Apple is heading toward a September foldable debut trailed by rumors of a $2,500 price tag, a 5,500-mAh battery and a nearly invisible crease.
Key Points:
- Apple's first folding iPhone should arrive alongside the iPhone 18 Pro line this fall, under the rumored name iPhone Ultra.
- Leaks point to a 7.8-inch inner screen, a 5.5-inch cover display, Touch ID in the power button and no telephoto camera.
- One prominent analyst puts second-half shipments at 7 million to 8 million units, with prices between roughly $2,000 and $2,500.
iPhone Ultra Specs Fill The Rumor Mill
The rumor mill spent years calling the device iPhone Fold, but the newest leaks settle on iPhone Ultra, a name that would sit above the iPhone 18 Pro line.
Leakers describe a book-style handset that opens wider than it is tall, a layout no rival foldable uses, with an inner panel shaped much like an iPad mini. A titanium border wraps the chassis, and the hinge relies on a liquid metal alloy.
Rumored dimensions measure the phone at 4.5 to 4.8 millimeters unfolded, thinner than the iPhone Air, and about 9 to 9.5 millimeters when closed. The inner screen sits near 7.8 inches and the cover display near 5.5 inches, both with a hole-punch camera.
Two 48-megapixel rear cameras handle photography, and no telephoto lens made the cut, a notable omission on what would become the priciest iPhone yet. A 5,500-mAh battery would also top every iPhone released before it. Face ID disappears as well, replaced by a Touch ID sensor inside the power button, because the folding design left no room for two separate modules.
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Ming-Chi Kuo Warns Of Launch Shortages
Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities estimates foldable shipments of 7 million to 8 million units through the end of 2026, with only 500,000 to 1 million arriving in the third quarter. Those volumes point to a September announcement followed by a sale date weeks or even months later, leaving buyers waiting well into the fourth quarter.
Kuo compares the plan to the iPhone X in 2017, which Apple unveiled in September and then shipped to customers at the end of October. He believes the phone sells out the moment preorders open, even at $2,300 to $2,500. Resale prices could run 50% to 100% above retail while supply stays thin, and delivery windows could stretch past six weeks.
Apple Foldable Rumors Stretch Back Years
Apple has separately told suppliers to prepare roughly 10 million foldable units this year, a target that sits well above Kuo's own shipment estimate.
Neither number carries confirmation, and the company has said nothing publicly about the product.
Talk of a folding iPhone dates back to 2017, and for years each rumor cycle pushed the launch another year or two into the future.
The crease sat at the center of that wait, since Apple refused to ship a screen with a fold line buyers could see. Rivals including Samsung have sold folding phones since 2019, while Apple kept testing clamshell and book-style prototypes.
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