It was widely expected that the first foldable iPhone set to be launched later today would be named the iPhone Ultra. However, a report yesterday said that the device will instead be called the iPhone Duo.

If accurate, it’s an interesting development as it might potentially point to the company reserving the Ultra suffix for a completely different future model …

Opinion pieces in which I muse about possible future developments are by their very nature speculative, and this one perhaps more than most. When it comes to hard facts, the only thing we can say for sure is that Apple has used the Ultra label to mean the top-level offering in three contexts:

• Apple Watch Ultra
• Apple Silicon chips (eg. M5 Ultra)
• CarPlay Ultra

It’s been speculated that the company plans to expand the use of the Ultra moniker to a range of new products. This was expected to include the iPhone Ultra and the MacBook Ultra.

Specifically, the iPhone Ultra label was reportedly going to be used for the foldable phone being launched later today. As of yesterday, however, we are expecting this to be named the iPhone Duo – so what’s up? I can see three possibilities.

The least interesting explanation would be that Apple isn’t using the Ultra label because the foldable phone isn’t the ultimate iPhone. It’s a device with a unique feature, but it’s expected to be inferior to the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in several ways. If all the reports pan out, it won’t have a variable aperture lens on the main camera, and will also lack a telephoto camera; it won’t have Face ID; and it won’t match the battery life of the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Logically then, it shouldn’t be called the iPhone Ultra. But Apple hasn’t always followed the logic when it comes to product names – for example, the MacBook Air weighing more than the 12-inch MacBook back in 2015, and the Mac Studio being more powerful than the Mac Pro in 2022. So while this is one possible explanation, it’s far from a definitive one.

A related possibility is that the iPhone Ultra label is slated for the 20th anniversary model expected next year, taking a significant step closer to that long-term ‘single slab of glass’ vision. If that combined the slickest design with iPhone Pro capabilities, then that would indeed be worthy of the name.

The most exciting possibility is that Apple won’t be done with all-new additions to the iPhone range after the launch of the slab of glass (iPhone Glass?), and that the iPhone Ultra label is being reserved for a completely different model – one that really would sit at the top of the lineup in every respect.

I won’t get into speculation about what form that might take, though it will surprise nobody when I say my own hopes would center around significantly superior camera capabilities, starting with a much larger sensor.

Where do you stand? Which of the three explanations do you think most likely? Or do you have a better idea of your own? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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