It's less than 48 hours until Apple's “Surprise and shine” event, where new CEO John Ternus will almost certainly introduce the brand's first folding phone. There's been a lot written about the so-called iPhone Ultra, and as a tech fan, it promises to be an incredibly exciting device.
Unfortunately, much like the Apple Vision Pro (also an exciting device), this isn't likely to be a product for mass adoption among Apple users. Rumors suggest the price for the iPhone Ultra could start at $1,999, which already places this out of the reach of many.
Secondly, Apple has reportedly had to make some significant trade-offs against the Pro models to achieve the design and battery life it is no doubt aiming for. One of these is the widely reported claim that the Ultra will only have two rear-facing cameras, similar to the iPhone Air.
If you use your phone mostly for productivity and web browsing, you'll likely choose the convenience of an unfolded larger display over a telephoto lens. But if your primary reason for picking an iPhone is the camera performance, this could leave you wanting.
However, in my case, there's another potential drawback that gives me reason to pause over Apple's first foldable phone.
No more Action button?
Since the arrival of the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023, the Action button has become one of my favorite iPhone features. I use it to launch the flashlight, identify songs, and, of course, silence the phone in the same way as the old alert slider used to do. The Action button is also one of the reasons I love my Apple Watch Ultra 2 so much: I can use it to quickly start a workout and add segments, no need for fiddly touchscreen swiping.
And yet, the rumors suggest the iPhone Ultra will ditch the Action button because it likely adds additional bulk to a device that needs to be the thinnest iPhone ever. According to the latest rumors, the iPhone Ultra will come in at under 5 mm in thickness and undercut the iPhone Air’s impressive 5.64mm chassis.
When closed, the iPhone Ultra is believed to sit around 9mm to 9.5mm thick. And Weibo leaker Instant Digital (via MacRumors) claims Apple has put the motherboard on the right side of the iPhone Ultra and decided to move the volume buttons to this side instead of the usual left. That means the company doesn't need to run cables underneath the display and can therefore save on valuable internal space. The Action button, therefore, doesn't make the cut.
This would make the iPhone Ultra the first iPhone ever to not feature either an Action button or a physical mute switch
This would make the iPhone Ultra the first iPhone ever to not feature either an Action button or a physical mute switch. As someone who's always loved those little hardware add-ons, I feel pretty conflicted about dubbing this phone an "Ultra" when there's such an obvious omission. If I were going to pay that much for the best iPhone, I'd want every possible hardware feature at Apple's disposal.
Of course, I may be pleasantly surprised when the event kicks off tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. / 6:00 p.m. BST and Apple proves me completely wrong. Early rumors claimed Apple was ditching MagSafe too, and now that appears to not be the case. So I hold out hope that Apple's Action button lives on in the iPhone Ultra.
Meanwhile, stay tuned to our Surprise and Shine live blog for the last-minute news ahead of the event.
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