The latest iPhone Ultra rumors and leaks: What we know so far

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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.

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 has officially confirmed an event for Sept. 9, where we’re almost certain the iPhone 18 lineup will be unveiled. It’s at this event where most expect the iPhone Ultra to make its real debut.

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. Our best guess? We expect the iPhone Ultra to be released around Sept. 19; that’s when the iPhone 17 launched last year.

Previous rumors suggested a delayed release schedule. Tech analyst named Tim Long claimed that shipments of the iPhone Ultra wouldn’t begin until December, but 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.

A recent report out of Australia (via the Chinese supply chain) also claimed that the iPhone Ultra will be available right after launch in the U.S., though it might get rolled out to other markets a bit later.

What will the iPhone Ultra look like?

We’ve seen a lot of iPhone Ultra leaks over the past year, but the most recent leak comes courtesy of YouTuber Unbox Therapy, which claims to have received dummy units from China. These leaks line up perfectly with the latest iPhone Ultra rumors and previous leaks.

The iPhone Ultra will have an aspect ratio and shape very similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 8, but with more rounded corners. The rear of the device looks more like a Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold, however. We believe the passport-shaped phone will have an external 5.5-inch OLED display and an internal 7.8-inch display. Leaks show two cameras on the rear of the device.

In addition to the Unboxed Therapy leak, the casemaker Benks has already posted product listings for iPhone Ultra phone cases.

Credit: Benks

Finally, leaker Instant Digital reported earlier this year that the Ultra will have volume buttons on the top of the device rather than the side. “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.”

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. 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. Finally, the International Data Corporation recently reported that the iPhone Ultra will have an average price of $2,550.

Despite the sizable cost (the flagship Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is priced at $1,899.99), sales expectations remain high. The IDC report estimated Apple would siphon 40 percent of the spending in the foldable market in 2026 and ship 17 million Ultras by the end of 2027.

“Apple’s entry into the foldable market has done more than reignite growth in a category that was losing momentum,” wrote Nabila Popal, an IDC Senior Research Director, in a recent report. “With an average selling price exceeding $2,550, Apple is expected to generate more than $45.7 billion in value and account for over half of the category’s total value. Perhaps most notably, Apple is positioned to challenge Huawei and Samsung for leadership in markets where they have long dominated, an extraordinary outcome for a product expected to be less than two years into its lifecycle.”

As of early September, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is predicting a price tag of at least $2,000.

The iPhone Ultra’s potential specs

What would you want to see in a foldable iPhone design? Let us know in the comments.
Credit: Zain bin Awais / Mashable

Based on all the available leaks, 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

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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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.

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 with a barely visible crease, similar to the recent Samsung Galaxy Z Fold devices. 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. Mark Gurman backed up these exact specs in September, just days before the big event. Rumors also indicate that Apple 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 about the cameras and battery?

Leaker Instant Digital has made some interesting claims. Most notably, Instant Digital has said 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.)

Instant Digital’s 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 does the iOS 27 beta tell 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 with the first iOS 27 developer beta, we finally learned 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.

Apple seems to be preparing developers to handle a larger variety of form factors.
Credit: Apple

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 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.

Most tech reporters have settled on the name iPhone Ultra, and that’s what we’re using until Apple tells us different.

All the iPhone Ultra leaks we’ve seen so far

In December 2025, we saw lots of alleged iPhone Ultra renders circulating on social media, which all share a similar design.

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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 align with earlier reports of the phone’s overall look.

Apple leaker Sonny Dickson also 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 another dummy unit.

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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