Honor's new Robot Phone is finally official. After first teasing the device last year and then showing it off at MWC, the company has finally taken the wraps off its ambitious new smartphone at a launch event in China. The Honor Robot Phone goes on sale starting August 20, priced at RMB 9,999 (around $1,480). Sadly, there's no word on a global launch just yet.

The big highlight, of course, is the gimbal-mounted camera on the back. It promises much better stabilization and many of the features you'd expect from a dedicated handheld gimbal camera, while still giving you all the hardware and features of a flagship smartphone.

But does having a dedicated gimbal built into your phone actually make it better at shooting video than the iPhone 17 Pro Max? I put the two against each other to find out.

Honor has a hardware advantage the iPhone simply can't match

Right off the bat, the Honor Robot Phone has one pretty obvious advantage: it has an actual three-axis gimbal built into the back of the phone.

The 200MP f/1.6 camera sits on a motorized gimbal that can physically move around, and using it almost feels like having something like a DJI Osmo Pocket 4 built right into your phone.

The difference in stabilization isn't night and day. The iPhone 17 Pro Max already records incredibly stable video out of the box. Plus, you can also switch to Action mode if you need even more stabilization.

But put footage from the two phones side by side while walking, and you can definitely notice the difference. The Honor Robot Phone handles movement better, with the physical gimbal helping smooth out those little movements as you walk.

But stabilization is only part of the advantage. The bigger difference for me is subject tracking. The Honor Robot Phone lets you lock onto a person while recording, and the gimbal physically moves to keep that subject in the frame. Of course, there's only so far it can rotate before your subject moves completely out of view, but within that range, it keeps track of the subject pretty well in my testing.

And that's something you simply can't do on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. There's no option to lock onto a subject and have the camera follow them as they move.

I can already think of plenty of situations where this would be useful. If you're recording yourself during a gym session, for example, you could leave the Robot Phone in one place, lock the camera onto yourself, and let the gimbal follow you as you move around. The same applies when you're recording yourself outdoors or simply filming someone else without constantly having to reposition the phone.

But the iPhone still wins in a few important areas

The Honor Robot Phone works great in most camera-related scenarios, but there are still a few areas where the iPhone 17 Pro Max came out ahead during my testing, particularly in low light. The Robot Phone introduced noticeably more noise in darker conditions, while the iPhone handled the same conditions much better.

There's also a noticeable difference when shooting vertical video. Yes, the Robot Phone can record vertically, but the 200MP sensor itself remains horizontally oriented. The sensor physically doesn't rotate, which means the phone crops into the landscape image to create a vertical frame.

As a result, you're getting roughly 2.8K resolution rather than true 4K vertical footage. The iPhone 17 Pro Max doesn't have that limitation and can shoot vertical video at up to 4K 120fps.

For someone who shoots a lot of short-form content, that's not a small compromise. And probably the biggest reason I wouldn't say Honor has outright beaten the iPhone for video just yet.

But apart from somehow fitting an entire gimbal camera into a smartphone, what impressed me most about the Robot Phone is that Honor hasn't sacrificed the rest of the flagship experience to make room for it.

You still get a 200MP periscope telephoto camera with 2.7x optical zoom and a 50MP ultrawide alongside the gimbal-mounted main camera. Honor has also somehow squeezed in a massive 7,060mAh battery, despite the phone being smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro Max in terms of overall dimensions. And you also get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 under the hood, which means the performance shouldn't be an issue either.

I still can't say whether the Honor Robot Phone is a better overall video-recording device than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. That's something that will require a lot more testing. But when it comes to things like stabilization and subject tracking, the Robot Phone can do things the iPhone physically can't.

Overall, at $1,480, the Robot Phone seems like a seriously impressive package. It's just a shame you won't officially be able to buy one in the U.S.

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Now that we’re getting closer to the Apple September event and the launch of Apple’s first foldable iPhone there’s a sudden debate over what Apple may call the device.

For several months, the Apple rumorsphere had settled on the iPhone Fold moniker, but since this spring the name iPhone Ultra started to gain a lot more traction. Now Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach has thrown cold water on the “Ultra” name.

The 'Ultra' debate

Max Weinbach wrote on X that “I still don’t believe the foldable iPhone will be called the iPhone Ultra. It makes no sense to me given the other Ultra branding Apple has. It does not seem Ultra.”

