Mark Gurman says the “iPhone Ultra” name isn’t just outside speculation anymore, it’s what Apple’s own employees call the company’s first foldable iPhone.
Gurman posted on X that “Everyone calls it the Ultra internally. We’ll see what happens.” The comment came in response to Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, who pushed back on the branding, arguing that Apple’s existing Ultra products signal the most capable device in a given lineup, and the foldable doesn’t clearly outclass the iPhone Pro the way that positioning would suggest. Weinbach’s point centers on rumored specs: the foldable is expected to skip Face ID in favor of a Touch ID power button and carry one fewer rear camera than the iPhone 18 Pro models, making it an odd fit for a name Apple has used to denote its top-tier hardware, as with Apple Watch Ultra.
Gurman’s tweet is his most direct internal-sourcing claim yet on the naming question, but he immediately hedged that widespread internal use doesn’t confirm the final public branding. That distinction matters: ‘iPhone Ultra’ might simply be the term employees have adopted because it’s what outside sources already call the device, and only a small group within Apple’s marketing team likely knows the actual plan. Apple’s broader culture of secrecy reinforces that gap, many employees remain in the dark about unannounced products unless they’re directly working on them.
The placeholder name ‘iPhone Fold’ had circulated since the first foldable rumors began, until Gurman and Digital Chat Station first floated “Ultra” a couple of months before April 2026. Instant Digital and Macworld’s Filipe Espósito later backed the same reporting, and by early August, Gurman and Espósito were both indicating Apple plans to spread “Ultra” branding across three products between late 2026 and early 2027: the foldable iPhone, AirPods Ultra (AirPods Pro with infrared cameras for Siri), and a MacBook Ultra with an OLED touchscreen.
Apple is expected to unveil the foldable next month alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, with the cheaper base iPhone 18 held back for a spring release. That leaves the Pro lineup and the foldable to carry September, with higher-than-usual starting prices expected across the board.
Rumored specs point to a 7.7-inch inner display and a 5.3-inch outer display, two rear cameras, one front camera, and three storage options: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. Pricing estimates vary by analyst:
Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman: $2,000, $2,500
UBS: $1,800, $2,000
Fubon Research: $2,400
Leaker Sonny Dickson’s camera protector accessory images suggest the device is expected to launch in silver and dark blue finishes, and separate leaks from Ice Universe show a front design with square corners near the hinge and rounded corners on the opposite edge.
On the manufacturing side, mass production was originally slated for June but slipped to August. The Elec reports Apple is still targeting a September launch despite hinge-related concerns, and Gurman has dismissed a Nikkei report suggesting production issues could push the device into 2027 as “off base,” saying the foldable will be available “around the same time” or “soon after” the iPhone 18 Pro models. Apple is reportedly already planning a third-generation foldable, with a launch as early as 2028.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s rival foldable appears to be outperforming forecasts. ETNews reports Samsung is building an extra one million Galaxy Z Fold 8 units after the 4:3 device captured 70 percent of a record 1.44 million Galaxy Z8 series pre-orders.
