According to blogger Dingjiao Shuma, the production ramp-up of Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Ultra, has fallen short of expectations. The hinge yield rate remains at 60%-70%, which has slowed down the mass production speed.
The release date for the Chinese mainland version is expected to be relatively late, with display units likely not appearing in first-tier direct stores until around the National Day holiday at the earliest.
This also corroborates previous overseas leaks. ChannelNews previously reported that due to constraints in mass production yield and component supply, the initial production capacity of the iPhone Ultra is very limited. The new product plans to adopt a phased regional launch strategy, with the first batch of stock prioritized for the US market.
In addition to hinge issues, shortages in the delivery of other components have resulted in a severe overall production capacity deficit.
According to leaks, the iPhone Ultra adopts a 4:3 wide-aspect foldable design. When unfolded, the internal screen size reaches 7.76 inches with a resolution of 2713 x 1920. Its visual aspect ratio rivals the iPad mini, offering a more expansive view for horizontal document browsing, split-screen office work, and movie watching. It is also Apple's first phone product focused on delivering a tablet-level large-screen experience.
It features a 5.49-inch external screen with a resolution of 2088 x 1422. Daily tasks like communication, replying to messages, and taking photos can be completed without unfolding the device. The external screen retains only a single punch-hole front camera, eliminating the Dynamic Island design for a cleaner frontal visual experience.
The body uses a lightweight titanium alloy frame, with stainless steel and die-cast liquid metal structures in the stressed hinge area. The total weight is kept under 250g, with a thickness of only 4.8mm when fully unfolded and 9.6mm when folded closed.
The hinge is a key focus of the iPhone Ultra's development. Apple has worked on it for years, adding internal metal stress-dispersing plates and pairing them with a self-healing coating on the screen surface. This significantly reduces screen creases caused by folding. Additionally, after hundreds of thousands of open-and-close durability tests, it addresses industry pain points such as loosening and noticeable creases during long-term use of foldable screens.
In terms of hardware, the iPhone Ultra is equipped with TSMC's 2nm A20 Pro flagship chip and comes standard with 12GB of RAM. It is deeply optimized for iOS 27's exclusive foldable split-screen system, comprehensively enhancing productivity features such as multi-window parallel operation and cross-app drag-and-drop functionality.