Weinbach continued, saying that the foldable iPhone would “be lesser than but unique compared to the Pro” and that it “is not an Apple Ultra-product.”

Carolina Milanesi, another analyst with Creative Strategies, chimed in on X. She wrote that "to some extent this is like the Neo a new category and the name Ultra would be a poor descriptor of what you are buying. Apple might not want to call the iPhone Fold or the iFold but that is what it is really."

However, Mark Gurman, who has been covering rumors around the foldable iPhone for years for Bloomberg, wrote back on X that “Everyone calls it the Ultra internally. We’ll see what happens.”

iPhone Fold trade-offs

Based on the reporting up until now, the iPhone Ultra/Fold will be missing some features compared to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

For example, the foldable iPhone is expected to feature just dual rear cameras. So you wouldn’t get a telephoto zoom. This may be due to the shorter and squatter design versus iPhone Pros

It’s also worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 has just two rear cameras and doesn’t feature a telephoto zoom either. Yet that hasn’t stopped the device from being the most popular pre-order model by far in Samsung’s lineup.

In addition, the iPhone Fold is tipped to feature Touch ID for unlocking the device, while the iPhone 18 Pros should continue to offer Face ID.

Other iPhone Ultra trade-offs based on the leaks could include the lack of an Action button, a smaller battery versus the iPhone 18 Pros and the possible omission of MagSafe magnets in order to achieve a thin design.

Why this could be a true iPhone Ultra

Despite lacking some features versus the iPhone 18 Pro series that could undermine an iPhone Ultra Name, the foldable iPhone could live up to that name in other ways.

For starters, the iPhone Ultra is tipped to have the largest iPhone screen ever at 7.8 inches when open. Compare that to the 6.9 inches for the rumored iPhone 18 Pro Max.

This larger display would be like having an iPad mini in your pocket. And this would include both split-screen multitasking and the ability to run apps with dual-pane layouts. Yes, the iPhone Ultra is expected to borrow app layout elements from iPadOS while still running iOS 27.

The iPhone Ultra’s main display is also expected to be crease-free or very close to it, thanks in part to Apple’s rumored liquid metal hinge and other innovations. Though I’ll be curious to see how it stacks up to the Flex Titanium display on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series.

When closed, the iPhone Ultra would give you a compact design with a 5.5-inch cover display, but it would be wide enough for comfy typing and running all your favorite apps.

What about the iPhone Ultra price?

The iPhone Ultra price rumors certainly sound ‘Ultra’ to me, with some expected Apple to charge as much as $2,500 for the device. The low-end estimate is $2,000.

By comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is $1,899 and the Fold 8 Ultra $2,099.

And it’s worth keeping in mind that Apple is expected to hike the price on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max due to the ongoing component shortage.

Bottom line

Right now I’m betting that the iPhone Ultra name will stick for Apple. Yes, you’re giving up some features compared to the Pro iPhones, but I think incoming Apple CEO John Ternus can justify the “Ultra” based on the unique experience it’s trying to deliver.

The big question for me is what Apple might wind up calling the iPhone 20 next year for what will be the 20th anniversary iPhone. That device is expected to feature a radical new all-glass design with close to zero bezels.

So Apple needs to decide if that device will be Ultra or if it’s the foldable. Or just go with a completely different name for the iPhone 20. We'll find out if the iPhone Ultra name is right likely on Sept. 9, and we'll be there at the Apple event to bring you all the news and our hands-on impressions.

More from Tom's Guide

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The price hike could be even bigger than we thought. A new report from Counterpoint Research released today indicates that the iPhone 18 Pro models could be way more expensive than we previously expected.

"A price increase on the new iPhones is inevitable," the report ominously begins. Though it notes that the question is whether or not Apple will eat some of the costs or pass higher prices along to customers.

For comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max reportedly costs Apple around $500 to build. The BoM for the iPhone 18 Pro Max could cost closer to $1,000.

Like every other price increase in the last year, any bump for the iPhone is thanks to increased component costs. The largest culprit is the ongoing memory shortage due to the AI boom.

Counterpoint estimates that bill of materials (BoM) for the iPhone 18 Pro Max in the 12GB and 1TB configuration is increasing by $300, compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the same form. Lower storage capacities options and the Pro models could see between $200 and $250 increases.

