'iPhone Ultra' Likely to 'Repeat the iPhone X Story' With Delayed Launch

[JPack]

Somehow, MacBook Pro at $2,500 sells but iPhone Ultra won't?

Just accept that there are a lot of wealthy individuals who can afford this. The device isn't for everyone, but there is clearly demand for foldables.

 

[lilkwarrior]

Yeah, **** that price nonsense. Especially for a 1st generation product that will quickly feel outdated as there is bound to be a lot of changes and improvements that Apple makes in the first few generations.

Besides, no matter if someone has the Pro Max or the Ultra, their phone will still run the same third party apps in a nearly identical way. Will it feel “cool” to fold a phone the first few times? I guess, but YouTube will still run the same videos, AI chatbots will run the same way, social media the same way, banking / finance apps the same way, etc…

The only real difference will be a slightly bigger aspect ratio, along with no telephoto camera and touchID instead of FaceID, plus any other potential issues that might come up (what case will give full robust protection? will AppleCare+ be an insane amount as well? hows the battery life? will there overheating in such a thin physical space? will there be damage to the screen over time? will any debris getting inside the hinge?).

I plan to save my $$$, keep it invested and growing at 10% per year, skip the first few generations and stick with the tried and true slab design. Let others be the guinea pigs in the same way they were for the Vision Pro 😄

Such prices have been on par with foldables for several years now.

Many always have Macbooks at the same and higher price and that’s irrelevant as foldables overlap more with the iPhone and iPad whose ideal configurations cost as much and more than the rumored foldable’s price.

The versatility and convenience of a foldable easily can warrant such prices and have.

It’s a prosumer product and such products have value that usually eliminates comparing their costs to the cost of baseline configs if a completely different product they already have at configs higher priced.

A iPhone foldable user may have a Macbook like mine with a Max chip and 64GB+, iPhone Pro Max, and iPad Pro which means your comparison is disingenuous to their value analysis.

It’s useless to point out a Macbook Pro irrelevant for their use cases is cheaper for example.

 

[con2apple]

So the Ultra is basically a prototype with a lot of hype, and we should all wait at least two generations until the phone is the way Apple promised it would be from the start.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

This will undoubtedly sell out on day 1 for pre orders. This board seems to forget that the people who are buying these phones have the discretionary income to do so, and contrary to belief the top 5% of income earners will absolutely consider this phone if they are Apple fans. That’s 17 million people.

It’s going to sell.

 

[Brother Cavil]

It’s useless to point out a Macbook Pro irrelevant for their use cases is cheaper for example.

100%. It's an illogical comparison because those two devices serve very different purposes despite overlapping in some areas. $2500 for a phone is very expensive, but plenty of people can afford this. Being able to double's one's screen real estate on demand is a clear advantage. Will enough iPhone buyers pay extra for this feature? We'll see.

 

[schlitzz]

it won’t sell out = most people will not pay over $2000 for a phone.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will break records. But maybe due to not having the base mode or AIR like last year at launch.

It’ll sell out in six hours. They’re targeting the Rivian, Tesla owners. They’ll bundle it with AirPods Ultra, and the watch. Nothing to see here.

 

[Brother Cavil]

This will undoubtedly sell out on day 1 for pre orders. This board seems to forget that the people who are buying these phones have the discretionary income to do so, and contrary to belief the top 5% of income earners will absolutely consider this phone if they are Apple fans. That’s 17 million people.

It’s going to sell.

If you're looking at this globally, top 5% of income earners is about 400 million people. This is precisely why I will always argue that Vision Pro flopped because people didn't like the user experience, not because it was priced too high. There are PLENTY of people around the world who can afford very high priced consumer electronics. If the iPhone Ultra flops, it won't be because of the price.

 

[platinumaqua]

I don't have a skin in the game since I'm not planning to upgrade anytime soon, but looking at what happened with Apple Watch Ultra (and first Intel Macs, first iPad, and first Apple Watch), I would be wary of buying the first generation iPhone Ultra.

 

[uacd]

"could sell out immediately after pre-orders open, with delivery lead times quickly stretching to 4-6 weeks or longer.

I don’t see how in this economy a questionable folding device that costs like an old used car is going to sell out at preorders. And this is the price in US, in Europe it will be around €3000

 

[wireless-toyz09]

I still don't think this phone should be called ULTRA with 2 cameras. iPhone Fold is more fitting.

 

[Ctrlos]

I have a feeling the iPhone Fold is going to be like $2500 and will require app updates to take advantage of it that developers won't do because the fold will make up 1% of the iPhone market worldwide 😕

It has to run iPad apps on the middle display or it’s DOA. Nobody is going to sink £2500 on an iPhone only for Apple to turn around and ask them to stump for an iPad too. They’re going to need to ease off on the ecosystem push on this one.

