At this point, the foldable iPhone is the biggest open secret in Silicon Valley. Apple kept a tight lid on its first-ever foldable phone right up until dropping the iOS 27 developer beta, which includes some direct and indirect references to the iPhone Ultra (also rumored to be called the iPhone Fold, iPhone Ultra Fold, or something else entirely).
Early adopters already love foldables — and they have plenty of options — but Apple's been notably absent from the genre. However, don't count Apple out. The company has a history of showing up late to the party and then absolutely cornering the market, as it did with AirPods and iPhones.
So, as we await official details, here's everything we know about the first foldable iPhone, including the latest rumors, specifications, release date, and pricing.
When will the iPhone Ultra be released?
Apple holds an annual September iPhone launch event, and we fully expect the iPhone Ultra to be announced at this upcoming event.
We think the iPhone Ultra will arrive on store shelves in fall 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Numerous rumors pointed to this over the last year. However, while Apple traditionally releases all of its new iPhones in September, the Ultra might not be ready right away.
A tech analyst named Tim Long recently claimed that shipments of the iPhone Ultra will begin in December of this year, not September, though Bloomberg's Mark Gurman threw cold water on this rumor. And Gurman seems to have a crystal ball looking right into Apple headquarters these days.
Reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPhone Ultra might follow the trajectory of the iPhone X, which was announced in September 2017 but took about a month and a half to actually hit the market.
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And most recently, a report out of Australia (via the Chinese supply chain) claimed that the iPhone Ultra will be available right after launch in the U.S., but might get rolled out to other markets a bit later.
Given the ongoing global memory shortage, last-minute delays are always possible, so we'll have to wait and see.
What's the iOS 27 beta telling us about the iPhone Ultra?
The iPhone Ultra isn't (yet) an official device. We do know a lot about it, but mostly via rumors, whispers, and reports coming out of Apple's supply chain.
But now, with the first iOS 27 developer beta, we have some actual clues about the iPhone Ultra's existence. Software researcher M1Astra dug through the code (via Bloomberg) and found code that determines whether a device is folded or unfolded. Strings like “mechanicalAngleDegrees” and “angleDegrees" point to Apple fine-tuning the experience depending on how widely a foldable device is open. Researcher Sam Henri Gold found similar clues in the code.
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That's not all. Certain widgets, such as Music, News, and Weather, can now be configured to take up the majority of the iPhone's display. That split-view doesn't make a ton of sense on a regular iPhone (you'd probably just want to have one app open instead), but on an iPhone Ultra, such a widget could occupy one side of the display while you do something else on the other.
Then, at WWDC 2026, Apple's Senior VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, pointed out a developer-specific feature called the Device Hub, which allows developers to simulate their apps in different screen configurations.
Finally, Macworld found references in the code suggesting a device that has both the Dynamic Island and a Touch ID; such a device does not exist today, but the iPhone Ultra is rumored to have both.
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What will the iPhone Ultra specs look like?
The iPhone Ultra remains a mystery to some extent, of course, but we do have a very rough idea of what it could offer. Based on all the rumors and leaks, the iPhone Ultra will have a wider design than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Galaxy Z Fold 7, and the impressive Motorola Fold.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman predicts that the foldable iPhone will be a book-style foldable with four cameras — two on the back, one on the inside, and one front selfie camera. Gurman also predicted it would use Touch ID like the iPad Air and Pro, even though iPhones typically use Face ID. All the recent leaks back up Gurman's reporting.
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In fact, the smartphone market is already adapting to the expected size of the iPhone Ultra. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, which launched in July, is exactly that: A wider-than-usual foldable that looks like a proper tablet when unfolded. Huawei was the first to market with a wide foldable, though the Pura X Max is only available overseas.
The iPhone Ultra specs could look something like this:
Displays: 7.8-inch inner OLED display, 5.5-inch outer OLED display
Thickness: 9.5mm unfolded, 4.5mm when folded
Security: Touch ID
Processor: A20 processor
Cameras: Dual rear cameras (48MP), dual inner/outer front cameras
Price: $2,399
Battery: At least 5,088 mAh
We've seen several reports claiming that Apple has invested heavily in the iPhone Ultra's display and hinge. It should be very durable, thin, and without a visible crease. Samsung Display is reportedly producing the OLED displays for the iPhone Ultra, as Samsung's got the best flexible display tech in the game. There's a reason Samsung released the Galaxy TriFold while the world is still waiting on the first foldable iPhone.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported earlier this year that the iPhone Ultra would have a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, and measure in at just 9 to 9.5mm of thickness. We heard another rumor in September 2025, which claimed the iPhone Ultra would look like two iPhone Airs put together, with a similar thickness of 5.6mm. Why the discrepancy between the two reports? It could be the difference between the device's thickness when folded and unfolded.
There's also talk about Apple using innovative tech to make the iPhone Ultra lighter and more durable than most foldables. These rumors include a report that the company is using liquid metal for the phone's hinge, which should improve durability.
