Apple employees are reportedly calling the company’s first foldable iPhone “Ultra” internally, strengthening a name that remains unofficial ahead of the device’s expected launch.
Key Points:
- Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says “everyone” at Apple currently calls the foldable iPhone “Ultra” internally.
- Analyst Max Weinbach argues the Ultra label does not fit Apple’s existing premium product hierarchy.
- The internal name may still be a placeholder or codename rather than the final consumer branding.
Apple Ultra Naming
Apple is preparing its first folding smartphone for a fall product cycle that is also expected to include the iPhone 18 Pro and Apple Watch Series 12. The foldable is widely viewed as the company’s most significant new device in that lineup.
For months, “iPhone Fold” circulated as the common unofficial name, but that changed in late Mar. after a Weibo leaker said Apple was using “iPhone Ultra.” Macworld said its own sources later corroborated the claim.
Macworld reported Aug. 12 that the name remains unsettled publicly, even as the Ultra label appears to have gained traction inside Apple. Internal terminology alone does not establish the final retail name because Apple has long used temporary codenames for unreleased hardware.
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Gurman Naming Debate
Weinbach challenged the Ultra branding this week, arguing that it does not match Apple’s existing use of the label for products positioned above other models. “It makes no sense to me, given the other Ultra branding Apple has,” he wrote. “It does not seem Ultra. It’s lesser than but unique compared to the Pro; that is not an Apple Ultra product.”
Gurman, a Bloomberg reporter with a long record of Apple reporting, responded that the internal terminology is already widespread. “Everyone calls it the Ultra internally,” he wrote on Aug. 11. “We’ll see what happens.”
Apple has used practical and whimsical codenames before, including B188 for the original AirPods, “Dulcimer” for the first iPod, and M68 and “Purple” for the original iPhone.
“Ultra” would stand out because it already sounds like a finished consumer-facing brand.
The naming debate has evolved since late Mar., when “iPhone Ultra” began displacing “iPhone Fold” after the Weibo claim and supporting reports. Apple has not announced the final name, leaving open whether the internal Ultra label will survive through launch.
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