Apple’s rumored foldable phone raises many questions before it even launches. Where does it fit next to the standard iPhone and the iPhone Pro line? What should Apple learn from Samsung’s years of experience? And is this actually a phone, or something closer to a tiny iPad? Scott Stein and Iyaz Akhtar break it all down.
You can find the products mentioned in this article linked below
Apple 2026 MacBook Neo 13-inch Laptop with A18 Pro chip
Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro)
Apple iPhone Air, US Version, 256GB, eSIM, Space Black
iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB Silver
Samsung DeX Station
*CNET may get a commission on these offers
Read more about it on CNET.com
Could Your Next Apple Phone Be a Foldable? Here’s What We Know About the iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold
Video Credits:
Host: Scott Stein & Iyaz Akhtar
Thumbnail Designer: Tharon Green
Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:
#apple #samsung #foldphone
@G.D.Acosta
August 24, 2026 at 11:48 am
Im not paying more than 1k for a phone I just use for doomscrolling anyway
@andyb619
August 24, 2026 at 11:52 am
While you guys agonise over categories, I’m just enjoying my device. iPad is peak computer. Some balance between a Mac and an iPhone in terms of operating system is superb. I don’t need a folding phone. I want a folding iPad.
@Nono-z9s5e
August 24, 2026 at 12:05 pm
If pro max has the best specs yet they call fold the ultra just coz it has 2 screens would make zero sense. They basically charging you 500 to 1000 dollars extra just for the screen but you lose on camera and battery life.
@BruceLeeRoy26
August 24, 2026 at 12:16 pm
I had the S22+, it was pretty bad lol you’re not being productive with Dex mode, it could barely open a pretty intensive spreadsheet that I had for work. Sounds like a bunch of shilling for a corporation.
@NeonVisual
August 24, 2026 at 12:22 pm
Apple having to pay it’s competitor Samsung for a foldable display is a genius move for Samsung.
I think Apple’s will flop because it will be too expensive, and then people will start focusing on the downsides of Apple’s foldable despite paying so much money and still not getting flagship hardware.
The iphone fold next to the Samsung fold makes the iphone look several generations behind the other options, not much different to the failed oppo find N1 line or failed first Pixel fold that was a landscape flop. The same as Microsoft’s was a flop.
What Samsung have been able to do is put 10 years of foldable development into a thin “wide” device that has almost bezel less display on the inside and out, with squared off corners. Apple’s weird rounded corners on the display itself and a huge frame makes it look like the cheaper option, like we would expect from Motorola, yet we know it will be by far the most expensive. Even iPhone users are going to scratch their heads and ask why a way more expensive foldable phone has a worse camera than they currently have? They will ask where their face ID notch has gone, and then as time goes on and the same crease that appears in all foldables is still visible in theirs as they are expecting Apple to have control over their own foldable displays, but they have none and Samsung holds all the patents, so the folding display will never be better than what Samsung sells to everyone else!
If Apple has two failed premium products in a row flop (Apple Vision) then it’s going to be terrible for their shareholders who will feel Apple have reached the end of innovation before competitors who are lightyears ahead with a product category Apple intentionally ignored because they refused to buy from their competitor.
@DrDavid-PhD
August 24, 2026 at 12:30 pm
I have the Fold 8 and the Apple Event is within my return window so I will decide if I will get the iPhone Ultra.
@ninjanerdstudent6937
August 24, 2026 at 12:52 pm
My favorite folding phone was actually a prototypical device that the Nothing team made with two Nothing phones connected via a hinge mechanism. Carl did not like it.
@ottoramos3995
August 24, 2026 at 12:56 pm
$2800 for sure
@damian.enriquez
August 24, 2026 at 1:13 pm
You guys are overthinking this way too much, even for a tech channel.
@channel3default
August 24, 2026 at 1:34 pm
8:00 100% yes i don’t even need it to have foldable screens
@abhinav9974
August 24, 2026 at 2:44 pm
3:31 This has me concerned that Apple might intentionally “throttle” iPhone Ultra by disallowing side-by-side multitasking just to maintain the market for iPads, something that Android OEMs don’t worry about since there isn’t a big market for Android tablets anyway.
