Tag: iPhone 18 Pro

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the foldable iPhone could come with a 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inner screen, both measured diagonally, both featuring an OLED panel. A MacRumors report goes further, citing specific resolutions: 2,088 x 1,422 on the 5.49-inch cover screen, and 2,713 x 1,920 on the 7.76-inch inner panel. 

The inner screen could be closer to a 4:3 aspect ratio, as opposed to Fold 7’s 10:9, to better handle side-by-side app multitasking and video consumption without the black bars on the top and the bottom. While the inner screen could get Apple’s ProMotion display technology (up to 120Hz refresh rate), the cover screen could be limited to 60Hz, though that might not sit well with buyers who’re shelling out $2,000 for the smartphone.

There should be a punch-hole cutout on the cover screen. The inner screen will also have a front camera, though whether it’s a punch-hole or under-display remains unconfirmed. On the back, the phone might feature a camera visor, similar to the one we’ve seen on the Pixel phones, with a double-camera array toward the left and an LED flash and microphone on the right side. 

The power button is rumored to double as a side-mounted Touch ID sensor, alongside a Camera Control button, with volume keys repositioned to the top-right when held horizontally. On the thickness front, the device may measure around 4.5-4.8mm when unfolded and 9-9.5mm when folded, thinner than most non-foldable flagships. 

The frame could use a combination of titanium and aluminum. The most important design challenge, for Apple, is the foldable’s crease. On the crease front, Apple reportedly pursued a dual-layer ultra-thin glass structure and a liquid metal hinge to minimize it.

Prototype testing in May revealed a hinge rattling issue, but a follow-up leak on May 19 from DCS claimed Apple had since locked in both the hinge and panel design (via Notebookcheck), with the solution mirroring the near-crease-free approach used on the Oppo Find N6.

On colors, the picture has narrowed. Leaked case and camera-protector leaks from Sonny Dickson point to silver/white and a darker blue or indigo option, broadly consistent with the “just two colors.” MagSafe remains a genuinely open question. Some leaked dummy units show no visible magnet ring, while later leaked third-party case designs include circular cutouts consistent with MagSafe magnets.

Performance and software

Under the hood, the iPhone Fold or Ultra will most likely run on one of Apple’s A20 chips, built on TSMC’s 2nm fabrication process. With more transistors on the chip, the chips could be up to 15% faster and 30% more efficient than the A19 series (via WCCFTech). Whether the foldable gets the regular A20 or the A20 Pro chip remains a point of contention. 

Given what the company might charge for the device, customers will likely hold out for the A20 Pro chip; it doesn’t matter if it’s a binned version to control the performance and thermals. What’s less debated, however, is the packaging. Apple could use TSMC’s Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) technology, which stacks RAM directly onto the chip wafer alongside the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. 

The result could be faster RAM access, leading to better performance, less heat generation, and improved on-device Apple Intelligence performance. For those wondering, the iPhone Fold could ship with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, the same amount as the iPhone 17 Pro and the purported iPhone 18 Pro. Storage could span across three tiers: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

On the connectivity front, we could get Apple’s second-generation C2 modem (same as the iPhone 18 Pro), the successor to the C1X modem on the iPhone 17e, which would also bring mmWave 5G support to the foldable. The device could also be eSIM-only, given the limited internal space. 

As I mentioned earlier, the iPhone Fold or Ultra will most likely feature Touch ID instead of Face ID, a compromise that might sting at first, but given that fingerprint authentication is already present on existing iPads, it shouldn’t take long to get the hang of. 

Out of the box, the iPhone Fold is expected to run iOS 27, and a special version of the operating system no less, built around utilizing the additional screen real estate on the foldable.

Like the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone Ultra will also run on iOS 27 out of the box. Alongside the new Apple Intelligence features, Siri AI, and deeper cross-app context already available in the public beta, the operating system update could also bring several improvements, particularly useful on a foldable.

Overall, split-screen multitasking could make the most headlines. Per reports, the phone should be able to run two apps side-by-side, perhaps with iPadOS-like layouts that better use the larger inner display. Code found in iOS 27’s beta version suggests that the software should be able to recognize whether the phone is open, closed, or positioned at a particular hinge angle.

Cameras and battery

On paper, the iPhone Fold or Ultra’s camera systems don’t look as good as the iPhone 18 Pro, or the iPhone 17 Pro for that matter, and for a device that might cost twice as much, that isn’t a trade-off worth ignoring. 

The iPhone Fold is expected to come with two 48MP sensors on the back, similar to the baseline iPhone 17, one with a wide lens and another with an ultrawide lens. What’s missing here, you might ask? It’s the telephoto lens found on the Pro models, and I think it’s likely due to space constraints in the foldable’s chassis that Apple might not include a dedicated zoom lens.

A November 2025 JP Morgan forecast (via MacRumors) also claimed that Apple might drop the LiDAR module and optical image stabilization on the foldable. While the first might be okay, the second could be a dealbreaker, especially for a smartphone that costs around or over $2,000. If I were to presume, the company will lean on computational photography and the A20’s NPU to compensate for the lack of hardware. 

The same forecast also says about a 24MP under-display selfie camera on the inner screen. Whether it will retain Center Stage functionality from the iPhone 17 series isn’t clear yet, and neither is the resolution of the punch-hole camera on the cover screen. 

Talking about the battery, the iPhone Fold is rumored to ship with the largest battery on an iPhone, ever. According to Chinese tipster Fixed Focus Digital (via Weibo), the foldable could sport a 5,000 to 5,500 mAh battery, which, if true, could be bigger than the Fold 7’s 4,400 and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s 4,821 mAh battery. 

However, a more recent, more specific leak from Digital Chat Station, citing a regulatory filing from Apple’s battery supplier, points to a dual-cell design instead, with two separate cells rated at 1,921mAh and 2,962mAh for a combined ~4,883mAh. But the figure itself is a step down from the original 5,000–5,500mAh estimate, and somewhat ironically, it would actually be smaller than the standard iPhone 18 Pro Max’s rumored ~5,567mAh battery,

The Razr Fold has a 6,000 mAh battery, but Cupertino’s foldable might beat it in usage time, mainly due to better hardware-software optimization and its chip’s superior efficiency. Initial rumors hinted at a silicon-carbon battery in the purported foldable, but none of the most credible sources have supported the notion. 

Contrary to earlier rumors, recent pictures of the iPhone Fold, from a leaked case listing (via PhoneArena), suggest it might feature MagSafe charging after all. However, if that doesn’t happen, the iPhone Fold will be the first high-end iPhone to move out of the production line without MagSafe, since the iPhone 11 Pro, a genuinely baffling omission at $2,000.

Bottom line

The iPhone Fold is shaping up to be one of the most consequential product launches in Apple’s history, and one of the most expensive. While the company might actually achieve a crease-free display and create an ultra-durable foldable that passes the test of time, the compromises are hard to ignore, especially at an asking price north of $2,000.

Apple needs to do what it does best: stick to its core instincts and make the product work at all costs. With the September 9 event now locked in, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out if it does.