Apple Inc. is set to debut a roughly $2,000 foldable iPhone on Wednesday, September 9, as the centerpiece of a wide-ranging product event kicking off at 10 a.m. Pacific Time from Cupertino, California. The showcase will also feature the iPhone 18 Pro, new Apple Watches, and updated AirPods — but the foldable device is the one carrying the event's real weight.
A Pricey Bet on Status and Innovation
The foldable, reportedly to be called the iPhone Ultra (Apple hasn't confirmed the name), is a device the company believes can function as both a status symbol and a way to restore its reputation as a genuine innovator in a market where rivals have had nearly a decade's head start. Reports have put its starting price at anywhere from $1,999 to $2,299, with the highest-capacity configurations potentially reaching $2,500 — making it by far the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever sold.
Expected Specs
According to rumors compiled from multiple outlets, the iPhone Ultra is expected to feature a book-style folding design with an iPad-like layout when opened, a 7.8-inch inner OLED display and a 5.5-inch outer display, an A20 Pro chip, 12GB of RAM, and a 5,000mAh battery. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman confirmed the device will support MagSafe — a feature notably absent from Samsung's competing foldables. One detail that would be a genuine first for the foldable category: JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee reported the inner screen will have no visible crease, something no foldable phone maker, including Samsung, has fully achieved to date, though Samsung is reportedly planning to debut its own crease-free design next year as well.
A Crowded Market Apple Enters From Behind
Apple's foldable arrives into an already competitive field: Samsung launched its wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 in July, Huawei released the Pura X Max in April, and Xiaomi's 18 Fold launched in China just two days before Apple's event. Samsung's Yang Byung-duk has publicly emphasized the company's eight-generation lead in foldable design and manufacturing experience — a genuine advantage Apple will need to offset through ecosystem integration and design polish rather than raw foldable-hardware maturity.
Market Projections
Counterpoint Research projects the global foldable smartphone market will grow 21% year-over-year in 2026, with total lifetime foldable shipments expected to surpass 100 million units by year's end. The firm forecasts Apple could ship up to 6 million foldable iPhones in its debut year, capturing an estimated 25% market share — enough to surpass Huawei (24%) and trail only Samsung, whose share is expected to slip from 40% to 32% as competition intensifies. Counterpoint's Tarun Pathak believes Apple will position its foldable toward the premium end of the category, while colleague Liz Lee suggested the biggest challenge for Apple may simply be meeting demand given how strong pent-up desire for an Apple foldable has become among loyal customers.
New CEO's First Major Moment
The event carries additional significance as the first major iPhone presentation under John Ternus, who became Apple's CEO earlier this month after Tim Cook transitioned to executive chairman. Coming just about a week into his tenure, the event effectively puts Ternus and his product vision front and center almost immediately — a compressed timeline that analysts have noted places real pressure on the presentation's reception.
What Else to Expect
Alongside the foldable, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which will reportedly look similar to last year's iPhone 17 Pro models with no major design overhaul, though with a smaller Dynamic Island and camera improvements possible. New Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models are also expected, without major design changes from their predecessors, alongside a new lineup of AirPods. A more ambitious pair of camera-equipped AirPods reportedly won't arrive until 2027.
The Stakes Beyond Hardware
Beyond the foldable's commercial performance, Apple faces mounting pressure to demonstrate it can compete with Google and other rivals on artificial intelligence — a theme likely to surface throughout the event even as hardware dominates the headlines. For Apple, the foldable's success or failure could shape perceptions of whether the company's ecosystem lock-in is strong enough to overcome Samsung's deeper foldable experience, or whether Apple has simply arrived late to a category it can't fully catch up on.
What's Next
With the event streaming live starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, all eyes are on Cupertino for the official reveal, pricing confirmation, and release timing — some reports suggest the foldable itself may not actually ship until October or later even after today's announcement. For live coverage of the announcement, see Apple's official events page.