Foldable 'iPhone Ultra' Rumored to Come in These Two Colors

[M5RahuL]

....

I really don't get why some just don't understand the benefits. It's like trying to explain the benefits of a car to someone from 300 years ago; once you use it, you could never go back.

I don't even bother explaining anymore! The Fold 3 thru 7 have been a game changer for my use case(s)!

I'd get the iPhone Fold, unless they intentionally cripple it.. like their iPads!

 

[eifelbube]

People get the iPhone Pro Max because it's the biggest display Apple offers. A foldable iPhone gives you an even larger screen in a smaller footprint. Seems pretty easy to understand the appeal.

Larger but smaller. Within that simple framework of an advantage, there a plenty of use cases, for me at least.

 

[joefrank64k]

This. I always had a flagship phone, whether that was Apple or Samsung, but ever since my first foldable in 2022 I can't go back to a slab phone.

People get the iPhone Pro Max because it's the biggest display Apple offers. A foldable iPhone gives you an even larger screen in a smaller footprint. Seems pretty easy to understand the appeal.

I was back at a Best Buy checking out the Fold8.

So glad I only have to wait about a month for the Ultra, haha!!

This form factor is so cool.

Outside portrait

Inside portrait

Inside landscape

‘Crease’ haha!!

 

[NeonNights]

I went back to play with the Fold8 today too at a Tmobile store on my lunch break. It's a really nice phone. I just wanted to double-check that the keyboard didn't block the view too much on the cover screen and it's fine. 👍

 

[SnowCrocodile]

Not taking away from your perceived benefits since at the end of the day, we each do what we think works for us. But understand that the benefits you refer to center around the ability to use more “serious” applications on the go and to some of us, the efficiency of engaging in those tasks in a touch device with a small screen is compromised when compared to using a larger screen, physical keyboard, and mouse, for example. It’s more of a “using the right tool for the task” mentality. With that mindset, trying to accomplish those tasks in a compromised device is just plain painful.

I don't understand why there's so much argument between the "it's the best thing since they invented air" camp and "solution in search of a problem" camp.

It's neither. It's a device that some people would love and others won't have much use for. Which is absolutely fine and both camps are right. Different people have different tastes and different needs and it's good to have a choice.

Personally, I don't see myself wanting one. But I can also perfectly understand people who can't wait to get their hands on it.

 

[vkEnthusiast]

I just cannot fathom.. what problem a folding phone device solves...

It will cost as much as a loaded out MacBook Pro, and for what? So you can watch a video sorta bigger? If you've got iPhone ultra money then you've got iPad money and most assuredly have one, so again what does this phone do that I can't already?

This has to be a rage bait. Go to the nearest Samsung store and try holding z8 fold non-ultra in your hands.

As someone who uses iPhone 13 mini(because it's 7mm thin/suit pants friendly) and iPad 11 pro daily, I hate thick iPhone Pro series - this is where Apple has been led by vloggers/TimCook into this 10mm thick "but-it-has-a-big-battery-to-power-your-4k-telephoto-pow/grwm-videos" nonsense, while all Android brands ate away a giant chunk of market(look at that gray-red bar chart above).
And a 'loaded MBP'?! I don't think you know what a loaded MBP is - base MBP with 16gb maybe where iOS itself will use 10gb only starts at those numbers.

I've been waiting for this device for 2+ years... Had hopes for Air, but Air looks cheap and weak battery-wise. I need to read vertically aligned texts on iPad-like pocket-friendly device, but people in Apple think iPad mini should't have 120hz - so no go. Don't want to go back to android because of bloatware + they're thin unfolded, but still long/chunky folded. 'Less is more' - like with Porsche 911.

 

[vkEnthusiast]

Apple Midnight, famous for not quite black, not quite blue.

I have 13 mini in that color - looked really good when it was new, but scratches on corners show silver(metal) color underneath so it loses appeal. Will likely take silver/white Fold version and put a dbrand-like gray sticker on the white glass.

 

[LionTeeth]

And a 'loaded MBP'?! I don't think you know what a loaded MBP is - base MBP with 16gb maybe where iOS itself will use 10gb only starts at those numbers.

I've been waiting for this device for 2+ years... Had hopes for Air, but Air looks cheap and weak battery-wise. I need to read vertically aligned texts on iPad-like pocket-friendly device, but people in Apple think iPad mini should't have 120hz - so no go. Don't want to go back to android because of bloatware + they're thin unfolded, but still long/chunky folded. 'Less is more' - like with Porsche 911.

lol good lord it was a joke. You know, exaggeration to make a point. I don't understand all these comments "ummm actually a MacBook Pro would be so much more expensive"

As I said in another comment clearly it's not for me. If you want to pay out the nose for a sometimes sorta bigger display have at it!

 

[Zwhaler]

I get that, but I also question whether these "power user" use cases are even real. Is the iPhone Fold screen even going to be as large as an iPad Mini? And who in their right mind would want to do serious spreadsheet work (for example) on an iPad Mini? I consider myself a "power user". I taught myself to program on an Apple II as an 80s kid. I'd never torture myself doing any kind of serious work on an iPad, much less an iPhone Fold.

Good points. The web-browsing scenario is my favorite use case for foldable where the mobile web is inadequate. The current hypothesis is that the iPhone Ultra will use the same layout as the Z Fold 8, passport style, which is indeed at or near the size of an iPad mini display when unfolded. Spreadsheets are a pain to use on a touch screen, but they're much easier to read on a foldable than on a standard smartphone.

 

[Brother Cavil]

Good points. The web-browsing scenario is my favorite use case for foldable where the mobile web is inadequate. The current hypothesis is that the iPhone Ultra will use the same layout as the Z Fold 8, passport style, which is indeed at or near the size of an iPad mini display when unfolded. Spreadsheets are a pain to use on a touch screen, but they're much easier to read on a foldable than on a standard smartphone.

Agreed. And, for the record, I'm not remotely anti-foldable. I definitely see the benefits of a larger screen for pretty much any task. That said, I also don't buy into the "productivity" argument for foldables. They're still phones running OSes that are not remotely optimized for productivity. I don't think anyone wants to do serious "real work" on an iPhone, so I don't buy that argument for foldables. Bigger screen for watching content? Sure. Bigger screen for browsing the web? Sure. Bigger screen for editing a complex technical white paper or working on a complex spreadsheet? You'd be a masochist. Anyone who needs to do that kind of work is carrying a laptop.

 

[NeonNights]

Agreed. And, for the record, I'm not remotely anti-foldable. I definitely see the benefits of a larger screen for pretty much any task. That said, I also don't buy into the "productivity" argument for foldables. They're still phones running OSes that are not remotely optimized for productivity. I don't think anyone wants to do serious "real work" on an iPhone, so I don't buy that argument for foldables. Bigger screen for watching content? Sure. Bigger screen for browsing the web? Sure. Bigger screen for editing a complex technical white paper or working on a complex spreadsheet? You'd be a masochist. Anyone who needs to do that kind of work is carrying a laptop.

Fair points. But I will say working on shared documents in MS Teams meetings was considerably easier on my Fold4 and Fold6 on the go, and downright comfortable on the 10" screen of my TriFold. As for OS limitations, I routinely remote into my home MacBook Pro while on the go with my foldable and can easily navigate MacOS on the expansive foldable screen.

On my older foldables I still carried both my personal and work laptops into the office, but ever since the TriFold I've left the personal laptop at home. I realize the Samsung TriFold is a limited-run device but it gives a peek into potential future foldables and helps change what we consider to be possible on foldables. Just give it time, but 2026 is a great year for foldables.

 

[Zwhaler]

Agreed. And, for the record, I'm not remotely anti-foldable. I definitely see the benefits of a larger screen for pretty much any task. That said, I also don't buy into the "productivity" argument for foldables. They're still phones running OSes that are not remotely optimized for productivity. I don't think anyone wants to do serious "real work" on an iPhone, so I don't buy that argument for foldables. Bigger screen for watching content? Sure. Bigger screen for browsing the web? Sure. Bigger screen for editing a complex technical white paper or working on a complex spreadsheet? You'd be a masochist. Anyone who needs to do that kind of work is carrying a laptop.

Yes, under normal circumstances. My argument for productivity on foldables is that it allows for productivity in environments and situations that wouldn’t typically allow for it. For example, bring a foldable to the gym, park yourself on an exercise bike for 30-60 minutes and watch how much more you can get done versus a standard smartphone. I obviously wouldn’t be showing up to the gym with a laptop. Similarly, if I’m taking a weekend trip and require a larger screen for certain tasks, I can get away with using a foldable when an iPhone would be inadequate (using complex online websites and platforms that are more desktop-oriented, for example). These are two situations where a foldable is superior to a laptop for portability reasons more than pure capability.

 

[Brother Cavil]

Yes, under normal circumstances. My argument for productivity on foldables is that it allows for productivity in environments and situations that wouldn’t typically allow for it. For example, bring a foldable to the gym, park yourself on an exercise bike for 30-60 minutes and watch how much more you can get done versus a standard smartphone. I obviously wouldn’t be showing up to the gym with a laptop. Similarly, if I’m taking a weekend trip and require a larger screen for certain tasks, I can get away with using a foldable when an iPhone would be inadequate (using complex online websites and platforms that are more desktop-oriented, for example). These are two situations where a foldable is superior to a laptop for portability reasons more than pure capability.

I get where you're coming from. I just question how many people actually want to do work at the gym. Or maybe I'm just lucky and I'm not a slave who needs to make every free minute "productive".

Doing real work on a small screen sucks. Sure, it sucks less on a foldable screen than a regular iPhone screen, but it still sucks. I just don't see the "work" argument as a legit reason to get a foldable. Being able to be more "productive" in a pinch is a nice byproduct of buying a foldable, but I stick with what I said earlier. Anyone who wants to do real work on a foldable phone screen is a masochist.