Apple's iPhone Ultra needs to do more than flash its logo to beat Samsung and Google

I’d be shocked if we didn’t get a foldable iPhone from Apple later this year. Rumors for the iPhone Ultra have ramped up, and we’re seeing a clearer picture of what Apple has in mind.

Book-style foldables aren’t an easy segment to break into. They carry a high cost and only appeal to a narrow band of buyers. Still, Apple seems keen to give it a go with its own variant.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. This isn’t 2009, and I don’t think Apple can get by on just its logo anymore. If an iPhone Ultra is to be successful, it has to offer something that fundamentally changes the user experience.

There may be some people who are still blinded by the Apple mystic, but I’m not one of them. And when you’re charging north of $2,000 for a smartphone, you need more than a pretty face to challenge Samsung and Google.

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The leaked iPhone Ultra design hits the spot

Apple appears to be getting the form factor right

Even though I’m skeptical, Apple is at least getting off to a good start with the design.

I’ve written for a long time about how I prefer wider aspect ratios on folding phones. The original Google Pixel Fold had it right, despite the device’s numerous other shortcomings.

If I’m paying for a larger internal display, I’d like to use the space effectively, which means having multiple apps open at once.

If Apple really wants to impress us, it needs to do more than offer a phone with a slightly less noticeable crease.

A wider aspect ratio lets me have two apps open side by side without either feeling cramped. Even if I’m not using two apps, some activities, like web browsing, are just better in landscape.

I know not every developer will make their apps play nice, but for social media scrolls, you can always turn the phone sideways if it bothers you that much.

It appears Samsung and now Apple agree with me, as Samsung is also developing a wider foldable due out this year.

Even with a solid design, that’s not going to be enough to get customers to shell out significant sums of money. Apple needs to solve another problem.

It’s the software that holds book-style folds back

It can’t just feel like a large smartphone

To make a foldable that is worth anything close to what companies charge, the software experience has to be right.

I have zero appetite to pay $2,000 for a phone that offers only a slightly different user experience than what I get on a device like the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The good news for Apple is that I don’t believe any company has really cracked this problem.

Samsung and Google have made strides this year, and Android 17 promises even more opportunities for larger display form factors, but neither company has a lock on it.

I’m encouraged by what Motorola has planned with the Razr Fold. I love that it has stylus support and a silicon-carbon battery, but I also don’t trust Motorola to be the one to break through with its software.

If Apple really wants to impress us, it needs to do more than offer a phone with a slightly less noticeable crease.

The iPhone Ultra needs its own version of iOS, with a dock and a coherent plan to use the internal space wisely.

If Apple wants to get ahead, I’d love to see a solution for developers who don’t scale their apps properly. I understand there may not always be an incentive for companies to spend the extra time to do it, but I’d like to see a software solution from Apple that helps scale.

I’m not overly encouraged by Apple’s recent track record. iPadOS took entirely too long to come together, and I feel iOS 26 is the worst piece of software the company has shipped in a while. It needs to do better for iPhone Ultra buyers.

Apple will surprise me with the iPhone Ultra

I don’t know why it would choose this first

I’m struggling to understand why Apple felt the need to go with a book-style foldable first. Clamshell foldables seem like the more obvious choice and fit in better with Apple’s previous successes.

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I figured it would follow Motorola’s lead, as it’s much easier to break in with a clamshell fold. The Razrs are stylish and functional, and cost roughly what we already pay for our smartphones.

You also don’t need to explain the benefits and values to people. They can use their phone as they always have, just folding it into a more compact form when they’re done.

Maybe Apple didn’t feel comfortable eating into regular iPhone sales, but I still feel a clamshell would be a better choice.

Whatever the result, I expect plenty of fanfare

Whenever the iPhone Ultra is announced, I expect Apple to put plenty of advertising behind it, and I would be shocked if the company didn’t act like it invented folding phones.

I want to say it’s not going to be enough this time, but I’m not so sure. I know Apple has to do more to impress me, but that’s not always the case with the rest of the company’s customers.

Folding phones appear to be here to stay. I just hope companies start giving us reasons to justify spending so much more.