Apple’s folding phone could be called the iPhone Ultra – and the rumoured price is eye-watering

Apple’s first foldable iPhone has been floating around the rumour mill for years, eyeing up our list of the best foldable phones from the shadows. And the latest leaks suggest it could arrive with a name (and price) to match its ambition.

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According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s foldable iPhone is expected to “cross the $2000 threshold” in the US. Exactly what that entails isn’t clear – that could be the starting price, or just higher-end configurations – but either way, it would comfortably become the most expensive iPhone ever.

For context, the current top-tier iPhone 17 Pro Max maxes out at $1999 with 2TB of storage. If Apple follows similar pricing tiers, a foldable starting around that mark could climb as high as around $2799 when fully specced out.

That lines up with separate leaks suggesting a broader $2000 to $2500 price range, reinforcing the idea that this will sit firmly above anything else in Apple’s current lineup.

And then there’s the name. Rather than going with something obvious like the long-rumoured Fold moniker, a well-known leaker, Digital Chat Station, claims that Apple is instead leaning towards iPhone Ultra as the final name. That would bring it in line with the company’s existing Ultra branding, already used for products like the Apple Watch Ultra and its top-end Mac chips.

It also fits a wider trend – Gurman has previously reported that Apple is exploring Ultra branding across multiple future products, including more advanced Macs and even next-gen AirPods.

As for the iPhone Ultra itself, the rumours point to a book-style foldable that opens up into a tablet-like screen, with a reported 7.7–7.8-inch inner display and a 5.3–5.5-inch outer screen. On the camera front, two rear cameras are rumoured, along with a front-facing camera available for both folded and unfolded use.

Apple is also expected to use a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID – likely a practical choice given the engineering challenges of fitting advanced facial recognition into a folding design. The inner display, meanwhile, is said to reduce the appearance of a crease, rather than eliminate it entirely.

Launch timing is still up in the air, but most reports point to a debut sometime between September and December, which means we could see it land alongside the upcoming iPhone 18 range. 

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Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.