Apple’s face-scanning unlock system that has been standard on flagship iPhones since the iPhone X in 2017. Reports now say the foldable may switch to Touch ID in the power button because the TrueDepth camera system takes up too much internal space. Software is supposed to be the part that makes those tradeoffs easier to swallow. Bloomberg reported in March 2026 that Apple is preparing iPad-style layouts and side-by-side apps for the foldable, so the pitch is less “phone that bends” and more “small tablet that still fits in a pocket.” The pricing rumor is where the whole thing gets awkward. Mark Gurman has floated roughly $2,000, while Ming-Chi Kuo previously pointed to more than $2,000 and possibly up to $2,500, which would put Apple’s first foldable above every regular iPhone and into laptop money. The final clue is Apple’s own supply planning. The MacRumors episode says expected production was cut from around 10 million units to about 3 million, while another April 10 report described Apple preparing initial stock around 11 million, so the exact number is still muddy but the direction is clear: even bullish leakers are treating foldables as a niche product, not the next default iPhone.
