Apple’s September 9 keynote at the Steve Jobs Theater carried a tagline built for a moment the company has been building toward for years: “Surprise and Shine.” The headline act wasn’t another spec bump to the Pro camera system. It was a folding phone, a redesigned watch tier, and the first time in Apple’s history that a CEO other than Tim Cook walked onstage to run the show. John Ternus, who took over from Cook on September 1, 2026, used his debut keynote to introduce Apple’s first foldable device alongside refreshed Apple Watch models, according to CBS News.
The iPhone 18 Pro landed too, and its $1,199 starting price already made headlines elsewhere on this site. But the more consequential story from Cupertino sits with two other product lines: the foldable device widely reported as the iPhone Ultra, and the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 that Apple used to round out its hardware push. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman called the event “the biggest product introduction Apple will make this year,” a line picked up by TechTimes ahead of the keynote, and the foldable is the reason why.
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The Foldable iPhone Finally Arrives, Nine Years After Samsung
Apple’s first folding phone is widely reported under the name iPhone Ultra, though the company left room for a different final name on stage, according to pre-event coverage. Whatever it ends up being called at retail, the design is now well documented: a book-style hinge that opens from a roughly 5.5-inch OLED outer display to an inner panel close to 7.8 inches, reported by MacRumors, which also noted European outlets measured the inner screen at roughly 19.8 centimeters.
That inner display uses a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than the narrow, elongated shape found on most Android foldables. TechTimes described the effect as closer to holding a small iPad than a stretched phone screen, a deliberate departure from how Samsung and Google have approached their own folding hardware. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line has shipped with a taller, narrower inner panel since its debut, and Google’s Pixel Fold family followed a similar shape. Apple went wider and shorter instead, betting that a squarer canvas suits multitasking and reading better than a tall one.
Early leaks pointed to Touch ID rather than Face ID on the foldable, a detail that would mark a reversal from Apple’s iPhone lineup, where Face ID has been standard since the iPhone X. Fitting a Face ID sensor array around a folding hinge is a harder engineering problem than embedding a fingerprint sensor in a side button, so the tradeoff tracks with what suppliers have said about the device’s internals.
Pricing: A Genuine Premium Tier
Estimates on price varied by source ahead of the keynote. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, cited by USA Today, put the foldable at roughly $2,300 to $2,500. A separate pre-event roundup placed the starting configuration closer to $2,000. Either figure puts the device well above the $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro and roughly double what Samsung charges for a top-tier Galaxy Z Fold. Apple hasn’t built a phone at that price point before, and the gap says something about how the company is positioning its first folding device: not as a mainstream upgrade path, but as a showcase product aimed at buyers who already own multiple Apple devices and want the newest form factor regardless of cost.
Why Apple Split the iPhone 18 Lineup in Two
One of the more unusual decisions from this cycle: Apple didn’t put its full iPhone 18 lineup on stage. According to live event coverage from CNET, the September keynote covered the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable, while the standard iPhone 18, an iPhone Air 2, and a budget iPhone 18e were pushed to a spring 2027 release window. That’s a break from Apple’s usual pattern of launching its full annual lineup in one September event.
The practical effect is that Apple used its biggest stage of the year to sell buyers on its most expensive hardware, not its most popular. Pro-tier phones and a folding device carry higher margins than the base iPhone, and stretching the base model to spring gives Apple two major hardware news cycles instead of one, each anchored around a different price tier.
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4: The Quieter Half of the Keynote
Apple’s watch lineup got its own refresh alongside the phones. TechTimes and MacRumors both confirmed the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 as part of the September 9 slate, continuing the annual cadence Apple has followed since introducing the Ultra line in 2022. Full spec sheets weren’t detailed as extensively in pre-event reporting as the foldable’s, but the presence of both a mainstream Series update and a rugged Ultra refresh signals Apple is treating the watch as a two-tier product family now, the same split it applies to iPhone with Pro and standard models.
That two-tier approach matters more than it sounds. The original Apple Watch Ultra, launched in 2022, proved there was demand for a $799 rugged watch aimed at divers, ultrarunners, and outdoor athletes, a market Apple hadn’t previously targeted directly. Four generations later, the Ultra has become a fixture in Apple’s lineup rather than a one-off experiment, and its continued existence alongside the Series 12 suggests Apple sees enough demand in the premium fitness segment to keep investing in dedicated hardware rather than folding those features into the standard watch.
