Foldable 'iPhone Ultra' Could Be Missing These 5 Key Features Despite $2,000 Price Tag

[MyopicPaideia]

Only MagSafe and FaceID are “key” features, really, and if the iPhone air has these and the Ultra does not, then there is nothing “ultra” about it.

It also needs to run full iPadOS when open and have full iPad Air / iPad Pro external screen support.

3rd camera is also weird, simply because you might as well add it (even an older generation one) and go the full width of the device for the camera plateau so it at least lies down flat and solid and doesn’t wobble if you try to use the front screen.

Really want to love this and replace my iPhone and iPad mini with this, and am willing to pay whatever is required to do that - but if it is a poor compromise offering, the rumored Samsung competitor will most likely have all these things…so very enticing.

 

[chars1ub0w]

Your "only a dumb monitor" would reduce costs by dumping the cover screen. But being primarily targeted wireless at high screen refresh means going to soak of substantive power. Not going to be able to skimp on batteries ; so likely not weight loss there. Structurally going to have just about the exact same weight overhead.

A couple of dumber internal chips inside isn't going to make the system vastly lighter.

You're not thinking innovatively, it's not a dumb monitor. It has to interact with touch. It doesn't need to have high bandwidth communication like HDMI etc. UI part of app can run on the display. Heavy lifting is done by the iPhone side. As a software expert, I think this is doable. It has a FaceTime camera. but it doesn't need 1TB SSD. Way cheaper. It doesn't need the same power. So, the battery can be way smaller and lighter. Then it can be thin and inexpensive.

I used to have an iPhone 12 Mini. This would pair well with that.

As far as the 'walking around' use case go... I suspect 'smart glasses' are going to eat into that.

Don't think so. I've never seen anyone do that on the streets of Tokyo. The sun is bright. You also need to see where you're going. Have you tried those glasses?

 

[solarmon]

What problem does a foldable iPhone solve that makes the crazy high cost and feature sacrifices worth it? Is a slightly larger screen worth no MagSafe, no Touch ID, and inferior camera system? It doesn’t even seem usable with one hand.

It has the potential to replace two devices, phone and ipad. Thus, the cost.

 

[The Game 161]

don't think magsafe will be missing. the cads are showing no ring but thats because it will be glass

 

[ParkHemp]

Nobody seems to notice, but these CAD files for Fold seem to be missing Flash for the camera. Weird!

 

[5bjoshua]

No te

No telephoto camera lenses is a no go for me. Reason why I skipped the air. I’m not going from my 15 pro to a worse camera . It’s my only camera and I find I use the zoom way more than ultra wide.

Deal breaker for me. I was dead set on this device but the lack of telephoto would make this a hard pass. I rarely use the ultra wide. 35/50/85/105mm please….

 

[leonremi]

I just hope that Apple will not make the Pro Max worse.
It's the only usable phone in their lineup.

 

[zenmacx]

What problem does a foldable iPhone solve that makes the crazy high cost and feature sacrifices worth it?

There’s no problems to solve.

What properly designed folding phones do is open up a world of functionality, speed and efficiency that current iPhones can’t.

I wasn’t interested in a folding phone until I tried one a colleague at work had purchased and found to my surprise just how fantastic and ideal it is for my workflow.

Now after months of enjoyment with my Z Fold7 and increased productivity plus freedom to leave my laptop aside during mobile sessions in the field, I’m a believer in this form factor.

 

[Dejesus]

This phone at this price is going to sell not too much. The people can buy when you cut features, but only when you have less price, no more price. At the end, is almost the same screen but a little more tall, but is going to be thicker, so is a no sense. Maybe with some centimeters less, all the cameras back and magsafe, a good price and Face ID, in 2028, people would buy this.

 

[HazeAndHahmahneez]

MNever buy a first gen Apple product. This one is gearing up to have a lot of production issues too. At this price point, you’ll be kicking yourself next year that you didn’t wait for the iPhone Fold 2.

Never buy first gen? So according to you no very first iPhone? No gen1 Touch ID button? No 6 plus (first big screen I think), no iPhone X, no XS Max, no watch 1, no og AirPod…

Hahah everyone’s foldable iPhone dream crumblings down. Looks awkward, gigantic camera bump, no magsafe, no stereo speakers, no third camera lens. Only thing ‘ultra’ about it is the price 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

And screen size…

 

[TracerAnalog]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: no MagSafe is a dealbreaker. Are you listening Apple?

