After years of patents and prototypes, Apple's first foldable iPhone arrives September 2026. The iPhone Ultra is a book-style foldable with a 7.8-inch inner OLED display and 5.5-inch cover screen. It represents the culmination of a development effort that stretches back to at least 2018, when Apple first began filing patents for flexible display hinges and foldable enclosures.
The device enters a market already populated by Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series, Google's Pixel Fold, and OnePlus Open — but Apple, as always, is betting that its late entry will be the one that defines the category. The question isn't whether foldables are the future. It's whether Apple can deliver the experience that makes people believe it.
“Apple developed a new material property making the crease nearly invisible — potentially the feature that proves foldables have finally matured.”
Crease-Free Breakthrough
The crease has been the Achilles' heel of foldable phones since Samsung launched the original Galaxy Fold in 2019. Every manufacturer has tried to minimize it; none have eliminated it entirely. Apple claims to have developed a "new material property" that makes the crease nearly invisible, both visually and to the touch. If this holds up in practice, it could be the single most consequential innovation in the iPhone Ultra — the feature that proves to mainstream buyers that foldable technology has finally reached the maturity threshold.