iPhone Ultra rumor roundup: Apple's first foldable phone ahead of the Sept 9 'Surprise and Shine' event

With less than a week to go before Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, expected to be the stage for unveiling the iPhone Ultra, the company's first foldable smartphone, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports gathered from multiple sources — especially Bloomberg's Mark Gurman — indicate the device's 4.5mm thinness is why Apple had to cut the Face ID hardware module, switching to Touch ID in the side button instead, with the volume button moved to the top.

Many details have flip-flopped as rumors throughout the year. Early reports suggested Apple might eliminate the display crease entirely, but the latest information says the crease is simply designed to be as unnoticeable as possible, not actually gone. Similarly with MagSafe: leaked prototype units lacked the ring, but Gurman maintains every signal points to the retail version supporting it. On chips, the iPhone Ultra will use the same A20 Pro as the iPhone 18 Pro, while the modem remains uncertain — originally expected to switch to Apple's in-house C2 to drop Qualcomm, but it may still use a Qualcomm modem in the US, depending on whether the C2 supports mmWave 5G.

On software, iOS 27 has been adapted directly for the foldable display, emphasizing flexible app resizing, multitasking, a side panel, and side-by-side app views. The camera is a dual-lens Wide and Ultra Wide system. The device comes in 2 colors, white/silver and dark blue, while the Apple Pencil that was tested alongside it is unlikely to launch at the same time. Gurman says he'd be very surprised if the iPhone Ultra didn't launch close to the iPhone 18 Pro, though supply may be limited enough to require a waitlist. Pricing is expected to start above $2,000, possibly reaching as high as $2,500 depending on capacity.