An Apple Pencil for the folding iPhone supposedly went through testing . AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac
The folding iPhone expected in September will open to become what is essentially a small iPad. But that doesn’t mean that it will support Apple Pencil, the stylus designed for Apple tablets.
Apple tested a version of the stylus for its upcoming foldable phone, but nixed the idea for multiple reasons, according to an unconfirmed report published Sunday. The most notable reason for cancellation: danger that the stylus might damage the iPhone’s folding screen.
Get ready for a morning filled with piping-hot new Apple products! Image: Apple
Apple officially set the date for its biggest product event of the year. The company sent out invitations on Wednesday for a special event dubbed “Surprise and Shine,” promising a major hardware showcase at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park on September 9.
The first folding iPhone will be the star of the show, along with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, but there’s surely plenty more on Apple’s agenda. And one iPhone that’ll be notably missing.
We know almost everything about the folding iPhone, and it's time to start getting excited! Folding iPhone concept: D. Griffin Jones/ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
After years of rumors, Apple finally appears ready to launch the first folding iPhone. It’ll be the most significant shakeup to the basic design of an iOS device since… well, ever.
There’s no official confirmation of a foldable iPhone, of course. But the rumors are unusually detailed, covering everything from the screen size and hinge design to the processor, cameras and even the phone’s possible name.
The first folding iPhone looks set to challenge the iPhone 18 Pro Max as Apple's true flagship this fall. Photo: Majin Bu/Apple/Cult of Mac
If Apple launches the first folding iPhone next to the iPhone 18 Pro Max this fall, it won’t just add a new phone. It will force an awkward question: How many “best iPhones” can Apple sell at once?
For years, the iPhone Pro Max has been the undisputed top of the line. Now rumors point to a foldable model, possibly called the iPhone Ultra or the iPhone Fold, arriving at the same time.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone — possibly dubbed the iPhone Ultra — might come with a smaller battery than previously leaked. AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac
The latest leak about the first folding iPhone says Apple might not deliver the extreme battery capacity that most early rumors indicated.
If you were banking on a foldable with all-day battery life, this is worth pausing on.
Apple's foldable iPhone is reportedly expected to debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro this September. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Apple could be telling its suppliers to build more foldable iPhones than anyone expected. The company has reportedly raised its 2026 prediction target for the much-rumored iPhone Ultra to around 10 million units. This is a significant jump from the previous 7-to-8-million estimation.
That’s a huge vote of confidence from Apple and good news for anyone hoping to get their hands on one. A bigger build target usually means fewer launch-day sellouts and a better shot at your preferred color and storage.
This foldable iPhone concept gives at least some idea about what subsequent generations could look like in fully open form. AI image: Gemini/Cult of Mac
Apple has already approved development of its second-generation foldable iPhone — before the first one even hits store shelves — while the future of the ultra-thin iPhone Air line stays up in the air, a prominent leaker said Thursday. So while Apple plans iPhone Ultra 2, sales worries may delay or even kill off iPhone Air 3.
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
After months of swirling concern over hinge reliability, Apple’s long-anticipated foldable iPhone, aka iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold, now looks to be on solid footing for a fall launch, according to a new supply chain report Wednesday.
Can Apple avoid a huge drop in resale value associated with folding smartphones? Image: Majin Bu
Apple fans eyeing the company’s rumored foldable iPhone may want to reconsider their purchase plans, according to a new analysis Tuesday. It finds foldable smartphones hemorrhage value at an alarming rate — losing 64.6% of their original price within just a year of ownership. The question is, can Apple avoid that fate that awaits so many Android foldables?
The unfolded folding iPhone will be kinda like an iPad mini. Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
iPhone Mirroring in macOS Golden Gate gives us a clue about what the first folding iPhone will be like. For the first time, you can resize the window to any arbitrary size. That means you can stretch the screen to the rumored dimensions of Apple’s upcoming foldable and see how your favorite apps will look and work.
After all, it’s going to be an unusual iPhone. The unfolded inner screen will be roughly iPad mini-size, with an outer screen that’s much shorter and wider than any iPhone made in the last 15 years.
I took some screenshots of various Apple apps to demonstrate what the folding iPhone’s user interface will look like.
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.