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Apple's iPhone Ultra Foldable Enters Mass Production at $2,500 Ahead of September Launch

iPhone Ultra foldable

Apple has moved its first foldable smartphone into mass production, locking in a September launch window for the device widely expected to carry the iPhone Ultra name. The company instructed suppliers, including assembly partner Foxconn, to prepare for approximately 10 million units this year, a significant increase from earlier forecasts of 7 to 8 million units reported just a few months ago.

The device adopts a book-style folding design with a 7.8-inch internal OLED display that opens like a tablet, paired with a 5.5-inch cover screen for one-handed use. Powering the handset is Apple's next-generation A20 processor, and select regional models will include the company's in-house C2 modem. A Touch ID sensor embedded in the power button handles biometric authentication, departing from the Face ID approach used across current iPhone models.

Price and Positioning

The iPhone Ultra foldable is expected to carry a starting price between $2,000 and $2,500, placing it in direct competition with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series. Samsung's latest foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, launched at $1,899, meaning Apple's entry could command a premium of several hundred dollars. The pricing reflects the device's positioning as a luxury-tier product rather than a mainstream iPhone replacement.

Apple plans to unveil the foldable alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models in September, while standard iPhone 18 models are reportedly delayed to the first half of 2027. This staggered approach suggests Apple is prioritizing its premium lineup for the traditional fall event.

Supply and Demand Outlook

The 10-million-unit production target is a bold bet for a first-generation foldable device. For context, Samsung shipped roughly 10 million foldable phones globally in all of 2025 combined, according to industry estimates. Apple's initial ambition essentially matches the entire addressable foldable market volume in a single product's first year.

However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from TF International Securities has forecast initial third-quarter shipments of only 500,000 to 1 million units, pointing to potential supply constraints despite the larger production order. This suggests that while Apple is building inventory aggressively, early availability may still be limited, with broader supply arriving later in the year.

Earlier concerns about the device's hinge mechanism, a common failure point in foldable designs, have reportedly been resolved during the engineering validation phase. The design being finalized and mass production commencing in July confirms that Apple has cleared the critical manufacturing hurdles that have delayed other foldable projects in the industry.

How It Compares to Samsung's Foldables

Samsung has dominated the foldable market since 2019, iterating through six generations of the Galaxy Z Fold series. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers a 7.6-inch internal display and 6.3-inch cover screen, slightly smaller than Apple's rumored 7.8-inch and 5.5-inch dimensions respectively. Samsung's device runs Android with One UI optimizations for multitasking, while Apple is expected to bring iPadOS-style split-screen and app continuity features to iOS to leverage the larger folding display.

The iPhone Ultra foldable's A20 chip, built on a presumably advanced process node, should deliver performance advantages over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or Gen 4 chips powering Samsung's current foldables. Apple's tight hardware-software integration also gives it an edge in optimizing battery life and display consistency, areas where foldables have traditionally struggled compared to slab-style phones.

What This Means for Buyers

For consumers considering a foldable phone, the iPhone Ultra foldable is the first time Apple has entered this form factor, bringing the iOS ecosystem, app library, and long-term software support to a folding device. The $2,000-plus price tag puts it firmly in luxury territory, but Apple's 10-million-unit production target signals the company expects meaningful demand at that price point.

Early adopters should prepare for potential supply shortages at launch. Those who do not pre-order immediately may face delays extending into late 2026 or early 2027. The inclusion of the C2 modem in select regions also means that mmWave 5G and carrier-specific features may vary by market.

Why this matters: Apple's entry into foldables validates the form factor as more than a niche experiment and pressures competitors like Samsung to accelerate their own innovation. For consumers, it means more choice in the premium segment and the arrival of Apple's ecosystem on a foldable screen, something iPhone users have waited years for. At $2,000-plus, it is not a mass-market device, but its success or failure will shape whether foldables become a mainstream category or remain a luxury accessory.

Photo by Mikhail Blinov on Unsplash

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Researched and cross-referenced against primary sources by the Bytevyte editorial team.

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