For the first time in its history, Apple is preparing to offer two flagship iPhones simultaneously — a folding iPhone Ultra priced above $2,000 alongside the familiar Pro Max — dissolving the clear hierarchy that has long guided buyers toward a single 'best.' This is not merely a product launch but a philosophical shift: Apple must now argue that 'best' is not a single answer, but a question of what kind of life you lead. The outcome will reveal whether premium markets can sustain competing visions of excellence, or whether clarity of purpose remains the quiet engine behind Apple's dominance.
Apple's folding iPhone threatens to overshadow the Pro Max flagship
Apple gets one real shot to make it feel essential
Mark
So Apple is launching two flagship phones at the same time. Has it ever done that before?
Mimi
Not like this. The Pro Max has always been the clear top of the line. Now there's going to be something above it that costs more and folds in half.
Mark
Why would anyone buy the Pro Max if there's a better phone?
Mimi
That's the question Apple has to answer. The folding iPhone isn't necessarily better—it's different. Bigger screen, different use case. Samsung does this with the Fold and the S Ultra.
Luke
But does Samsung's approach actually work? How many people are buying the Fold versus the S Ultra?
Mimi
That's the thing—the Fold carved out its own niche. Power users, people who want a bigger screen without a tablet. But adoption has stalled industry-wide.
Mark
What's holding people back?
Mimi
Durability concerns, mostly. Foldables aren't as tough as a regular phone. Smaller batteries. Apps don't always work right on the folding screen.
Luke
So we don't actually know if the iPhone Ultra will solve those problems. We're assuming it will because it's Apple.
Mimi
Right. Apple gets one shot to make it feel essential, not like an expensive experiment.
Mark
What if it doesn't work?
Mimi
Then the Pro Max wins, and the folding iPhone becomes a distraction from the main event.
Luke
And we won't know until September, and probably not even then—the real test is what happens six months after launch.
Mimi
Exactly. That's when you find out if it was innovation or a science project.
Der Puls
- Apple's unbroken rule — one phone at the top, one clear choice — is about to be broken, and no one inside or outside the company has a tested playbook for what comes next.
- A folding iPhone starting above $2,000 doesn't just raise the ceiling; it destabilizes the entire ladder, leaving the Pro Max in an awkward middle ground it was never designed to occupy.
- Real trade-offs haunt the folding form factor — smaller batteries, durability questions, inconsistent app scaling — and any one of them could tip the narrative from 'essential innovation' to 'expensive experiment.'
- With the standard iPhone 18 and 18e delayed until spring 2027, the fall lineup rests almost entirely on premium models, making the folding iPhone's reception unusually consequential for Apple's quarterly story.
- Samsung's Galaxy Fold offers cautious optimism — foldables can coexist with slab flagships by serving distinct buyer psychology — but Apple's brand promises a seamlessness Samsung has never fully delivered.
- Apple has one launch window to make the folding iPhone feel like the next chapter; if it stumbles, the Pro Max wins by default and the Ultra becomes the distraction Apple most feared creating.
For the first time in its history, Apple is preparing to offer two flagship iPhones simultaneously — a folding iPhone Ultra priced above $2,000 alongside the familiar Pro Max — dissolving the clear hierarchy that has long guided buyers toward a single 'best.' This is not merely a product launch but a philosophical shift: Apple must now argue that 'best' is not a single answer, but a question of what kind of life you lead. The outcome will reveal whether premium markets can sustain competing visions of excellence, or whether clarity of purpose remains the quiet engine behind Apple's dominance.
Apple is preparing to do something it has never done before: place two flagship iPhones on the table at the same time. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that a folding iPhone — likely called the iPhone Ultra — will debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro Max this September, and the marketing challenge that creates has no precedent in the company's history.
For nearly two decades, the Pro Max has meant one thing: the best iPhone money can buy. That singular clarity has been enormously profitable, even as the price climbs — this year's model is expected to land between $1,449 and $1,499, up $300 from its predecessor. Now Apple is preparing to place something above it. Analysts estimate the folding iPhone will open north of $2,000, with fully configured models potentially reaching $2,300. The Pro Max is no longer the ceiling, and that changes everything about how buyers will read the lineup.
