The folding iPhone Ultra might debut in a neutral color, rather than a range of them. Image: Majin Bu
Looks like we’ll be able to get the folding iPhone Ultra and any color we want, as long as what we want is white.
A noted tipster says Apple’s upcoming handset with a flexible screen could come only in that single color option. It’s not a surprising move for a device expected to be a niche product because of its premium price.
The hinge is a critical component of any foldable, and Apple wants the best technology possible for its first folding iPhone. Photo: Amanz/Unsplash License
Apple is building its long-anticipated folding iPhone around a liquid metal hinge, and the device has now actually reached mobile carriers around the world for compatibility testing, a prominent Apple supply chain leaker said Tuesday.
Regarding the leaked image, some suggest if he had the device, he'd put out more and better images of it. Photo: Ice Universe, Weibo
Apple’s long-awaited foldable phone took another step out of the shadows on Monday, as a flurry of new leaks put a face — and a few specs — to a device the company has yet to officially acknowledge.
When folded, the iPhone Ultra may be smaller than some people expect. Image: iFun
New images claiming to show Apple’s long-rumored “iPhone Ultra” give Apple fans what may be their best look yet at the company’s first folding iPhone. They come from a company ready with a case for the handset, even though it has yet to be announced.
If the images prove to be accurate, there’s a lot to look forward to this fall.
With Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO, we look to the past as well as the future. AI image: Apple/ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: Holy mackerel, Tim Cook really is stepping down from his CEO role at Apple! And it’s happening sooner than most of us thought. His replacement, John Ternus, sounds like a solid pick — a hardware guy with a long history in Cupertino.
Cook himself says he wants the four-month transition to be “a textbook succession plan, the best in the world.” So the big question is, what will this transition look like for Apple? We’ve got some thoughts. (Lots of ’em, actually.)
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
Is Tim Cook the best Apple CEO ever? Well, no, that would be Steve Jobs. Still, Cook’s time at the top has clearly been exceptional.
Word on the street is that John Ternus might be a bit more Jobsian when it comes to his decision-making. And he’s already promising that Apple will “change the world once again” with its upcoming products.
New rumors give us something else to ponder: the buzzy color of the iPhone 18 Pro and a key feature coming to the first folding iPhone that we feared we weren’t getting.
Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video version, embedded below.
The folding iPhone Ultra could include a feature many though it would lack. AI image: Gemini/Cult of Mac
Potential folding iPhone buyers can breathe a sigh of relief. New images of cases for the device — supposedly dubbed the iPhone Ultra — show it including MagSafe. Previously, we saw no sign of this feature in leaks about the much-anticipated handset.
This could have been a deal-breaker for some buyers.
This image shows what iPhone 18 Pro could look like in dark cherry red (Pantone 6076). Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
New supply chain information reveals the four iPhone 18 Pro colors Apple might release this September. The popular and vibrant cosmic orange is gone, with a dark, wine-colored cherry red in its place, according to a new report.
Apple is allegedly upbeat about demand for the iPhone Ultra, its first foldable. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Apple is reportedly ramping up its supply of a critical component for the foldable iPhone, even as the broader market for foldable smartphones shows signs of slowing.
According to a supply chain report published Tuesday, the company increased its orders of foldable display panels by roughly 20%, a move that signals growing confidence in the long-rumored device.
A folding iPhone concept shows open and closed versions of the new handset. AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac
If you’ve ever looked at a foldable phone and winced at the visible crease down the middle of the screen, you’ll want to know what Apple has reportedly been working on as its first foldable iPhone approaches.
The industry’s approach to eliminating that unsightly fold line has fundamentally changed — and materials in development go well beyond clever hinge engineering, according to a new report. It’s how Apple’s fast-approaching folding iPhone will crack the crease problem.
A folding iPhone concept shows open and closed versions of the new handset. AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac
Apple signed a 3-year exclusive agreement with Samsung Display to supply the foldable OLED panels in its long-anticipated folding iPhone, according to a new report Wednesday.
Not the iPhone Fold at all. You could be looking at the iPhone Ultra. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Surprise! Apple might not release an iPhone Fold this fall.
Wait, it’s a joke. Sort of. It’s still virtually certain that Apple will introduce a folding handset in a few months. However, it reportedly won’t be named what everyone expects. A reliable source says the real name is (drum roll) … iPhone Ultra.
The iPhone 18 Pro and folding iPhone should look much like this. Photo: Sonny Dickson
“Dummy” units of all three smartphones that Apple is expected to launch this fall appeared in images posted Tuesday by some noted leakers. The pictures show the first folding iPhone, as well as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, all in a strange magenta color.
The basic iPhone 18 doesn’t appear in the pictures. And there’s a good reason for that: It’s reportedly not coming this fall.
The next iPhone might really nail the design of a foldable. Image: Majin Bu
A new set of leaked images purporting to show Apple’s long-rumored folding iPhone surfaced online Sunday, offering what a tipster claims is a closer look at the device’s final design.
