iPhone Ultra Leaks: Every year around this time, dummy units of upcoming iPhones start making their way into public view, giving a rough sense of what Apple is working on. This year, a video from the YouTube channel Max Tech shows what the folding iPhone may look like, placing it next to the iPad mini and the iPhone 17 Pro Max for comparison.
Separately, a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman sheds light on why Apple timed its CEO transition the way it did, and how the folding iPhone sits at the centre of that decision.
In the video, Vadim Yuryev of Max Tech describes the silver metallic blocks as the real folding iPhone design. The device, expected to be called the iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold, is widely anticipated to be unveiled in September.
Yuryev's confidence in the dummies comes partly from the track record. The dummy units he featured last year turned out to be accurate representations of the iPhone 17 series, though that alone does not guarantee the latest ones will be equally precise.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the folding iPhone is shaping up to be a significant moment for Apple, and the company's leadership transition has been deliberately tied to it.
The shape of the dummy matches what leaker Sonny Dickson shared earlier in April, showing a passport-style form factor, wide rather than tall. The external panel features two camera lenses stretching across roughly three-quarters of the rear.
Yuryev measured the device at 11mm thick when folded and 5.5mm when opened, not counting the camera bump. That would make each half slightly thinner than the iPhone Air, which measures 5.64mm. The camera bump itself is notably large, though Yuryev pushed back on claims that the phone's width would make it impractical to carry in a pocket.
A Camera Control button is also visible on the dummy, something that had previously been questioned, given how slim the device is.
When opened, the dummy's width roughly matched the length of an iPhone 17 Pro Max when the two were placed side by side. Compared to the iPad mini, the open display is about the same height but narrower.
Yuryev also demonstrated one-handed use while the phone was folded, with his thumb reaching most of the display without difficulty. He noted that while the folded Ultra looks unusually wide, it is partly an optical illusion caused by the phone's short height. In practice, it is not significantly wider than the iPhone 17 Pro Max display.
On the CEO transition, Gurman's Power On newsletter offered this: "Less than two weeks later, he will introduce what promises to be the biggest new Apple product in a decade: the first foldable iPhone. That timing is not a coincidence, I'm told.
As part of Apple's planning for the transition from Tim Cook to Ternus, the company wanted its new leader to be the one hosting the event to unveil the device, setting him up to become the face of what it believes will be a blockbuster new product category."