The difficulty is that a folding phone isn't simply faster or larger — it's a different object for a different purpose. Apple's marketing team must now explain why a customer should choose one premium phone over another when neither is objectively superior, without leaving buyers paralyzed between two competing visions of what 'best' means. Samsung has navigated this before: the Galaxy Fold has coexisted with the Galaxy S Ultra for years, carving out a lane for users who want a larger screen without carrying a tablet. But foldables still carry real trade-offs — reduced durability, smaller batteries, inconsistent app scaling — that could make the iPhone Ultra feel fragile rather than essential.
The stakes are sharpened by timing. The standard iPhone 18 and the rumored 18e won't arrive until spring 2027, leaving the Pro, Pro Max, and folding model to carry the fall event alone. That is an unusually top-heavy lineup. If the Ultra launches with manufacturing constraints, visible compromises, and a price that reaches only the most devoted buyers, the Pro Max wins by default and the folding iPhone becomes exactly what Apple wanted to avoid: a distraction sitting beside a phone that already does almost everything well.
But if Apple gets it right — if the folding iPhone feels genuinely useful from day one, if durability concerns prove overblown, if the software justifies the premium — then Apple has found a way to grow revenue at the very top without discounting anything below. Two buyer groups, two needs, two honest answers to the same question. Apple has one shot to make that argument land.
Apple is about to do something it has never done before: sell two flagship iPhones at the same time. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company will unveil a folding iPhone—likely called the iPhone Ultra—alongside the iPhone 18 Pro Max this September, creating a marketing puzzle that has no clear answer.
For nearly two decades, the Pro Max has occupied a singular position in Apple's lineup. It is the biggest, the most capable, the one you buy when you want the best. That clarity has been central to Apple's strategy. The Pro Max doesn't sell in the volume of the standard iPhone, but its price tag—expected to land between $1,449 and $1,499 this year, up $300 from its predecessor—generates enormous profit. Now Apple is preparing to place something above it. Analysts at TF International Securities estimate the folding iPhone will start north of $2,000, with fully configured models potentially exceeding $2,300. The Pro Max, suddenly, is no longer the ceiling.
This is uncharted territory. Apple's iPhone lineup has always worked like a ladder: each model clearly better than the one below it, each price point justified by a straightforward upgrade path. A folding phone breaks that logic. It isn't faster or larger in the traditional sense. It is a different shape, designed for a different use case entirely. The company's marketing team now faces a genuine puzzle: how do you explain to a customer why they should choose one premium phone over another when neither is objectively superior? The risk is real. Apple doesn't want potential buyers paralyzed by choice, unable to decide between two competing visions of what a premium iPhone should be.
Samsung offers a preview of how this might actually play out. The Galaxy Fold has existed for more than half a decade, coexisting with the Galaxy S Ultra without destroying either product. The foldable carved out its own lane, aimed at power users who want a larger screen without carrying a tablet. The iPhone Ultra could follow the same path. But there are genuine obstacles. Foldable phones remain less durable than a solid slab of glass and aluminum. The batteries are smaller because the chassis leaves less room. App compatibility remains inconsistent—not every application scales cleanly to a folding screen. These aren't minor inconveniences; they are real trade-offs that could make the folding iPhone feel fragile or gimmicky rather than essential.
There is also a scheduling complication. The standard iPhone 18 and the rumored iPhone 18e won't arrive until spring 2027, leaving the Pro, Pro Max, and folding iPhone to carry the fall event. That is an unusually top-heavy lineup, putting enormous pressure on the folding model to feel like the future rather than a distraction. If the iPhone Ultra launches with real compromises, constrained supply due to manufacturing challenges, and a price that frightens all but the most devoted Apple customers, the narrative shifts. The Pro Max wins by default, and the folding iPhone becomes what Apple wanted to avoid: an expensive experiment sitting next to a phone that already does almost everything well.
But if Apple executes properly—if the folding iPhone feels genuinely useful on day one, if the durability concerns prove overblown, if the software experience justifies the premium—then the company has found a way to grow revenue at the top of its lineup without discounting anything below it. Two different buyer groups, two different needs, two different answers to what "best iPhone" means. Apple gets one real shot to make that work. Everything depends on whether the folding iPhone feels like the next chapter or like a detour.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Apple doesn't want potential iPhone buyers paralyzed by choice, unable to decide between two competing visions of what a premium iPhone should be.— Analysis of Apple's marketing challenge
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