However iPhone apps already contain iPad binaries so developers won’t have to do anything at all.

 

[mikethebigo]

Don't really see it. iPhone X did come alongside 8 and 8 Plus, sure, but it was a different story than what I think we'll see here. iPhone X was sold as a "preview" of the next decade of iPhones. Conversely here, I don't think the iPhone Ultra is a sneak peak of the form factor that all iPhones are moving towards. We have a separately rumored "all glass" iPhone for next year that I think is supposed to be the new design for upcoming generations.

This will be more like the Air, that it's an additional product line introduced alongside the standard lines.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Somehow, MacBook Pro at $2,500 sells but iPhone Ultra won't?

Just accept that there are a lot of wealthy individuals who can afford this. The device isn't for everyone, but there is clearly demand for foldables.

I wouldn’t buy one personally but will order one through my business as a work phone/ipad hybrid.

 

[nissan.gtp]

iPhone F

 

[BGrifter]

I don't think the headline is very likely.

The iPhone X was a success.

 

[macbookj0e]

Let’s call it the iPhold…

Haha love that!

 

[leovilma]

I might get one if I feel it benefits me with my work, I keep my phones for a long time so the cost isn't as prohibitive. Not sure yet. Currently using 12 mini so the more compact dimensions are attractive for me, it's only under 1mm thicker than a Pro if leaked specs are correct.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The form factor being different than any other iPhone makes it quite difficult to know what the reception will be, and certainly at these rumored prices.

 

[Digital Dude]

No doubt there will be an initial cool factor, but once the novelty wears off, buyer’s remorse would likely kick in. These days it’s hard for me to overlook the price once the excitement fades. Been there, done that. 💸

 

[IIGS User]

Price more than $2k just DOA product like vision pro and scalper will take all.

I don’t think they’re gonna sell as many of them as they think.

I’m ready for an 18PM in Cherry. And I’ll order it on day one.

 

[ofarlig]

I don’t see how in this economy a questionable folding device that costs like an old used car is to sell out at preorders. And this is the price in US, in Europe it will be around €3000

Loads of people have decent jobs so they can afford it and many sold will also be business expenses so there will be plenty of customers.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

I can't wait to see how Apple limits the capability of this thing.

 

[I7guy]

I can't wait to see how Apple limits the capability of this thing.

Everything you buy is always limited by some factor.

 

[MarkNewton2023]

Apple will likely "repeat the iPhone X story" by unveiling its foldable iPhone at the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, but starting foldable iPhone pre-orders at a later date, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo today said manufacturing challenges have limited early production of the foldable iPhone, which will reportedly be named iPhone Ultra. As a result, he believes the device may launch at some point after the iPhone 18 Pro models.

In 2017, Apple unveiled the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X on September 12. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-orders began just three days later, while iPhone X pre-orders began six weeks later on Friday, October 27. Likewise, Kuo believes the foldable iPhone may not be available to pre-order until the fourth quarter of 2026.

Kuo estimated that the foldable iPhone could have a starting price of around $2,299 to $2,499 in the U.S., and he believes that the device "could sell out immediately after pre-orders open, with delivery lead times quickly stretching to 4-6 weeks or longer."

Apple's suppliers will ship roughly 7–8 million foldable iPhones in 2026, compared to 20–22 million for the iPhone 18 Pro models combined, he said.

If this information proves to be accurate, expect the foldable iPhone to be unveiled in September, but you may not be able to order it until at least October.

Article Link: 'iPhone Ultra' Likely to 'Repeat the iPhone X Story'

Undoubtedly, prematurely negative energy and “dead only arrival” postings will be irrelevant when the foldable phone is released. The negative publicity will help the sale and undoubtedly, the negative publicity commentators will get the phone as well. Maybe, it is the tactic so others will not buy so the supply will be high for the negative commentators to get the phone. The demand will be so high similar to iPhone X. The transformative user experience from iPhone and iPad individual experiences to one hybrid the most portable experience plus the significant major iPhone new design will attract tremendous interests and purchases for those who value it. Price should not be concerned as Apple and carriers will accommodate it as always similar to other iPhones to ensure great sales. So no worries on price and no concern on premature negative product comments, the ultra foldable iPhone will be successful. It is a different case from Vision Pro which was warned by Apple insiders not to release but still be released and failed. iPhone and iPad have been on the market decades and attracted loves. The combination of these two will be a no forgettable awesome experience masterpiece for future hybrid generations.

 

[turbineseaplane]

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