@Knowledge77s
August 24, 2026 at 3:26 pm
Waiting on Oppo and honor to release their own in September October right after apple releases their own. Seeing honor fold wide v7 and Oppo having 200mp telephotos and main camera! Huawei just released Pura x View wide 5g coming August 28th, Mate 90 pro max with dual telephoto camera! Plus a Pura x 2, and pura x max 2! Man! Samsung and Apple are so 2020s. Huawei is cooking! It smells good! Honor has a wide coming out, Oppo the same! Snapdragons 8 gen 6. Pura x vie has 7000 mah battery 200g, 50mpx50mpx40 and 15mp front camera! Only those who have limited access to technology buys just apple and Samsung.
Pura x view wide! Honor fold wide v7, Oppo wide fold, Pura x 2, Pura x max and pura x max 2! 50mp, telephoto, main cameras! Light weights! 5nm optimized and 3nm with Kirin 9050 pro. Honor and oppo have snapdragons 8 gen 6! Apple is selling recycled parts. Apple has a foldable already for next version taller and better! Why milk people with poor specs? When Huawei honor and oppo are offering top notch products?
@iapplethis
August 24, 2026 at 3:55 pm
perfect device would be outer screen iphone os, inner screen ipad os with pencil support, usb c connected – macos.
@videobiker9131
August 24, 2026 at 4:01 pm
I had an iPad Pro and be quite honest with you, I didn’t see that much difference between it and the iPad that I currently have. For me the iPad is a convenient tool to have that can do drawing if I ever really wanted to or just allow me to do things with a keyboard like typing up a letter or typing comments instead of using Siri.
@ayomax-510
August 24, 2026 at 4:27 pm
they look like before and after
@nuyou21
August 24, 2026 at 4:54 pm
And as usual, come September, everyone will be telling you that the iPhone Fold is the best thing since sliced bread, and Apple will have also dominated the foldable market too. 🤭
@modemmack
August 24, 2026 at 7:31 pm
I wouldn’t think so. The fanboys will no doubt buy it, but it will 100% just be a phone with a bigger screen and virtually no multitasking features. Otherwise, it might cut into their tablet or laptop market. Classic Apple greed, IMO. 🤷🏿♂️
@crogersMX
August 24, 2026 at 5:28 pm
Solid talking points. More videos like this, please.
@perhapsme988
August 24, 2026 at 5:40 pm
Most iPads get replaced about 5-7 years. iPhone replacement cycle is 3-5 years. It’s 2 years difference.
Foldable phone with heavy uses of screen and dual uses, will have battery life shortened very early. Frankly 3 year replacement cycle will be the norm for foldable.
The money spent for average non-business users will be much higher over time. But it’s a compromise product.
I will not buy one. I will get a combo iPhone pro and iPad.
The only foldable that makes sense is foldable 11 or 13 inch iPads. This is purely for convenience sake only.
@TrainerAshNZ
August 24, 2026 at 5:49 pm
Just too much i this i that i other. Staying with my Samsung thanks.
@JoseZuniga-b1k
August 24, 2026 at 5:58 pm
Almost good. Almost good. Nothing will ever be good enough for anyone. GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDy!!!!
@AtibaMBenjamin
August 24, 2026 at 6:09 pm
I’ll just be happy with my Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra 😁
@modemmack
August 24, 2026 at 7:28 pm
While I’d never get either at their current price, the Samsung Fold will definitely be more useful, since Samsung isn’t bricking the phone’s ability to be a tablet. Apple will, as always, make sure that it’s just a phone with a bigger screen and extremely limited multitasking.
@jrrichards9392
August 24, 2026 at 6:46 pm
This video could have been 4 mins
@PrestoMoto02
August 24, 2026 at 7:21 pm
There’s a reason they are releasing an oled iPad mini, they will say the iPhone ultra is like an iPad mini and an iPhone pro in one
@gerardobetancourt8384
August 24, 2026 at 8:14 pm
Apple has been twisted since Jobs left.
@robertladdieanderson6085
August 24, 2026 at 8:16 pm
16:54 of waste!!
