Apple’s first foldable phone is just months away from being unveiled. Rumors suggest a September launch, a price tag of more than $2,000, and a new name: iPhone Ultra.
Key points
A foldable iPhone release date could be as early as September 2026.
It could go by any of several names, including iPhone Fold, iPhone Ultra, or iPhone Flip.
The first foldable iPhone could be a book-style model, followed by a Razr-style clamshell design.
Recent design leaks show a wide, squat look similar to the original Google Pixel Fold.
One analyst predicts it could cost between $2,000 and $2,500.
With companies like Samsung, Google, and Motorola all releasing foldable phones in the past few years, the question has arisen: When will Apple make a foldable iPhone? Rumors are swirling with the releases of its competitors, and it’s now set to launch in late 2026, with rumors swirling that it could be called the iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra.
The latest rumors come from leaker Digital Chat and leaker Sonny Dickson, who suggests the foldable phone could be called the iPhone Ultra. Her renders further support the rumor that the iPhone Fold will be wide and squat.
We’ve been getting a lot of design leaks suggesting what Apple’s foldable phone will look like. Like Dixon’s above, most leaks suggest that the iPhone Fold will be a squat and wide book-style foldable that looks more like the original Pixel Fold than tall, slim models like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
According to a recent report from Chinese publication UDN, the iPhone Fold is rumored to have no creases on its screen. Creases on the screen, especially on early foldable phones, have long bothered consumers and critics, and they still exist, although the seams have become less noticeable over the years. Even Samsung’s most advanced Galaxy Z TriFold has two creases on its screen, one for each of its hinges. It would be a huge breakthrough if Apple could find a way to fold a screen in half without having to bend it.
A report from Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital suggests that Apple’s hinge could be made from liquid metal, an alloy supplied by Liquidmetal Technologies, with which Apple has had an exclusive agreement since 2010. It’s been the subject of many rumors since then, and has been the basis of several patent applications, but so far there have been no products other than the SIM ejector tool that ships with iPhone models.
But we’ve yet to hear anything official from Apple about a foldable iPhone.
Design: What will the foldable iPhone look like?
Apple has apparently filed every patent related to foldable displays, including an origami-style foldable display, a flip-up display, and a wrap-around display. As far back as 2021, a Bloomberg report indicated that Apple already had a prototype of a foldable iPhone display, and rumors have since circulated, suggesting that Apple would opt for a clamshell or book-style foldable first.
In March 2025, analyst Kuo made some specific predictions for Apple’s foldable: It would be a book-style device with a 5.5-inch outer screen that unfolds into a 7.8-inch inner display, measuring 4.5 to 4.8mm thick when unfolded and 9 to 9.5mm thick when folded. It uses the same high-density battery cells as the “ultrathin iPhone 17” and has a bezel made of stainless steel and titanium alloy, a favorite material of Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
iPhone Fold release date:
Apple has not confirmed or announced a release date for the iPhone Fold. But analysts and rumors have predicted that the foldable phone could be released in 2026 or delayed until next year.
The latest hint about the iPhone Fold release date comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who said the foldable phone is set to launch in September. That was confirmed by analyst Kuo’s suggestion in June 2025 that production could begin in 2026, with the phone likely to be released later that year. This follows Kuo’s previous prediction in March 2025. The company could release a foldable phone with a book-style design without creases by the end of 2026. Other analysts predict the iPhone Fold could launch in December. But it’s worth noting that Nikkei Asia reported in April about several manufacturing issues that could delay the iPhone Fold until 2027.
As for timing, since it released the iPhone Air alongside the iPhone 17 models, the Fold could arrive with the iPhone 18 series. But since Apple released the iPhone 16E earlier this year, well ahead of its September window for its main iPhone release, the company could do the same with the iPhone 17E in 2026. According to an ET News report, Apple could delay the launch of the standard iPhone 18 until spring 2027 to make room for the iPhone Fold at Apple’s September 2026 launch. Since Samsung typically separates its standard and foldable phone releases at Unpacked events, Apple could do the same.
While it’s been an open secret for years that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone, rumors and possible release dates have been circulating for a long time. Early rumors pointed to 2021 as a potential target date, but years passed without a foldable iPhone in sight, and later rumors of potential releases in 2023 and 2025 did too.
iPhone Fold history
Rumors suggest that Apple is developing a book-style foldable phone similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. In 2017, people predicted that a foldable iPhone could launch in 2020. Analysts and leakers have since pushed back the release date, and the rumors and wish lists have continued as phone fans keep their hopes alive.
While initial rumors pointed to a 2021 launch window, Kuo’s March 2021 report (via MacRumors) suggested a 2023 debut. That year has since been pushed back. Trusted display analyst Ross Young said in February 2024 that the foldable iPhone had been pushed back to 2025, a timeline that Kuo previously reaffirmed in a tweet in April 2022.
Why the long wait? In February 2024, Weibo blogger Fixed Focus Digital suggested that Apple was not satisfied with the screens’ performance, which is why the foldable iPhone project was delayed. In mid-2024, TrendForce market analysts, as reported by 9to5Mac, predicted that Apple’s strict reliability requirements and the phone’s foldable display might mean the phone wouldn’t be released until 2027. But Kuo’s recent March 2025 predictions clearly noted a foldable display, suggesting that Apple has passed this hurdle.
A new patent granted to Apple in July 2024, which was applied for several years ago, shows how long the company has been working on a foldable iPhone. In March 2026, Kuo’s report said that Apple could launch a foldable in late 2026, with a 7.8-inch bezel-less internal display and a 5.5-inch outer display.
While many reports have focused on the company’s struggles to eliminate wrinkles on its internal foldable display, Apple’s patent indicates that development has been underway for some time. Work on the foldable smartphone has been underway since its introduction in 2020, and while the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 have reduced the wrinkles, they are still visible. Still, Samsung phone fans haven’t forgotten that Apple has long outdone foldables by releasing an app that lets iPhone owners simulate a Z Fold-like experience by placing two iPhones side by side.
Rumors that Apple would release a book-style foldable phone began circulating in 2025, and for years, it was said that a clamshell-style foldable phone would come first. Apple leaker Jon Prosser reported in early 2021 that the iPhone Fold would use a clamshell design and come in several “fun colors.” Between the bright pastels of the then-new iPhone 15 and Plus and the sleek deep blues of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, a fun color palette for Apple’s first foldable phone is a possibility, but they could be limited to the clamshell version of the phone.