 

[BeachLakeUSBc]

Too late Apple, I bought an Oppo Find N6, over a decade on the iPhone but you're just too slow.

 

[realLucaR]

The last flagship iPone with Touch ID was the iPhone 8 (Plus).

 

[pakupakuman]

I can't understand why they didn't extend the tumor bump for the entire length of the back and cram in some stuff there, put in a third lens, or use it to recess the lenses a la iPhone 5. Add some symmetry to the case.

 

[Big_D]

No te

No telephoto camera lenses is a no go for me. Reason why I skipped the air. I’m not going from my 15 pro to a worse camera . It’s my only camera and I find I use the zoom way more than ultra wide.

The same here. I like the Air in some ways, but I use the telephoto lens about 80% and the standard wide for 19.9% of the rest of my photos. If I was to get a phone with only 2 lenses, I'd want telephoto and standard.

 

[b0nd18t]

perhaps a slim MagSafe case could solve the fact that it’s missing internally. Like a lot of Android phones do.

 

[wanha]

tech enthusiasts shocked that a completely different form factor results in design compromises

 

[doolar]

Wow, I did not care about most of the sacrifices of the phone, but that MagSafe is hitting me. Will get it regardless, but I’ll have to rethink my travel accessories. That’s the most upsetting loss for me.

Yea me too, I use MagSafe all the time. It might be a dealbreaker for me. I’m not super happy about losing Faceid either, but can absolutely live with Touchid instead.

 

[wanha]

The iPad Mini is $399, but have fun paying 5x more to make it fold

also the screen on the Mini isn't square, which means that it's actually useful for watching videos

unlike, you know, the foldable phone in which the bigger screen is almost rectangular, meaning most of the additional screen real estate when watching movies goes to massive black bars above and below the video

 

[iPhaithful]

Oh, that sucks.

 

[KnightPawn]

The lack of most of those things don’t really bother me. Lack of FaceID would take a bit of getting used to but otherwise I can live without the other parts.

Main things I’m interested in are battery life, screen brightness and of course the price

 

[ThomasJL]

Apple's first foldable iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone Ultra," could be missing at least five key features present on the iPhone 18 Pro models despite its $2,000 price point.

Don’t worry, Tim, you can get away with it. Your supporters love it when you remove key features and then actually increase prices, even to an extortionately high amount. For example, your supporters loved it when you removed the charger from the iPhone box and then charged them more for doing so. Your supporters voiced support for you when you removed the stand from a monitor, raised prices a lot from the previous monitor, and then charged an additional $999 for the stand which you sold separately. Your fans loved it when you removed Touch ID, the home button, the SIM card tray, etc. So you should not only keep removing key features like those, but you should also raise prices—not by a little, but by a lot, just like you have been doing. Your supporters will defend you because they think that increased profits for Apple means the highest quality products.

 

[Knowimagination]

They already ruined it with the weird proportions when folded, so it won't fit in anyone's pocket. If it also doesn't have FaceID or MagSafe, then... why would an anyone buy this over a normal iPhone? Just buy a regular iPhone of whatever type and an ipad mini, for LESS total $.

We'll see. If the rumors are wrong and the proportions are more like 2 iPhone airs hinged together so it can still fit in some people's pockets, and if it does have MagSafe and FaceID, then it might be worth it to have less capable cameras to do the folding thing and have a small iPad-ish thing. But if even some of the rumors are true, then forget it.

I'm not sure why you would think it won't fit in pockets? I 3d printed one of the mock up designs and it feels great in hand and in the pocket. I obviously didn't replicate the weight but the actual size is quite nice.

also the screen on the Mini isn't square, which means that it's actually useful for watching videos

unlike, you know, the foldable phone in which the bigger screen is almost rectangular, meaning most of the additional screen real estate when watching movies goes to massive black bars above and below the video

This is just not correct at all. Most of the current folding phones have square displays when open but this is designed to basically be the same aspect ratio and only slightly smaller than the iPad mini when it is unfolded. It's my ideal design for a folding phone because of that and it's why Samsung and wuawei just went with some similar designs as well.

 

[Serrafemme]

$2000 for a phone is ridiculous.

 

[nutriousmitten]

Don’t forget basic water resistance and even less dust resistance.

That grinding one hears when folding their phone after some sand gets in the crease will make one’s heart race and sink and the same time.