Apple's first foldable phone, the "iPhone Ultra," set to debut at its September fall event, is already facing a severe supply chain crisis before its official launch.

According to foreign media reports, due to manufacturing yield and supply chain issues, the iPhone Ultra will not be released simultaneously in dozens of countries and regions as previous iPhone models have been. Instead, Apple will adopt a phased regional rollout strategy, with the initial stock prioritizing the US market.

The core reason for this situation points to the foldable phone's most critical component: the hinge. To achieve a "nearly crease-free" folding experience, Apple has used liquid metal material in the iPhone Ultra's hinge, which is 2.5 times stronger than titanium alloy. However, this material is extremely difficult to process. The ultra-fast cooling die-casting process has a very low tolerance for error, and even slight temperature control deviations can produce internal micro-cracks.

Supply chain data shows that the current mass production yield of the liquid metal hinge assembly is far below Apple's internal threshold of 85%. In addition to the hinge, the assembly process for the new flexible screen is also highly complex, with gaps in the delivery of some components. Quality issues have also surfaced during testing of production units, further reducing the number of finished devices that can be shipped.

Apple has encountered "more difficulties than expected" in production verification testing. The original plan was to begin mass production in June 2026, which was then delayed to early August, and has now been postponed again. Data from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shows that the assembly shipment volume for the iPhone Ultra in the second half of 2026 is expected to be around 7 million to 8 million units, with only 500,000 to 1 million units shipped in the third quarter (the initial launch period).

In comparison, the estimated total shipments for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in the same third quarter are approximately 20 million to 22 million units. The initial stock of the iPhone Ultra will be less than one-tenth of that of the flagship models in the same period, making its scarcity far exceed that of regular flagship models.

According to media leaks, Apple's foldable phone will adopt a horizontal book-style inward-folding design. When unfolded, the internal screen measures 7.76 inches with a resolution of 2713x1920, and a screen ratio close to 4:3, offering a visual experience comparable to the iPad mini. In terms of hardware, the iPhone Ultra will be equipped with a 2nm A20 Pro chip from TSMC, a standard 12GB of RAM, and Apple's self-developed C2 5G baseband.

Pricing is widely expected to start between 14,999 yuan and 15,999 yuan for the Chinese mainland version, with the top-tier model potentially exceeding 20,000 yuan, making it the most expensive iPhone product Apple has ever released.