iPhone Ultra: Good Luck Getting One at Launch

Quick summary: Getting Apple’s foldable iPhone (the iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra) early could be very difficult. New reports say Apple is producing only a few hundred units a day because of extremely strict quality control.

What we already knew

It’s expected to have limited supply, a high price and pretty good specs, and to be about the same size as the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Rumors also say it launches in the United States first, with other countries coming later.

The new report

• Apple is producing only a few hundred units per day.
• The delays are tied to the hinge structure and display durability.
• Apple added a verification step in August to make sure surface flatness and hinge performance met its criteria.
• Commercial production slipped by several weeks, and initial volumes are expected to fall short of demand even with suppliers working around the clock.

For comparison

Samsung is reportedly making 25,000 Galaxy Z Fold 8s a day for the whole world, enough to cover demand over the first few weeks. Apple’s first foldable will sell out crazy fast even at $2,000 to $3,000.

What it might mean

With production this low, I wonder whether it will only be sold on Apple’s website and not through carriers, where most people upgrade. That’s bad news for someone like me who wants to make videos on it and compare it to the Z Fold 8 and 8 Ultra.