Apple Foldable iPhone Ultra: A Late Arrival With Big Ambition
Apple’s foldable iPhone Ultra is the rumoured first foldable iPhone, combining a wider Passport-like form factor, a tablet-style inner display, flagship performance hardware, and dual rear cameras to compete directly with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series in the premium foldable phone market. Apple is not entering foldables to experiment; it is arriving to dominate a category that others have already proven. Leaks show a dummy unit of the iPhone 18 Fold, also referred to as iPhone 18 Ultra, previewing a device that feels wider than a regular iPhone and is similar to a BlackBerry Passport in footprint. That alone signals Apple’s strategy: lean into a mini‑tablet experience rather than another tall, narrow phone that happens to bend. In my view, this wider philosophy is Apple’s clearest bet on how foldables should feel in the hand and on the eye.
Design: Passport-Like iPhone Ultra vs Refined Galaxy Z Fold 8
On design, Apple and Samsung are no longer playing in different leagues—they are playing different games. The iPhone Ultra reportedly uses a compact, solid chassis that feels thin for a foldable, similar to the earlier Galaxy Z Fold 7. When unfolded, it shifts into clear mini‑tablet territory, with leaks pointing to a 7.8‑inch inner screen and a 5.3‑inch cover display that resembles an HD aspect ratio and feels like a small tablet from HUAWEI’s foldable line. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide counters with a wider, shorter design than its predecessor and a 7.6‑inch foldable panel plus 5.5‑inch outer screen. Both chase a premium foldable design, but Apple’s Passport‑like footprint and tablet‑first unfolded experience suggest it wants users to see this device as a pocketable tablet that also happens to be an iPhone, not the other way around.
| Spec | iPhone Ultra (rumoured) | Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide (rumoured) |
|---|---|---|
| Inner display size | 7.8 inches | 7.6 inches |
| Cover display size | 5.3 inches | 5.5 inches |
| Form factor | Wider, Passport-like mini tablet feel | Wider and shorter than previous Fold |
Performance and Cameras: Flagship Specs, Different Priorities
Under the hood, both devices look more like traditional ultra‑flagships than experimental foldables. Apple is rumoured to arm the iPhone Ultra with an A20 Pro chip, 12GB of RAM, and its in‑house C2 modem. Samsung is expected to answer with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, the same 12GB RAM baseline, and storage options up to 1TB. In other words, neither side is holding back; they are treating foldables as their most premium computers in your pocket. Camera hardware reveals sharper philosophical differences. The iPhone Ultra is tipped to feature two 48MP rear cameras and separate selfie cameras for the outer and inner displays. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide reportedly goes for a 50MP main camera, 50MP ultra‑wide, and dual 10MP selfie cameras. Apple seems comfortable relying on image processing to close any numeric gap, while Samsung keeps betting on diverse hardware lenses and high‑resolution ultra‑wide shots.
Battery, Price, and Positioning in the Premium Foldable Market
Battery may be Samsung’s most concrete early edge. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide is reportedly set to carry a 4,800mAh cell with Super Fast Charging 2.0 support. By contrast, Apple’s battery capacity for the foldable iPhone Ultra remains unknown, though history suggests it will rely on hardware–software tuning more than sheer milliamp‑hours. Where Apple does not hesitate is price and scale: according to a social media report cited in leaks, Apple has ordered 10 million foldable iPhone Ultra units and they "could sell for around $2500" (approx. RM11,500). That figure alone tells us Apple sees this as a halo product, not a mass‑market experiment. In my view, that positioning will pressure Samsung to keep Fold pricing aggressive, because Apple is staking a claim to the very top of the premium foldable segment rather than a niche corner of it.
How the iPhone Ultra Stacks Up—and What to Watch Next
Despite the lack of official announcements, the trajectory is clear: the iPhone Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide are set up as direct rivals that could redefine expectations for premium foldable design. Apple’s wider, mini‑tablet concept stands opposed to Samsung’s lighter, refined evolution of an existing Fold formula, and both are aiming for slim profiles with serious performance hardware. Multiple leaks suggest Apple’s foldable will debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro line in September, while Samsung’s new Fold is expected to arrive earlier, later this month. That timing gives Samsung a short window to lock in enthusiasts before Apple enters. My take: once these devices ship, the real story will not be who has the bigger spec sheet, but which brand’s vision of a foldable lifestyle—tablet‑centric or phone‑centric—feels more natural in everyday use. On paper, at least, the battle looks evenly matched.
