Apple’s iPhone Ultra is expected to be the most significant iPhone redesign since the introduction of Face ID in 2017. Anticipated to launch at Apple’s September 2026 event, it will be Apple’s first foldable smartphone — combining a full iPhone experience with the screen real estate of an iPad mini in a single device that fits in your pocket.

According to MacRumors, the iPhone Ultra will sit entirely above the iPhone 18 Pro Max in Apple’s lineup — becoming the most premium, highest-priced iPhone Apple has ever sold. The “iPhone Ultra” name is currently the front-runner from leakers and analysts, though Apple has not officially confirmed it. Some sources still refer to the device as “iPhone Fold.”

We have tracked this device since early 2025 and cross-referenced every claim in this guide against at least two independent sources. Where information comes from a single source or remains contested, we clearly label it as such.

🎨 Design: Wider, Shorter, Unlike Any iPhone Before It

A “Passport-Style” Form Factor

The iPhone Ultra takes a book-style fold — it opens left-to-right like a book or a Galaxy Z Fold, rather than folding upward like a clamshell. When closed, the device is noticeably squarer and shorter than a standard iPhone, which has earned it the “passport-style” nickname among leakers. When fully open, the inner display is broadly comparable to an iPad mini in both size and proportion.

According to 9to5Mac and Macworld, the outer (cover) screen measures approximately 5.3–5.5 inches with a wide aspect ratio. The inner foldable display is approximately 7.7–7.8 inches. Both screens are expected to use OLED panels from Samsung Display under a dedicated multi-year supply agreement.

Ultra-Thin Build ⚠️ Corrected from earlier reports

The iPhone Ultra is expected to be exceptionally thin. When unfolded, CAD-based estimates from hardware leakers put the thickness at around 5.6mm — correcting earlier rumours that reported 4.5mm, which has not been substantiated by more recent supply-chain sources. The frame uses titanium (as on the iPhone 17 Pro lineup) with an aluminium inner chassis. Launch colours are widely expected to be limited to black and white.

⚙️ The Hinge: Apple’s Biggest Engineering Challenge

The hinge is the defining challenge of any foldable phone. A visible crease down the centre of the display is a long-standing weakness in competing products from Samsung and Google. Apple has reportedly spent considerable engineering effort on minimising or eliminating that crease entirely.

According to Macworld, Apple is using a proprietary laser-drilling metal plate technology to create a more precise microstructure at the fold point, distributing bending stress more evenly across the panel. The hinge is also reported to incorporate LiquidMetal — an amorphous alloy with near-titanium hardness — for long-term durability.

The inner display is expected to use a dual-layer Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) and Ultra-Thin Flexible Glass (UFG) sandwich, placing the display layer between two glass panels to further suppress crease formation. Samsung Display showcased a near-crease-free concept panel at CES 2026 that is widely believed to be the panel destined for the iPhone Ultra.

“Apple’s foldable will standardise the widescreen foldable phone in a way other devices have not.” — Forbes, May 2026

🖥️ Display Specifications

⚡ Chip & Performance ⚠️ “Pro” naming unconfirmed

The iPhone Ultra is expected to be powered by Apple’s A20 chip, manufactured on a 2-nanometer process node. It is important to note that multiple credible sources — including MacRumors and AppleInsider — refer simply to the “A20 chip.” The “A20 Pro” naming used in some earlier rumours is not confirmed and may not reflect Apple’s final branding.

The chip is expected to pair with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and deliver meaningful improvements in graphics throughput and on-device AI processing over the A19 in the iPhone 17 Pro. The iPhone Ultra will also feature Apple’s C2 modem — the company’s second-generation in-house cellular chip, adding mmWave 5G and removing the last dependency on Qualcomm modems.

📷 Camera System

The iPhone Ultra’s camera system makes one notable compromise compared to the iPhone 18 Pro lineup — a consequence of the physical space required by the folding hinge mechanism:

The rear camera bar is expected to run horizontally across the upper back of the device, finished in black regardless of the device’s body colour.

🔒 Authentication: Touch ID Returns

The iPhone Ultra will not feature Face ID. Apple’s TrueDepth camera array — which powers Face ID across the current Pro lineup — requires physical depth behind the display that the ultra-thin foldable design cannot accommodate. Instead, Apple has moved to Touch ID integrated into the power button, mirroring the approach already used in current iPad Air and iPad mini models.

The last iPhone to use Touch ID as its primary authentication method was the iPhone SE (3rd generation) in 2022, and the last flagship iPhone was the iPhone 7 in 2016. This is not a deliberate feature downgrade — it is an engineering constraint of the foldable form factor. Touch ID in the power button is fast and reliable in Apple’s current iPad implementations.

🔋 Battery

The iPhone Ultra is expected to ship with a battery in the 5,500–5,800 mAh range — the largest ever fitted in an iPhone. The larger internal volume created by the book-style fold allows for a substantially bigger cell than any standard iPhone. Charging will be via USB-C; MagSafe wireless charging integration remains uncertain given the extreme thinness and complex internal layout of the device. No specific wired charging wattage has been leaked as of May 2026.

❌ What’s Missing on the iPhone Ultra

Despite its expected $1,999+ price, the iPhone Ultra is set to omit several features found on the iPhone 18 Pro — all as a direct result of foldable design constraints:

💰 Expected Price

The iPhone Ultra is expected to be the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever sold. Here is what analysts and leakers have reported, ordered from most to least recent:

📅 Release Date ⚠️ Nuance: shipping may slip

The iPhone Ultra is widely expected to be announced at Apple’s September 2026 event, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported the device is on track for a September unveiling.

However, actual availability in buyers’ hands may be later than the announcement. A Nikkei Asia report noted setbacks in the engineering test build phase, and Barclays analyst Tim Long suggested the foldable could ship as late as December 2026 — two to three months after announcement. Gurman has pushed back on a full delay but acknowledges early availability will likely be limited.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is targeting 3–5 million units to ship in 2026, rising to 20+ million in 2027 when a second-generation model is also expected to follow.

🏅 Apple’s Wider “Ultra” Strategy in 2026

The iPhone Ultra is not the only “Ultra” product Apple is planning. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, confirmed by MacRumors, Apple intends to launch at least three Ultra-branded products in 2026:

This signals Apple’s deliberate push to establish “Ultra” as a category tier that sits above “Pro” and “Pro Max” across all product lines — creating a new premium ceiling for the entire lineup rather than a one-off experiment.

🤔 Our Verdict: Should You Buy the iPhone Ultra?

Based on the full picture from credible sources as of May 2026, the iPhone Ultra is an extraordinary piece of engineering — and a genuine trade-off device. It is not simply an “iPhone 18 Pro with a bigger screen.” The missing telephoto, absent Face ID, and uncertain MagSafe support are real compromises at a price that starts at $1,999.

Our view: if you are an early adopter who wants the most premium iPhone Apple has ever made and can live with the camera and authentication compromises, the iPhone Ultra will be a landmark device. Everyone else should wait for the second generation in 2027, when production volumes scale, prices may soften slightly, and the missing features are more likely to return.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions