'iPhone Ultra' Could Face Staggered Market Rollout, US Only at Launch

[The Game 161]

I've got a feeling that it's not going to be a huge success. People are fine with the current form factor.

Fold 8 people are raving about the design.

Apple are looking to make 10 million units so they think it will be a big success

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Fold 8 people are raving about the design.

Apple are looking to make 10 million units so they think it will be a big success

Apple will sell 10 million, half of what the ENTIRE folding market sold in 2025, and it’ll be a “failure” because it didn’t sell the 200 million that the other iPhones sold. 🙂

 

[triharderken]

Not being funny but it's not like the first ever fold being made the main display is from Samsung who are on there 8th interaction so I am sure you will be fine as I cannot wait to be able to pre order.

Iteration 🙂

 

[bbeagle]

It's going to be funny to see people spend 5% of their net yearly income on this phone. 😆

You think people who only make $40,000 a year are buying this?

It's a lot of money until you realize that this is something you use every single day for hours. If I kept this for 2 years, that's about $3/day.

If it improves my life, it's worth it. Just not sure if it would.

I know it would cause less pocket-dials, and less times my flashlight comes on.

 

[macfacts]

On the other hand, if anyone is going to figure out how to make a foldable phone with an almost invisible crease that remains invisible over time, it's going to be Apple

False premise, the problem isn't the crease. The problem is iOS doesn't let you use two apps at the same time easily.

 

[Antilogical]

If it improves my life, it's worth it. Just not sure if it would.

That's absolutely not how cost-benefit analyses work. You _already_ have a phone. So what's the iPhone Ultra going to do for you that's worth $2000 more? Watching naughty content on a wider screen?

 

[cconley11]

It’s wild to me how people throw around good luck beta testers like it’s some kind of insult. Every new product category has to start somewhere. The first iPhone had plenty of early adopters who were essentially “beta testers” by today’s definition.

Being an early adopter is simply a risk vs reward decision. I’m confident enough in the potential upside of a foldable iPhone that I’m willing to take that risk and I have the discretionary income to do it. If you don’t have the desire or the money to take that risk, that’s completely fine.

But acting like people who are interested in new technology are idiots for buying first generation products is a pretty anti innovation mindset. Progress happens because people are willing to adopt new ideas before they’re perfected. Sitting on the sidelines until every flaw has been ironed out is perfectly reasonable but pretending that makes you smarter than the people willing to jump in early is just shortsighted.

Well said!

 

[ofarlig]

That's absolutely not how cost-benefit analyses work. You _already_ have a phone. So what's the iPhone Ultra going to do for you that's worth $2000 more? Watching naughty content on a wider screen?

The benefit over a regular phone doesn’t need to be large since the cost difference isn’t really that large.

 

[Yza]

Would rather buy 3 Vision Pros than one Ultra Fold 😀 Nonsensical DOA product.

 

[LouisMac90]

Iteration 🙂

Thank you good sir 🤣

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

But hey, they can finance it for only 36 months at $60 a month!

Convenient for many people and no interest for those 36 months is quite a deal.

 

[iMac The Knife]

Convenient for many people and no interest for those 36 months is quite a deal.

It's even more convenient to pay in full, up front. If a person can't afford to buy a smartphone outright, they have more important things to worry about in life than getting a shiny new phone. And yes, I've heard the "well, I make that money work for me" line a thousand times. If that were the case, the US wouldn't be in $1.25 trillion in credit card debt alone.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

The important thing here is the ability to pull out your iFold in a cafe and impress everyone around you.

That's what matters in life ... one upping everyone else and being flashy.

For the first time in many, many years, I think the Ultra will be the first iPhone that people may truly show off to impress. People will be intrigued and will want to see what you have and touch it.

 

[turbineseaplane]

For the first time in many, many years, I think the Ultra will be the first iPhone that people may truly show off to impress. People will be intrigued and will want to see what you have and touch it.

I wonder if they instead might find people thinking they have an Android of some kind.

LMAO

That's pretty funny to think about Apple buyers who laid out mega coin (or are renting it) having people at Starbucks think they have a green bubble Samsung thingy.

I'm laughing right now just thinking about the bruised egos of somebody renting the Fold just to get side eye at the coffee shop. 😂 🤣

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

It's even more convenient to pay in full, up front. If a person can't afford to buy a smartphone outright, they have more important things to worry about in life than getting a shiny new phone. And yes, I've heard the "well, I make that money work for me" line a thousand times. If that were the case, the US wouldn't be in $1.25 trillion in credit card debt alone.

I'm not going to have this argument again. It's old.

That $1.25T of CC debt in the US isn't from people making their money work for them, it's high interest rate borrowing. It's from people trying to live a normal life where wages don't keep up with costs. It's hard for people who make multiples of six figures annually to understand the plight of your average American so I won't bother explaining.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I wonder if they instead might find people thinking they have an Android of some kind.

LMAO

That's pretty funny to think about Apple buyers who laid out mega coin (or are renting it) having people at Starbucks think they have a green bubble Samsung thingy.

