Apple’s long-rumored folding iPhone may arrive later this year, and the name attached to it could be Iphone Ultra. New reports say the device is likely to drop Face ID and use Touch ID instead, a shift driven by how thin the foldable is expected to be.
That change would mark a notable break from Apple’s recent premium phones. Mark Gurman said the device is “too thin to accommodate the Face ID sensor array,” pointing to a design that does not leave enough room for the system that has sat at the heart of iPhone unlocking for years. If Apple follows that route, the fingerprint sensor would most likely be built into the Power button, echoing the iPad Air, which also relies on older fingerprint scanning technology.
The pricing underlines how ambitious the project is. The folding phone is said to carry an ultra price tag of around $2,000, putting it well above most flagship models and closer to Apple’s highest-end devices than to a standard iPhone. That premium positioning fits the Ultra label, which Apple already uses on its Watch lineup, and suggests the company sees the foldable as a statement product rather than a mainstream one.
Dummy models said to show the device’s dimensions next to the iPhone 18 Pro add another layer to the picture. When closed, the folding phone could be the most diminutive iPhone in years, yet it may also pack by far the largest display. That combination is the appeal of a foldable in the first place: a phone that folds down small enough to carry comfortably, then opens into something much bigger for video, work and everything in between.
The friction in Apple’s approach is obvious. A device pitched as ultra-premium may end up giving up one of the company’s signature biometric features because the hardware is being squeezed so tightly. That tradeoff tells the story of where Apple is headed with foldables: thinner, more complex and more expensive, but also less willing to preserve every familiar feature if the design gets in the way.
If the release window holds, the next test comes later this year, when Apple is expected to show whether the Iphone Ultra is a bold new category for the company or simply the costliest compromise it has made to enter the foldable market.