If Apple were to hold costs as is, we could see price increases between $250 and $350 for the next iPhone. That's a massive.

Sticking with the 1TB Pro Max, the current iPhone 17 model costs $1,599. This means the iPhone 18 Pro Max could cost between $1,849 and $1949.

Per Counterpoint, the question is whether or not Apple wants to protect its "gross margins" compared to previous generations.

Apple has options

There is some good news; Apple could reduce a potential price hike with several different tactics.

The company is pretty aggressive when it comes to negotiating component pricing, even when the company has to "reluctantly" raise prices. Apple will likely renegotiate pricing on non-memory components.

As an example, MacRumors reported today that Apple has secured lower prices for the OLED displays on the iPhone 18 Pro models. The potential price only went down by $10 from $120 to $110, but every little bit counts.

Additionally, Apple has rolled out the new Apple Upgrade program, which enables users to lease iPhones and other Apple devices. This results in a lower monthly fee and allows you to upgrade at the end of your lease.

Counterpoint suggests that Apple will likely institute tiered pricing for the iPhone 18 series, with the lower-tier storage models getting smaller price bumps. Meanwhile, the higher storage variants, which Counterpoint says are more popular among its "affluent and mature user base" could see higher prices.

Again, it all depends on if Apple is trying to protect its gross margins or not. If it is, then we'll see simpler, flatter increases across the board. If not, then variable pricing across the different storage capacities could give Apple more flexibility.

We'll know more when Apple launches the series this coming September. For more, see our Apple September event preview.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro pre-order date just tipped — here's when you can get yours
• 3 big ways the iPhone Ultra could beat the Galaxy Z Fold 8
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The official iOS 27 launch should be arriving at some point next month, just ahead of the Apple September event and the reveal of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. That doesn't necessarily mean that the software is ready just yet, and the release of iOS 27 developer beta 5 proves that Apple is still adding features and refining the software.

From new app icons and new Siri expressive voices to improved search, here's everything new in iOS 27 beta 5.

Updated app icons

Some of the Apple app icons have had new Liquid Glass designs, including Safari, Siri, Settings, the App Store, preview and Remote. Changes include brighter blues and more detailed compass arrows for Safari, while the Siri app looks more like the actual Siri bubble that opens when you speak to the AI.

App Store and Settings have had some extra translucency, Remote has some extra details, while Preview has an all-new look.

Apple has updated only a handful of app artwork throughout the iOS 27 beta, but it's certainly possible more tweaks could be on the way.

New Siri AI expressive voices

Siri AI's expressive voices have been expanded yet again. This time Apple has customisable Pace and Expressivity to all seven American voices and the four British voices.

Just remember that this feature is only available for iPhones with at least 12GB of RAM, which is so far the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Ultra should be added to this list.

Liquid Glass slider

The Liquid Glass slider is very helpful, but if you ever looked at it and went "that isn't transparent enough for my liking," then you're in luck. The clearest option on the slider is now even clearer than it was before, which should make it a little easier to see details behind your on-screen bubbles.

Create a Pass outside the U.S.

Apple Wallet's Create a Pass feature is no longer exclusive to the U.S. and is available in other regions. To find it simply open Apple Wallet, tap the + icon at the top of the screen and select Create a Pass. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

Wallet, along with Photos and Music, also has a new splash screen telling you exactly what's changed in iOS 27.

Search

The Search and Ask features are getting new animations in iOS 27 beta 5, and the suggestions bar will show up immediately rather than a few seconds behind the bar itself. Apple's also letting users decide whether the search feature should include App results, and if so whether they want to see four or eight at a time.

Last update time

If you've ever wondered when your last iOS update was, the iOS 27 beta now tells you exactly when it happened. Head to the Software Update section of the General menu in the Settings app, and tap the More Details link at the bottom of the on-screen message

iOS 27 beta 5: Other updates

Contacts with a company name attached will now display that company in your contacts list — making it easier to keep tabs of all the different Daves and Debbies you might have in your phone.

Control Center has stopped showing cellular information if you're connected to Wi-Fi, and the battery section of the Settings app will warn you if a poor cell connection is causing excessive battery drain — which I'm surprised Apple hadn't thought about sooner.

Mail now includes a toggle for the Personalize Smart Replies feature. This is switched off by default, and can be toggled on in the Settings app's Mail section. Finally, Alarms and Timers now have a slightly thicker font in the Clock app — which is definitely welcome.

