Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will “repeat the iPhone X story,” meaning it will unveil its foldable iPhone at the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, but won’t start pre-orders and official sales for the foldable device until a later date
— 郭明錤｜Ming-Chi Kuo (@mingchikuo) July 5, 2026
Kuo says Apple is facing manufacturing challenges in early production of the foldable iPhone, which many believe will carry the moniker, “iPhone Ultra.” The iPhone X faced similar early production issues, due to its OLED all-screen design, notched display and Face ID / TrueDepth camera system. The foldable iPhone is reportedly facing early manufacturing issues with its new foldable handset.
In 2017, Apple unveiled the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X on September 12. While iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-orders began just three days after their unveiling, iPhone X pre-orders did not begin until six weeks later on Friday, October 27. Kuo believes the foldable iPhone will face a similar delay, with pre-orders of the device being delayed until the fourth quarter of 2026.
Kuo believes that that demand for the foldable iPhone should remain strong at least through the end of 2026, even at a price of roughly US$2,300–2,500. Foldable iPhone stock could sell out immediately after pre-orders open, with delivery lead times quickly stretching to 4–6 weeks or longer and remaining there through December.
He expects Apple assembly partners to ship roughly 7–8 million foldable iPhones in 2026, compared to 20–22 million for the iPhone 18 Pro models combined.