Watch Competition: Samsung and Garmin Still in the Fight
Apple isn’t refreshing its watch lineup in a vacuum. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra line has targeted the same rugged, sports-focused buyer Apple’s Ultra chases, and Garmin continues to hold ground with endurance athletes who want longer battery life than any smartwatch currently offers. Apple’s advantage remains ecosystem lock-in: an Apple Watch works best paired with an iPhone, and the more Apple hardware someone owns, the less likely they are to switch platforms just for a watch. That’s less true for Samsung and Garmin, both of which support broader device compatibility.
iPhone 18 Pro: The Supporting Cast, Briefly
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max round out the hardware slate, and while pricing already got coverage elsewhere on this site, a few specs are worth noting as context for the broader event. A January 2026 leak reported by Forbes claimed both Pro models would standardize on 12GB of RAM, keep an aluminum casing, and ship with an 18-megapixel front camera. TechTimes also reported that a variable aperture camera system would be exclusive to the Pro Max, differentiating it from the standard Pro model for the first time in that specific way.
Leaker Sonny Dickson shared dummy unit photos of the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, and the foldable back in April 2026, confirming months before the keynote that Apple was building three distinct phone bodies for this cycle rather than two, according to MacRumors reporting at the time. That early leak lines up closely with what shipped on stage, which says something about how far along Apple’s supply chain leaks have gotten in recent years.
Software: iOS 27, watchOS 27, and a Rebuilt Siri
Hardware wasn’t the whole story. TechTimes reported that Apple used the keynote to detail iOS 27, watchOS 27, and a new macOS release internally referred to as Golden Gate, alongside an overhauled version of Siri built around newer AI models. Apple has faced years of criticism that Siri lagged behind ChatGPT and Google Gemini in conversational ability, and a rebuilt assistant timed to launch alongside the company’s first foldable device suggests Apple wanted its software story to carry as much weight as the new form factor.
New AirPods models were also part of the announcement, per TechTimes, though the September keynote leaned harder into phone and watch hardware than audio products this cycle.
How the Foldable Compares to Samsung and Google
Apple enters the foldable market nine years after the first commercial folding phones and roughly seven years after Samsung’s original Galaxy Fold. That’s a long runway for competitors to work out hinge durability, crease visibility, and software optimization for a folding screen. Apple’s bet is that its version, arriving later, benefits from watching what worked and what didn’t across multiple generations of Android hardware.
| Device | Outer Display | Inner Display | Starting Price (est.) | Biometric ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Foldable (iPhone Ultra, reported) | ~5.5-inch OLED | ~7.8-inch OLED, 4:3 | $2,000-$2,500 (analyst estimates) | Touch ID (reported) |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold (recent gen) | ~6.3-inch OLED | ~7.6-inch OLED, tall/narrow | ~$1,899 | Side fingerprint + Face unlock |
| Google Pixel Fold family | ~6.3-inch OLED | ~7.6-inch OLED, tall/narrow | ~$1,799 | Fingerprint |
Note that the Samsung and Google figures above reflect general market pricing for recent foldable generations rather than September 2026-specific announcements, since Apple’s device was the focus of this particular event cycle. The comparison illustrates scale: Apple’s estimated starting price sits well above where Samsung and Google have positioned their folding hardware, a gap that will shape how reviewers frame the device once it ships.
Market Impact: What a $2,000+ Phone Does for Apple’s Business
A folding iPhone priced near $2,000 to $2,500 isn’t a volume play. Even modest unit sales at that price point generate outsized revenue per device compared to the standard iPhone lineup. Apple has used this playbook before: the Pro Max tier consistently pulls a disproportionate share of iPhone revenue relative to unit share, because buyers willing to pay a premium tend to pay it without much hesitation once they’ve decided to stay in the Apple ecosystem.
There’s also a signaling function at play. A foldable device, even a low-volume one, tells investors and competitors that Apple can execute on a genuinely new form factor rather than iterating on the same slab design it has shipped since 2017. That matters for a company facing questions about where its next major growth category comes from, especially with John Ternus now setting hardware direction as CEO for the first time.
Supply Chain and Production Reality
Folding hinge mechanisms are harder to manufacture at scale than flat phone bodies, and early production runs of a first-generation folding product typically ship in far smaller numbers than a mainline iPhone. Analysts have flagged this pattern with Samsung’s own foldables in past years, where early hinge yields lagged behind flat-phone production well into a device’s first year on shelves. Apple will likely face a similar ramp, meaning initial availability of the foldable could stay tight for months after the September announcement.
Historical Context: Apple’s Pattern of Arriving Late, Then Resetting the Category
Apple has run this playbook before. The company wasn’t first to smartwatches, tablets, or wireless earbuds, yet the Apple Watch, iPad, and AirPods each became the dominant product in their category within a few years of launch. The pattern relies on watching a category mature elsewhere, then entering with tighter software integration and a higher base price that assumes buyers already trust the brand.
