Apple’s first foldable iPhone — widely rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra — is shaping up to be the most anticipated smartphone launch of the year. After years of speculation, a growing body of credible leaks and supply chain reports point toward a fall 2026 debut. Here’s everything we know so far.
Expected Release Date: September 2026
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s annual September hardware event is the prime candidate for the iPhone Ultra unveiling. The most likely date is September 8, 2026, with September 9 as a backup. This aligns with Apple’s recent pattern of launching new iPhones on September 9 in both 2024 and 2025.
However, customers may need to wait longer than usual for the device to hit shelves. A report from Nikkei suggests that Apple is currently ramping up production, but the increased complexity of the foldable design — combined with a global RAM shortage — could push the official on-sale date to late 2026 or early 2027. Apple has reportedly told suppliers to prepare for around 10 million units, up from an earlier forecast of 8 million, signaling confidence in strong demand.
Pricing: The Most Expensive iPhone Yet
The iPhone Ultra will not come cheap. Analyst consensus — including predictions from Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman — puts the starting price at $2,000 or more, with some estimates reaching as high as $2,399. That would make it significantly more expensive than rival foldables like the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold ($1,799) and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 ($2,000). The premium pricing reflects both Apple’s typical markup strategy and elevated component costs driven by the aforementioned memory shortage.
Design and Display
The iPhone Ultra is expected to adopt a book-style foldable form factor with a notably wider chassis — closer to the original Google Pixel Fold than Samsung’s narrower Galaxy Z Fold design. This wider footprint should offer a more natural landscape viewing experience for movies and shows.
Key display specs, according to Ming-Chi Kuo:
- Main display: ~7.8 inches (flexible OLED)
- Cover display: ~5.5 inches
- Thickness: 4.5–4.8 mm unfolded, 9–9.5 mm folded (thinner than the iPhone Air when opened)
The device will reportedly feature two rear cameras (wide and ultra-wide), a novel 3D-printed hinge, and a new display technology that reduces the crease without eliminating it entirely. Notably, Apple may skip Face ID on the Ultra in favor of Touch ID built into the side lock button to keep the device thin and maximize screen real estate.
Software and Battery
The iPhone Ultra will run a specialized version of iOS with iPad-like multitasking features — including side-by-side app support and optimized app layouts with sidebars. However, it will not run iPadOS, so it may lack some of the more advanced multitasking capabilities found on Apple’s tablets.
On the battery front, supply chain reports indicate Apple is testing high-capacity batteries between 5,400 and 5,800 mAh — significantly larger than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7’s 4,400 mAh cell and potentially the highest capacity battery ever in an iPhone.
The Bigger Picture
Apple is arriving relatively late to the foldable party — Samsung and Google have been iterating on the form factor for years. But with the iPhone Ultra, Apple’s tight integration of hardware and software, combined with its massive ecosystem, could finally bring foldable phones to a mainstream audience. If the leaks hold up, the iPhone Ultra may be the device that defines the foldable category for years to come.
Stay tuned for official confirmation from Apple expected this September.