Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone Ultra upgrade may solve the wrong problem

Apple is launching its first foldable iPhone in about a month, which appears to be a good time to start thinking about its successors. The company is reportedly seeing foldables as an important part of its future, which is why it plans to make its future iPhone Ultra models bigger.

In his latest report, Apple insider Mark Gurman says the iPhone Ultra 3, which may launch in the fall of 2028, will boast a larger display. While this suggests the 2027 foldable will be largely the same as this year’s model, it also indicates that the folks in Cupertino are willing to answer to consumer desires.

However, this is not the move that will make foldables mainstream, and it feels like Apple is solving the wrong problem with it. If the company really wants to have the iPhone Ultra as a key product in its portfolio, it will have to focus on the one thing that bothers practically everyone who has ever thought about a foldable.

Bigger is better, but far from enough

It’s been proven many times that size matters when we talk about smartphones. Bigger phones are usually considered better, which makes them more popular than smaller models, and Apple is painfully aware of that.

We all remember how the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini failed to sell well, despite being adored by a lot of folks online. Meanwhile, everyone seemed to want the largest iPhone available, making the Pro Max models very popular.

But size isn’t everything, and Apple should know that as well, considering the iPhone 14 Plus and its two sequels. None of these models fared much better than the mini iPhones, which is why they were discontinued as well. Meanwhile, Pro Max phones kept selling much better, showing that people care about more than just the size.

See, nobody is blindly buying the biggest phone available. Instead, people go for devices that feel like a good deal, and even the iPhone 17 Pro Max fits the description. It may be the most expensive iPhone, but it comes with all the bells and whistles Apple can offer, including a fantastic display that also happens to be quite large. The iPhone 16 Plus failed because it was too expensive for what it offered, and even the bigger size couldn’t help it.

The only reason foldable smartphones are not extremely popular is the price

I’m yet to meet a person who doesn’t think that foldable phones are very cool, but also prohibitively expensive. This is why I don’t expect the iPhone Ultra to be significantly more popular than the iPhone 16 Plus or the iPhone Air once the initial excitement wears off.

Launching a larger iPhone Ultra 3 in 2028 is not going to change anything, as we’ve already seen with other manufacturers. The Galaxy Z Fold 7, Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and the sea of other book-style foldables are all larger than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the expected iPhone Ultra, but neither turned into a mainstream device.

The reason is that those have always been the most expensive smartphones you could buy. As cool and powerful as they are, being about twice as expensive as the most advanced flagship phones on the market, puts foldables beyond most consumers’ budgets. And all this was true even before the current memory cost crisis and the consumer electronics price hikes.

Omdia’s forecast for smartphone shipments in 2026 is just another proof that price is what leads to higher numbers in this market. According to its latest report, the average smartphone selling price will soar 21% year-over-year, from $467 in 2025 to $565 in 2026, leading to a 12.2% drop in shipments.



Of course, this change is mostly driven by the disappearance of budget smartphones and the brutal price hikes of mid-range smartphones. Still, it shows that higher prices lead to lower sales, regardless of the quality of the phones.

Apple’s best move to make the iPhone Ultra extremely popular would be to invest in cutting production costs and sell it at a lower price. This will always trump larger displays and fancy AI features and lead to higher sales.

It’s probably a lost cause

As easy as it may be to blame Apple for focusing on the wrong thing, the company may have little choice in the matter. The memory crunch and the overall supply chain pressures are already decapitating the consumer tech market, and things are not expected to get better anytime soon.

Even if Apple realizes that making manufacturing cheaper is the best thing it could do to boost iPhone Ultra sales, this is probably impossible to achieve. Using its manufacturing and supply chain magic is the company’s only hope, but with the current state of things, I wouldn’t hold my breath. As Apple shouldn’t hold its breath about having the iPhone Ultra as its mainstream smartphone.

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