Apple is expected to mirror the iPhone X's launch cadence back in 2017 for its upcoming foldable iPhone, tentatively called the iPhone Ultra or the iPhone Fold, as per the latest musings of the legendary Apple-centric analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, who expects subdued sales volume for the foldable in Q3 2026, stretched lead times in the first few months, and a free-for-all bonanza for scalpers.
Ming-Chi Kuo expects the foldable iPhone to record sales of just 0.5-1 million units in Q3, lead times of 4-6 weeks, and resale prices 50–100% above the official $2,300-$2,500 price
According to Kuo, the upcoming foldable iPhone is quite similar to the iPhone X that launched back in 2017. After all, the iPhone X introduced an OLED all-screen design, replete with a notch and the Face ID/TrueDepth camera system. Due to these technical complexities, Apple unveiled the iPhone X alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, but opened its pre-orders only in October.
As such, Kuo now expects Apple to replicate this iPhone X playbook by unveiling the foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September 2026, with pre-orders and in-store sales going live at a later date. This delayed launch also means that the foldable iPhone might only garner sales of 0.5-1 million units by the end of October vs. the 20-22 million units for the iPhone 18 Pro duo. The foldable iPhone might also notch sales of just 7-8 million by the end of December 2026.
Critically, Kuo expects lead times of 4-6 weeks in the initial launch phase of the foldable iPhone, which should give scalpers an opportunity to earn profits of as much as 50-100% on the back of the hefty re-sale premium. Given the foldable iPhone's expected list price of $2,300-$2,500, such scalpers can earn a profit of between $1,250 and $2,500 per device, assuming Apple debuts its foldable at a base price of $2,500. Of course, higher storage tiers will entail additional premium.
Do note that this bonanza will likely be quite ephemeral. As per a new study, the foldable iPhone might lose as much as $1,292 of its residual value within a 12-month period
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Apple is now all set to equip the cover screen of its upcoming foldable iPhone with Samsung's bleeding edge, natively 10-bit M16 OLED screen, while the inner screen will be made up of the older M14 OLED panels.
Critically, it is this cover screen that will be integrated with the Color Filter on Encapsulation (COE) technology, where the traditional circular polarizer is removed, and a color filter is printed directly onto the thin-film encapsulation layer, lowering panel thickness while yielding massive power-efficiency gains.
Do note that Samsung's M16 OLED panel can produce native 10-bit color depth. It also swaps out blue fluorescent OLED material for blue phosphorescent material, entailing a meaningful jump in efficiency.
We already know that the foldable iPhone/iPhone Ultra will sport a dedicated vapor chamber and a crease-less design - achieved via the copious use of UTG/UFG (Ultra-Thin Glass/Ultra-Thin Flexible Glass), replete with reduced thickness around the hinge area to cut down structural stress, and the employment of a flexible adhesive between various display layers. The foldable's intricate, 3D-printed Liquidmetal hinge, which doubles as a heat sink, will also aid in reducing the display's crease to a miniscule 0.15mm.
Other details include:
- A dedicated vapor chamber.
- A 2,713 x 1,920 resolution, with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
- Side-mounted Touch ID instead of Face ID.
- A20 Pro SoC, 12GB RAM, in-house C2 5G modem.
- A 48MP resolution for the rear dual-camera setup.
- A selfie camera with a resolution of up to 24MP.
- A battery with a capacity of 5,400-5,800mAh.
- To launch as an eSIM-only variant.
- Fall 2026 launch.
- Base price of around $2,300-$2,500
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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