We’ve heard rumors that Apple‘s foldable iPhone Ultra would be late, and we’ve heard reports that it will launch and be made available in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models. But can both of these be true?
A new report from Australian outlet Channelnews claims that the iPhone Ultra would face a staggered rollout, starting with the U.S. and then trickling down to other countries.
The latest iPhone 18 news, leaks, and rumors: Release date, price increases, and color options
The outlet quotes a Chinese supplier who claims that the iPhone Ultra will face significant supply and pricing issues, as well as “testing issues” with the “production models that have already been built.”
Due to these, the report claims, the iPhone Ultra will likely be launched in September but would initially be in limited supply, with “allocation to markets outside the U.S. (…) likely to be even tighter,” meaning local availability “could trail the U.S. launch by up to two to three months.”
The report doesn’t into details on which countries would get first dibs besides saying that Australia is probably “at the back of the queue.”
If the report is accurate, this would make the iPhone Ultra launch somewhat similar to the launch of Apple’s Vision Pro, which originally launched in the U.S. and was later expanded to other markets, including China, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
Being the first-ever foldable iPhone, the iPhone Ultra is surely a far more important device for Apple than the somewhat niche-y Vision Pro. Similarities, however, exist: Just like the Vision Pro, the iPhone Ultra will likely be an expensive product, with a reported price of $2,300 to $2,500. And, just like the Vision Pro, it’s far more complex than your typical iPhone, with Apple reportedly facing pre-production issues with both its hinge and the foldable display.
Apple is likely to launch the iPhone Ultra in early September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. Here’s all we currently know about the phone.
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Source: https://mashable.com/tech/apple-iphone-ultra-country-by-country-rollout
