A new report claims that Apple is launching a cost new iPhone Ultra at the same time that shortages are driving all prices up, and the result is that the new foldable may start at $2,099.
The first iPhone to cost more than $1,000 was the iPhone X, launched on the tenth anniversary of the device in 2017. Right now, a maxed-out iPhone 17 Pro Max is a dollar short of $2,000, but according to TrendForce, the iPhone Ultra must start north of that.
Basing its calculations on the bills of materials for iPhone components, TrendForce predicts that all models will rise by between 10% and 20%. This is because it says that for one example, the cost of a 256GB module is now 400% higher than a year ago.
TrendForce expects the iPhone Ultra to start with 256GB at a cost of between $2,099 and $2,299. It predicts 512GB, 1TB and 2TB storage options.
While the report does not predict costs for these further options, TrendForce researchers expect some to take the price over $3,000. That would include Apple absorbing some of the costs in order to preserve its market share.
Perhaps because of these expected costs, TrendForce also estimates that foldables as a whole will amount to no more than around 2% of the global smartphone market in 2026.
There's no figure for what proportion of that global market may be taken by the iPhone Ultra, nor any estimate of how many Apple expects to sell. Another recent and more positive report predicts that Apple will sell 14 million of the iPhone Ultra across fiscal year 2027.