@BlairSlavin
August 24, 2026 at 9:45 pm
Look at you two, peculiar name to look like each other. One lost of a lot of weight a while ago, now the other one seems to be slimming down too. I’d say you two are good for each other
@BlairSlavin
August 24, 2026 at 9:49 pm
I got the Apple Watch Ultra because the battery was so big. And the action button, it was nice to have access to the flashlight since I use that all the time. Now that it sounds like the new Apple Watch regular is gonna be able to last around 24 hours on a charge. I’m getting rid of my ultra and will go to a lighter watch. So definitely not a status symbol for me. And I’m holding out for the iPhone Air with two cameras and longer battery life, and then I’m gonna simplify my phone selection down to that. I like the idea of the folding phone if I were to utilize it as my Kindle, but it ultimately would just become my way of watching YouTube more, and I don’t need that
@chinito77
August 24, 2026 at 10:41 pm
If the iPhone ultra ever gets a “Dex” function, the iPad is done for. Why carry two devices? Apple can easily create a bigger sized version in the future to fill the void of the iPad Pro. We only need one gadget for the go and one for home or office use. That is the future we will see.
@GoogleVideoMan
August 25, 2026 at 12:00 am
💃🏼 🕺 🪩 💃🏼 🕺 💃🏼 🕺
@zapatosrotoss
August 25, 2026 at 12:26 am
Like the idea of the foldable, however, I WILL NOT PAY more than $1700 for it, so I guess I will never have one. I will keep my 13 pro max ‘till the end of time 👍🏽
Amen
@MastermindJP
August 25, 2026 at 1:34 am
Two guys sound like school girls, I like this I like that 😂
@DeannaAllison
August 25, 2026 at 3:58 am
More than $2K for a phone? No thanks.
@minimalist0703
August 25, 2026 at 4:48 am
Discontinue the Pro Max, and replace it with the Fold or Ultra. Stop the iPad mini also. Ternus should simplify the entire product line-up. This would be mine:
iPhone: Base model, Pro, Ultra.
iPad: Base model (Air) and Pro.
Macbook: Neo and Pro. Discontinue the Macbook Air and give all its features to the Neo. Raise it to 700-749 dollars and people will still buy it like hot cakes.
@hruntingson
August 25, 2026 at 8:01 am
phones/tablets are laptop hardware capable yet missing full laptop software capabilities. People are used to having a device on their person almost 100% of their time. Apple could do a portable device to rule them all. But will they risk losing profit on multiple devices. It should be allowed to do Neo level focused productivity at least to carry that price point.
@noyu8
August 25, 2026 at 9:49 am
What does he mean a folding phone would kill the iPad that’s like comparing apples to a beluga whale. this phone is expected to be $2000. An iPad is 300. Also an iPad is like five times bigger than a folding phone so I don’t really understand the comparison logic unless he’s solely comparing it into an iPad mini, which lets be honest it’s not consumers that are buying that device. It’s mostly businesses and employees using it for their job. It was stated that if it wasn’t for airline pilots, it probably would’ve already discontinued it, but I know other industries have been utilizing them. My point is I think he’s completely off his rocker for thinking if this phone is running iPadOS, it would kill off the iPad. I don’t think there’s any logical reason to think that to be the case.
@AxTenTen
August 25, 2026 at 10:33 am
IPhone ❌️
IBend ✅️
@Galvji
August 25, 2026 at 11:22 am
Will there be iFold kids? 😂😂😂
@LungYang
August 25, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Definitely not buying 1st gen.
@weekendwarrior8179
August 25, 2026 at 2:49 pm
The form factor is awesome. Using fold the 8 is much more pocketable. The issue is movies still have blank bars that makes the screen no different in size from a candy bar phone.
@weekendwarrior8179
August 25, 2026 at 2:57 pm
@15:00 Samsung tab already charges magnetically on the back of it
@Knightairman1
August 25, 2026 at 4:23 pm
I say this replaces the mini. It won’t replace the larger iPad. I’m on my 4th Samsung foldable in the 8. I love the fold. It’s 1 device that I can travel without taking 3 things on the plane with me.
@JohnMSawyer
August 25, 2026 at 7:55 pm
If Apple is still working on an all-display foldable touchscreen Macbook with no physical keyboard, it seems they’ll be learning some things for its design from their experiences with the foldable iPhone.