In a recent update, Gurman claimed that some early testers were pleased with how the Ultra performed, in particular with its look and feel, as well as the quality of its hinge. The camera, which doesn't have a telephoto unit, left something to be desired, the report said. Gurman's report confirms a lot of these rumored specs, and he reports that early testers also liked the more iPad-like UX and homescreen layout on the Ultra.
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What will the foldable iPhone be called?
Up until recently, most of the tech world has simply called the unannounced device the "iPhone Fold" or "iPhone Ultra." However, since it's not a confirmed product yet, it's very possible that the phone will have a different name at launch.
With reports piling in, and most of them pointing to the "Ultra" name, we're going to use that until Apple officially tells us what the phone is called.
How much will the iPhone Ultra cost, and will people buy it?
The iPhone Ultra is likely to be expensive. An early estimate from research analyst Arthur Liao suggested the price tag for the Ultra — gulp — could come in around $2,399. That's in line with expectations in a new report from International Data Corporation (IDC). Last year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPhone Ultra is likely to retail between $2,000 and $2,500; recently, Kuo narrowed that down to $2,300 — $2,500.
Despite the sizable cost (the flagship Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is priced at $1,999.99), sales expectations remain high. The IDC report estimated Apple would siphon one-third of the spending in the foldable market in 2026.
"But the real game-changer for the category comes at year-end when Apple enters the foldable space, projected to capture over 22% unit share and a staggering 34% of the foldables market value in its first year, thanks to an expected average price point of $2,400,” read the report.
In March, Mark Gurman claimed that Apple could classify the iPhone Ultra as an "Ultra" product (no surprise there), putting it in a higher price tier than other devices in its portfolio alongside other high-end machines like the Apple Watch Ultra. If the phone ends up costing at least $2,000 as expected, this would make sense.
The latest iPhone Ultra leaks
In December 2025, we saw lots of alleged iPhone Ultra renders circulating on social media, which all share a similar design. We'd take these with a grain of salt, of course.
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In February, a leaker known as Instant Digital posted some alleged renders of the iPhone to the Chinese social media site Weibo. Like most leaks, especially the ones pertaining to Apple, we can't confirm their authenticity. However, they line up with earlier reports of the overall look of the phone.
More recently, Apple leaker Sonny Dickson shared another potential iPhone Ultra render in March 2026.
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Dickson shared more purported dummy units of the iPhone Ultra in April, giving those renders a bit more physicality than they had before.
April was fairly bounteous in terms of iPhone Ultra leaks. Aside from Dickson's dummy units, YouTuber Vincent Zhong got his hands on the newly released (in Asia) Huawei Pura X Max Wide. This Chinese phone was one of the first real "wide foldables" to hit the market. It matches the overall design of iPhone Ultra leaks, and its screen dimensions are almost exactly the same as the alleged dimensions of the Ultra.
While the iPhone Ultra will almost certainly look different from Huawei's device, Zhong's hands-on video gives us a decent idea of what to expect from the iPhone Ultra as a physical object in your hands.
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We've also gotten some interesting dummy photos from tech leaker Majin Bu on X. In these photos, the dummy units look very similar to what we've seen in other recent leaks. In other words, it looks like a shorter, more book-style foldable than previous foldables. It looks like it'll also support MagSafe cases.
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In June, a leaker on Weibo known as Ice Universe claimed to have the ultimate prize, a photo of the actual iPhone Ultra in white, though we believe the device in the photo is merely a dummy unit.
What about the cameras and battery?
Instant Digital makes some interesting claims. Most notably, the report says the iPhone Ultra will have the largest-ever iPhone battery. (For reference, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is estimated to have a roughly 5,088 mAh battery.)
"The volume buttons are not on the left side," reads a translation of the post. "Instead, they are placed directly on the top of the right-side frame (similar to the volume button layout on the top of the iPad mini). This may take some getting used to for users’ typical phone habits."
The post also stated, "The rear dual camera + right-side microphone + flash are arranged horizontally. The camera module appears to be fully black and does not match the body color. Currently, the only confirmed color is white, but it is expected that Apple will launch two color options."
Other sources have confirmed the iPhone Ultra's dual-camera configuration, consisting of a regular and an ultra-wide camera.
What else do we know about the iPhone Ultra?
Beyond physical design, another recent report suggested you'll be able to run multiple apps side-by-side when the phone is unfolded, sort of like multitasking on iPadOS 26. However, by all accounts, this device will run iOS, not iPadOS, so you won't exactly get a full iPad experience from the iPhone Ultra. (Apps that are designed to run natively in iPadOS, for example, would not be compatible.)
Finally, even though the iPhone Ultra is still in the realm of fantasy, there are already rumors about a follow-up, clamshell-style foldable from Apple, potentially called the iPhone Flip. That one probably isn't coming until next year at the earliest, though.
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