The camera hump has supposedly shrunk considerably. Take a look:
Making dinner plans could get easier with the folding iPhone's split-screen multitasking, as shown in this concept image. AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac
The folding iPhone will require iOS 27 to be enhanced with support for running two applications side-by-side on its large, foldable display, according to a reliable source.
Split-screen multitasking is a feature borrowed from iPadOS, but Apple’s upcoming premium handset will be an iPhone and therefore run iOS — just a modified version.
The folding iPhone might look much like this concept based on leaked CAD drawings. AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac
CAD drawings supposedly revealing the design of the first folding iPhone indicate the device will sport a very different shape than rival foldable smartphones.
The early Monday leak comes from a reliable source, and the design shown matches earlier reports about the so-called iPhone Fold. So this may well be what the new premium iOS device looks like when it debuts in the fall.
An iPhone that’ll be like no other. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
After the purported dimensions of the first folding iPhone leaked a few weeks ago, it didn’t take long for mockups to hit MakerWorld, a popular site for people with 3D printers to share their models. I got my hands on one of those models, and I have lots of thoughts. If the rumored folding iPhone looks anything like this, it’ll be weird.
For one thing, it’s almost as short as the original iPhone, but wider than the widest iPhone ever. Lots of design questions remain unanswered, too. Where will the volume buttons go, since there isn’t any room on the left side? Will it only have one speaker, like the iPhone Air? Will the two cameras arranged horizontally across the back mean the camera sensors are in landscape, not portrait?
I’ve been fiddling with a 3D model of the first folding iPhone all week. Here are my thoughts and observations.
2026 could be the year Apple reinvents the iPhone — again. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
The first folding iPhone is expected to break iOS out of its years-long rut, and new rumors give us the most complete picture yet of a handset supposedly set to launch in 2026.
These come from a formerly prolific source of often reliable Apple leaks.
Apple might struggle to make enough folding iPhone units to meet demand. Concept image: ChatGPT
Apple’s long-rumored folding iPhone — expected to be one of the most significant new product launches in years — is generating strong buzz, with a respected analyst warning that consumer interest could far outpace Apple’s ability to supply the device when it hits the market.
And a separate report may have revealed the sizes of the two screens coming in the first foldable iOS device. The large internal display is what’s expected to drive demand.
While Apple reportedly readies its first foldable iPhone for 2026, Samsung is aiming higher. On Tuesday, the company unveiled its first multifolding device, the aptly named Galaxy Z TriFold.
“Through years of innovation in foldable form factors, Galaxy Z TriFold solves one of the mobile industry’s longest-standing challenges — delivering the perfect balance between portability, premium performance and productivity all in one device. Galaxy Z TriFold now expands the boundaries of what’s possible for mobile work, creativity and connection,” said Samsung’s mobile division CEO TM Roh.
The innovative handset comes at an eye-watering price, though.
This AI mockup shows a possible look for the first foldable iPhone. AI image: chatGPT/Cult of Mac
Apple’s highly anticipated first foldable iPhone could face a delay from 2026 until 2027 because Apple needs more time to finalize design elements like the hinge mechanism, according to a new report. And it also offers some new details on screen size and other specs.
Don’t think you want a folding phone? Wait until you see the one Apple makes. Image: ChatGPT/Apple
Consumers stay away from foldable handsets in droves, and a new survey found that a majority of Americans are not interested in one. So it might seem surprising that Apple reportedly plans a folding iPhone for 2026. But it’s typical of Apple.
Apple doesn’t make what you think you want. It never has. It makes what you don’t yet realize you want, and it’s been fantastically successful at it for decades.
Will you buy the iPhone Fold if it sports a 5.5-inch cover display? Photo: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Apple’s first folding iPhone may sport a display smaller than Samsung’s recently unveiled Galaxy Z Fold 7. It will supposedly pack a 5.5-inch cover display and a 7.8-inch internal screen — both smaller than the Z Fold 7.
Other book-style foldables from Chinese companies also pack larger outer and inner displays.
iOS 27 developers could put most of their attention on the folding iPhone. Image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
With a foldable iPhone widely rumored for 2026, the next version of iOS will concentrate on a user interface revamp needed for the new type of device, according to a noted tipster. iOS 27 will apparently need to handle two screens with different resolutions, for example.
Apple is working hard to prevent the folding iPhone from being marred by a screen crease. Photo: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Part of the innovative technology going into the upcoming folding iPhone is supposedly an internal hinge that will play an important role in ensuring that the flexible display won’t be marred by an unsightly crease.
An analyst who’s a respected source of Apple information reported Tuesday that the component will begin shipping to Apple at the beginning of 2026.
The bendable screen in the Samsung Z Fold 7 is likely headed for the folding iPhone, too. Photo: Marques Brownlee
Those eager for a folding iPhone should glance at the beautiful, bendable screen in the Samsung Z Fold 7, which launched Tuesday. If rumors are correct, this display will also be part of Apple’s foldable. Or something very close to it.
There are no in-depth reviews of the new screen yet, but early indications are that Samsung finally virtually eliminated the crease that’s been the fatal flaw of all previous flexible displays… which is very good news for the folding iPhone.