Folded iPhone reveals selling price and risk of shortage

Before Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on September 9, the selling price of the folding screen iPhone line, possibly called Ultra, suddenly appeared.

According to PhoneArena, in Egypt, the iPhone Ultra appeared briefly on Vodafone's system for 155,750 Egyptian Pounds (3,056 USD). Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro model here is listed at 88,799 Egyptian Pounds, suggesting that the folding phone could be 75% more expensive than the 17 Pro.

Meanwhile, the Vodafone Australia system shows the iPhone Ultra with 256 GB memory priced at 3,699 AUD (2,660 USD), the 512 GB version is 4,199 AUD (3,020 USD) and the 1 TB version is 4,699 AUD (3,380 USD). Compared to the starting price of 1,999 AUD for the iPhone 17 Pro here, the Ultra model is about 85% higher.

Apple Insider estimates that if the Ultra is 75-85% higher than the 17 Pro, the announced price of the product in the US could be $2,000. However, market research company TrendForce made a more conservative forecast, stating that the minimum price of the folding model is $2,099.

Also according to leaked data from Egypt, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max duo cost 98,000 and 105,000 Egyptian Pounds (1,928 and 2,065 USD) respectively. Compared to the previous generation in this market, iPhone 18 Pro increased by 10% and iPhone 18 Pro Max increased by 11%. If the same adjustment rate is applied in the US, users will suffer an increase of 100 USD, lower than TrendForce's prediction of an increase of 150 to 200 USD.

The expensiveness of the iPhone Ultra is related by PhoneArena to Vision Pro, Apple's virtual reality glasses priced at $3,500. The cost barrier turned Vision Pro from a technological advance into a commercial failure, because users found it difficult to spend large sums of money on a device that was so new. The iPhone Ultra faces even more risk because the Vision Pro has no equivalent competitor, and folding screen phones have been on the market for nearly a decade.

In addition, according to Nikkei Asia, Apple is having to deal with a serious iPhone Ultra production shortage, with the assembly line only reaching a few hundred units per day as of the end of August.

The reason lies in Apple's strict quality testing standards. The company added a technical verification process last month to evaluate the flatness of the folding screen and the durability of the liquid metal hinge. The strictness caused the rate of machines meeting standards to drop, delaying the commercial production schedule by several weeks.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple could repeat the iPhone Twitter scenario. The device was introduced in September 2017 but was not sold until the end of October.

On September 9, Apple will hold the "Surprise and Shine" event at Apple Park headquarters, where the company plans to announce the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max duo, and launch the first folding screen phone model.