This September, Apple is set to introduce its first ever iPhone Ultra, multiple rumours have suggested. It will be Apple’s first ever foldable device, with a screen that can bend in half.
It will be the first major new form factor for the iPhone for years. And there has been much speculation about how Apple will embrace the folding phone form factor – which has proven popular for rivals such as Samsung, but which has also come with some problems.
Now, a new report from reliable leaker Mark Gurman at Bloomberg offers new details on how that device will actually work. The new insight comes from several people who have used the device in early testing, he reported.
Users say that the folding phone fits well in the pocket when it is shut, that the hinge that allows it to fold has proven durable, and that Apple’s software design for the bigger screen works well. They borrow from the iPad to allow apps and the operating system to be useable on a larger screen, he reported.
The larger screen – rumoured to be 5.5-inches – also works well as a camera viewfinder, he reported. But some early users expressed dissatisfaction with the camera itself, which doesn’t include the telephoto lens that is found on the iPhone Pro models, he said.
However, overall he said that the new device could be enough to bring the “Apple magic” back after years of iterative new designs.
The new device could be Apple’s most expensive iPhone ever made, by some distance. Rumours suggest that it could cost more than $2,000, or the same in pounds, in part because of the new design but also because of increased costs that have already dramatically driven up the price of some Apple products and may do the same to the rest of the iPhone line-up.
The same supply problems could also mean that other phones in the line-up are hard to buy, as Apple is unable to make enough to satisfy demand, previous reports have suggested.
The iPhone Ultra is expected to be revealed by Apple at an event in early September. It will come alongside updates to its iPhone Pro series – but not a new iPhone 18, which may not arrive until the autumn, reports have suggested.
Apple could also use the event to introduce its updated new AirPods, which include a camera for the first time. Files found in a recent Apple update have finally revealed how those long-rumoured but largely mysterious cameras might actually work.
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