Apple unveils the iPhone Ultra, its first-ever foldable phone, tomorrow at the Surprise and Shine event. Ahead of that, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported how the phone came into existence. From a 2016 conception to Tim Cook being the driving force behind the project, the iPhone Ultra has been close to a decade in the making.
Tim Cook's China Trip Was Key to iPhone Ultra Coming to Life
According to the report, Apple engineers began work on a foldable iPhone, aka the iPhone Ultra, around 2016. For years, the project reportedly sat as an engineering exercise rather than a committed product.
However, that changed in 2020, when Tim Cook returned from a trip to China unusually energised about foldable phones and pushed Apple's hardware teams to accelerate the work. What makes this notable is that Cook typically stayed away from the conception of new products.
His background is in operations and supply chain, and product direction was generally handled by other teams and leaders elsewhere. However, Cook's unusual enthusiasm about foldable iPhones gave the project more depth and urgency.
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Tim Cook Shifted Focus from Foldable iPad to Foldable iPhone
The latest report notes that with Cook getting actively involved in the foldable iPhone project, resources were reportedly redirected from plans that were previously meant for a foldable iPad.
One person quoted in the report described him as the earliest and biggest champion of the project, saying Cook had seen foldables everywhere in Asia and concluded that Apple needed to compete in the category.
However, the timing of the iPhone Ultra launch puts Cook in a difficult position. Tim Cook stepped down as Apple CEO on September 1, 2026, handing over to John Ternus, who will present the phone tomorrow at his first event as chief executive.
Ternus oversaw the iPhone Ultra project himself as Apple's hardware engineering head. This makes him and Cook the two most crucial people who have been actively involved with the foldable iPhone for over a decade. It would have been a full-circle moment for Cook had he been hosting the Apple event tomorrow.
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The RAM Crisis Could Dampen iPhone Ultra's Success
Moving on, it is clear that the iPhone Ultra has been a long time coming. However, with the current RAM crisis raging, Gurman says that puts the Cupertino brand's first foldable phone in a tricky position.
Apple originally targeted an entry price of $1,999 (approximately Rs 1,90,000) for the iPhone Ultra. However, thanks to the RAM crisis, the company reportedly has discussed pricing it as high as $2,199 (approximately Rs 2,10,000), with higher storage configurations reportedly reaching $3,000 (approximately Rs 2,85,000).
Tim Cook himself confirmed in July that iPhone price hikes are coming. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are already expected to cost $200 (approximately Rs 19,000) more than the iPhone 17 Pro series. This will make the iPhone Ultra the most expensive iPhone ever launched.
That said, none of this is confirmed. Gurman notes that various pricing options have been considered in recent weeks, so the final figure may differ. However, everything will be settled in just a few hours when the iPhone 18 Pro series and the iPhone Ultra launch on September 9, 2026. So, stay tuned.