I'm laughing right now just thinking about the bruised egos of somebody renting the Fold just to get side eye at the coffee shop. 😂 🤣

Right??!!! I might have to do that to a new Ultra fold owner I see -- "Hey, is that one of the new Samsung Z-Fold phones I've read so much about?" Then look completely disinterested when they say it's a new iPhone Ultra!

 

[turbineseaplane]

Right??!!! I might have to do that to a new Ultra fold owner I see -- "Hey, is that one of the new Samsung Z-Fold phones I've read so much about?" Then look completely disinterested when they say it's a new iPhone Ultra!

This has made me plan to ask people if "that's the new Samsung" when I eventually see iFolds in the wild.

I'm looking forward to it already.

I already know the type I'll see at my local starbucks.

He's shaved/bald head, doing the salt & pepper goatee .. he wears those ON Brand running shoes but doesn't run and you can tell. Usually he's got a black t-shirt and some white shorts. If it's chilly out, there's a Patagonia or Cotopaxi PE/VC vest on. He just does chest & arms at the gym. He pulled up in a drop top Porsche or perhaps a BMW of some kind. I can just see this guy ... I see "him" all the time. It's like there's a halloween kit you can buy to be "this guy".

He's DEF buying an iFold as he thinks it's impressive to others, especially women, and it's absolutely not. 😂

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

This has made me plan to ask people if "that's the new Samsung" when I eventually see iFolds in the wild.

I'm looking forward to it already.

I already know the type I'll see at my local starbucks.

He's shaved/bald head, doing the salt & pepper goatee .. he wears those ON Brand running shoes but doesn't run and you can tell. Usually he's got a black t-shirt and some white shorts. If it's chilly out, there's a Patagonia or Cotopaxi PE/VC vest on. He just does chest & arms at the gym. He pulled up in a drop top Porsche or perhaps a BMW of some kind. I can just see this guy ... I see "him" all the time. It's like there's a halloween kit you can buy to be "this guy".

He's DEF buying an iFold as he thinks it's impressive to others, especially women, and it's absolutely not. 😂

I can tell you haven't really thought about this at all! 😂

 

[turbineseaplane]

I can tell you haven't really thought about this at all! 😂

I've been seeing "this guy" for years.

I've stood and watched "this guy" with my girlfriend and her reaction is: "douche" meets "canoe".

I know where I won't see him:
At the pull up bar with me, with weights hanging off my belt 😁 💪

 

[eifelbube]

As a new product not yet designated as a gatekeeper device, I’m wondering if, in the EU, they’ll limit it to just France and Germany (that’s where AVP is limited to) as the DMA says that regulation only applies if a service/device is available in 3 or more countries. I’m sure this was in order to get the support of those large countries and am surprised all the others went along with it.

80% of their sales are from that region anyway and if 20% revenue means less regulation/fines, might be worth it.

The foldable will be a new product but a member of the iPhone line, the ~10 million of them running a version of iOS. iPhone and iOS are already gatekeepers.

The AVP is a whole new product, not just a member of an existing product line. The 600k of them run visionOS, i.e. the AVP is nowhere near close to meeting the DMA gatekeeper criterion, even if it were available in all 27 member states.

Latest chapter in EU conspiracy book 😊

 

[Sami13496]

As I’ve already said, Europeans are not going to buy this. Nobody is going to pay €3,000 just to get a screen that’s one inch bigger, with a crease, while having to flip-flop around with a foldable toy, when you can simply turn the Pro Max sideways.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The foldable will be a new product but a member of the iPhone line, the ~10 million of them running a version of iOS. iPhone and iOS are already gatekeepers.

The AVP is a whole new product, not just a member of an existing product line. The 600k of them run visionOS, i.e. the AVP is nowhere near close to meeting the DMA gatekeeper criterion, even if it were available in all 27 member states.

Latest chapter in EU conspiracy book 😊

The EU designated the iPhone and the iPad separately as gatekeeper devices because that’s the way Vestager wanted it, even though the iPad did not meet the quantitative metrics (and likely still don’t). The sales for the foldable iPhone will absolutely NOT meet those quantitative metrics and it remains to be seen if the regulators make the call that it’s a gatekeeper device since Vestager’s not around to say “Well, it MIGHT be one, one day”.

Apple’s marketshare is well below 40% in the region and, gatekeeper or not, the small number of sales there of the folding phone will absolutely be primarily to France and Germany anyway. If making a small choice to sell just to two regions (as allowed by the DMA) has only a marginal impact on their sales at best, I could see it. But, we’ll see. From the outset, the low availability means it will just go to France and Germany, obviously. The question is how far they expand beyond that and when.

AVP is a new product, but it’s a new product that is still expected to be a line of products which may see some success in the region. Limiting it to France and Germany still protects those future lighter, cheaper devices from regulation.

 

[Doug.J]

I've been seeing "this guy" for years.

I've stood and watched "this guy" with my girlfriend and her reaction is: "douche" meets "canoe".

I know where I won't see him:
At the pull up bar with me, with weights hanging off my belt 😁 💪

I have a fold device, so I had to read your description closely.

Bald... nope
On Cloud shoes, nope... and I run.
Who wears white shorts...
Salt and pepper goat...sh&t.
Worn a vest...sh&t.

Maybe I can just be the Canoe and keep my fold? haha...