A folding iPhone follows that same script. Samsung and Google spent years working through hinge failures, crease complaints, and software that wasn’t built for a folding screen. Apple’s foldable arrives into a market that has already answered many of those early questions, giving Apple room to focus on integration with iOS rather than solving problems competitors already worked through in public.
Predictions: What Comes Next
- Expect limited initial stock of the foldable through late 2026, driven by hinge production constraints rather than demand alone.
- The base iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2, and iPhone 18e launching in spring 2027 will likely get their own dedicated Apple event rather than a quiet press release, giving Apple a second major hardware moment within eight months.
- Watch Ultra 4 will probably keep pulling share from Garmin’s mid-range lineup, particularly among buyers who want one device for both daily use and endurance training rather than two separate watches.
- Siri’s rebuild will face heavy early scrutiny given how long Apple has trailed ChatGPT and Gemini on conversational quality, and reviewers will likely test it harder than any other software feature from this cycle.
- If the foldable sells well despite its price, expect Samsung and Google to respond with sharper marketing rather than immediate price cuts, since Apple entering the category validates it rather than threatens existing foldable sales.
Spec Snapshot: Foldable vs. iPhone 18 Pro vs. Apple Watch Ultra 4
| Product | Category | Key Feature | Reported Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foldable iPhone (iPhone Ultra, reported name) | Foldable smartphone | Book-style hinge, 4:3 inner display | $2,000-$2,500 (est.) |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max | Flagship smartphone | Variable aperture camera (exclusive) | Starts above $1,199 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | Rugged smartwatch | Fourth-gen outdoor/dive-focused hardware | Not detailed in pre-event reporting |
| Apple Watch Series 12 | Mainstream smartwatch | Annual refresh of core Watch line | Not detailed in pre-event reporting |
What Reviewers Will Watch For First
Crease visibility on the inner display will be the first thing hands-on reviews focus on, since it’s the detail that’s made or broken every folding phone launched by a competitor so far. Hinge durability over repeated folds will matter more than any benchmark score, and battery life on a device splitting power across two OLED panels is a real open question that spec sheets alone won’t answer. Expect the first wave of reviews to spend more time on the folding mechanism itself than on raw processor performance, which is unusual for an Apple product launch but fits the moment.
Why This Event Matters Beyond the Product Specs
The September 9 keynote was also John Ternus’s first as CEO, and that context shapes how the industry is reading everything announced. A new CEO choosing to lead with a genuinely new form factor, rather than a safe iterative update, sends a message about direction. Whether that message lands well depends less on the keynote itself and more on how the foldable performs in the hands of reviewers and early buyers over the following weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Apple’s foldable iPhone actually called?
Multiple outlets, including MacRumors and Euronews, reported the name as iPhone Ultra ahead of the event, though Apple left room for a different final name on stage. Some early coverage also referenced names like iPhone Fold. Treat the exact branding as still settling in early post-event reporting.
How much does the foldable iPhone cost?
Analyst estimates ahead of the event, cited by USA Today, put the price between roughly $2,300 and $2,500, with at least one other pre-event report suggesting a starting price closer to $2,000. That’s well above the $1,199 starting price of the iPhone 18 Pro.
Does the foldable iPhone use Face ID?
Pre-event reporting pointed to Touch ID rather than Face ID on the foldable, a departure from every mainline iPhone since the iPhone X.
What’s new about the Apple Watch Ultra 4?
Apple confirmed the Watch Ultra 4 as part of the September 9 lineup alongside the Watch Series 12, continuing the rugged, outdoor-focused Ultra line first introduced in 2022. Detailed specs weren’t as widely reported pre-event as the foldable’s hardware.
Why wasn’t the standard iPhone 18 announced in September?
CNET and Digital Trends both reported that Apple split its 2026 lineup, saving the standard iPhone 18, an iPhone Air 2, and a budget iPhone 18e for a spring 2027 launch window instead of including them in the September keynote.
How does Apple’s foldable compare to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold?
Apple’s reported inner display uses a wider 4:3 aspect ratio, closer to a small tablet, compared to the taller, narrower inner screens Samsung has used across its Galaxy Z Fold generations. Apple’s estimated starting price also runs several hundred dollars above Samsung’s most recent Fold pricing.
Who is John Ternus and why does his role matter here?
Ternus succeeded Tim Cook as Apple’s CEO on September 1, 2026, and the September 9 keynote marked his first major product event in the role, according to CBS News. Leading with a first-generation foldable device rather than an incremental update was widely read as a statement about the direction he wants to take Apple’s hardware lineup.
When will the foldable iPhone actually be available to buy?
Exact retail availability wasn’t detailed in pre-event reporting used for this piece. Given typical Apple launch patterns and the manufacturing complexity of folding hinges, expect availability to lag the September announcement, with initial stock likely constrained into the following months.
