The iPhone Ultra is coming: six new features in Apple’s high-end model

Apple’s first foldable iPhone will arrive this fall, and rumors say it will be called iPhone Ultra. Here are six features to expect from Apple’s new high-end iPhone Ultra.

Design: Book-style fold with crease-free titanium display

As Apple’s first foldable, the iPhone Ultra will have an extremely unique design for an iPhone.

Unlike most foldable devices, the iPhone Ultra will be wider than it is tall when unfolded. It will have a book-style fold, with an outer screen that appears shorter and wider than all other iPhone screens, and an inner screen that resembles an iPad mini in size and shape.

Unlike previous foldables, the iPhone Ultra’s interior display is expected to have a crease-free design, a major step forward for the form factor.

The iPhone Ultra will take some design elements from the iPhone Air. It will have a titanium border, be ultra-thin when unfolded, and look like two iPhone Airs stacked together when folded, but thinner.

Finally, rumors say that only black and white color options will be offered.

Screens: unique sizes and orientations

The iPhone Ultra will have two screens: one on the outside and one that reveals itself when you unfold it. The assumed dimensions are:

• Exterior screen: 5.3 to 5.5 inches
• Interior screen: 7.6 to 7.8 inches

The exterior display will look a bit like an iPhone mini in size, but with a wider aspect ratio.

The interior screen could feel a lot like an iPad mini in the hand.

Cameras: two rear and two front-facing lenses

The iPhone Ultra will have two rear cameras: 48MP Main and 48MP Ultra Wide.

This means that users who opt for the Ultra model over a Pro model won’t benefit from the telephoto camera and its increased zoom capabilities.

Since the iPhone Ultra has two screens, it will also come with two front cameras: one for each screen.

Not much is known about these cameras, but Apple will likely use the same 18 MP Center Stage camera launched with the iPhone 17 last year. A perforated design is expected.

Software: iOS 27 multitasking features

iOS 27 is expected to bring new iPhone software features exclusive to the iPhone Ultra.

By Mark Gurman at Bloombergtwo main updates are coming:

1. Side-by-side apps for multitasking
2. iPad-like app layouts

Gurman says the device will not support the full windowing features of iPadOS 26, nor will it run iPadOS at all when unfolded. But it appears that iOS 27 will nevertheless draw inspiration from several elements of the iPad’s software.

Apple Silicon: A20 Pro chip, C2 cellular modem

The iPhone Ultra will come with a new A20 Pro chip and a C2 cellular modem, which are also expected to ship with the iPhone 18 Pro.

The A20 Pro is rumored to be a bigger upgrade than usual thanks to a new 2-nanometer process and the use of WMCM (Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module) to further improve efficiency.

The new chip will pack 12GB of RAM, like the A19 Pro. But it would pack faster LPDDR5 for improved performance.

C2 is Apple’s next-generation in-house cellular modem. It will replace Qualcomm’s 5G modems with an Apple-designed solution that has several new advantages.

Touch identification

This may seem odd for a model called “Ultra,” but Apple’s foldable iPhone won’t offer Face ID for authentication. Instead, Apple is bringing back Touch ID and integrating it into the power button.

Touch ID on iPhone Ultra will be implemented very similarly to what the iPad Air and iPad mini offer.

Due to the thinness of the device, Apple could not have reduced the Face ID components needed enough to install two separate modules (one for each screen) in the iPhone Ultra. But maybe a future model will change that.

iPhone Ultra price and summary

iPhone Ultra pricing rumors are everywhere. Most analysts expect a starting price of around $1,999 for a 256GB model. However, some expect a lower starting price while others claim it will be higher.

One thing seems certain, however: it will be the most expensive iPhone ever. By combining what is essentially an iPhone and iPad into one device, Apple is clearly hoping the price will be justified.

Are you interested in buying an iPhone Ultra or will you opt for a different model instead? Let us know in the comments.

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