More from Tom's Guide

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Apple's annual September event is closing in fast, and this year's show could be the biggest Apple has put on for a very long time. In fact, this could be the first time in several years that Apple mixes up its usual release cycle, and not release the standard grouping of four new iPhones.

Not to mention the fact that this event should mark the debut of the foldable iPhone Ultra — the first iPhone of its kind. We still don't know exactly when the foldable is going to be released, but all signs point towards an imminent reveal. Not to mention the fact we're also likely to see new wearables, and maybe even some home-centric devices.

Here's what you need to know about Apple's September event, and what to expect

Apple September Event: When is it?

Apple is a creature of habit, and usually holds its iPhone launch event during the second week of September — typically on a Tuesday. That isn't always the case, though, and Apple events have been moved around to avoid clashing with major calendar events, such as Labor Day and the anniversary of 9/11.

Under normal conditions, this year's Apple event would fall on September 8, but since Labor Day is on Monday 7, it's likely that Apple will push the event back to September 9. This has happened in the past, and the reasoning is that Apple doesn't want to ask attendees to travel on a holiday weekend. For example, the iPhone 14 launched on Wednesday September 7, following Labor Day on Monday 5, and that'll likely be the case this year too.

As for pre-orders Mark Gurman at Bloomberg notes that they may also be pushed back by a day. Normally iPhone pre-orders open on the Friday immediately following the iPhone event. But since that day falls on September 11 this year, Gurman believes that things will be pushed to Saturday September 12.

That's what Apple has done in the past, and there's little reason to think it would do things differently this year.

iPhone 18 Pro & Pro Max

The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are the two phones that most people watching the Apple September event will end up buying. They're actually being released this year, unlike iPhone 18, and should be priced in a way that makes them more accessible than iPhone Ultra.

However, they're likely to be more expensive, due to the ongoing RAM and memory shortages.

We don't anticipate major updates to this year's Pro-tier iPhones; the design should look more or less the same as last year. That said, there are going to be more than a few hardware upgrades if the leaks are to be believed. That includes larger batteries, a variable aperture camera lens, the A20 Pro chipset and a range of new colors.

The Dynamic Island is expected to shrink even further, though the fabled under-display Face ID is apparently eluding us for at least another year.

iPhone Ultra

The biggest reveal of the September Apple event is expected to be the foldable iPhone Ultra. While there are still a lot of things we still don't know for sure, the leaks have given us a pretty good idea of what to expect from the first foldable iPhone.

First is that the design is set to be more passport-shaped, like Galaxy Z Fold 8, complete with a 7.8-inch foldable display and a 5.4-inch cover screen. The build is expected to blend aluminum and titanium, with a thickness somewhere between 4,5 and 4.8mm when unfolded. This would make the Ultra the thinnest iPhone ever made.

The rear is expected to come with a pair of 48MP cameras, horizontally positioned like the back of the iPhone Air, alongside two separate 24MP selfie cameras — one for each screen. Other features include a 4,883 mAh battery, Apple's C2 modem, an A20 chipset and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner in the power button.

Apple has reportedly eliminated the display crease, but we'll have to wait and see how successful it's really been. Samsung and Oppo have only had some level of success doing the same thing.

The downside is that the iPhone Ultra is expected to be very expensive, and could cost as much as $2,500 for the cheapest variant. The number of units on sale is expected to be limited at launch too, which means there probably wouldn't be enough to go around if the price tag were considerably lower.

Apple Watch Series 12 & Ultra 4

On the wearable front, Apple is expected to offer two new models in the form of Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Less is known about these devices compared to the upcoming iPhones, but there have been plenty of rumors to give us an idea.

As it turns out, we shouldn't expect any major upgrades this year. Apple is reportedly focussing on performance-based upgrades, though there are murmurs that Apple could offer a new kind of band attachment. Though this would almost certainly mean older Apple Watch bands are incompatible with the newer models.

It's also rumored that Apple will offer a Ceramic case option for the first time in several years, alongside a bunch of new health and fitness-related upgrades — which is par the course for Apple Watch progress. We can probably expect better integration with Siri AI as well, given how big a presence she's been with iOS 27 beta and the iPhone.

Other possible products

The Apple event could feature more than just iPhones and smartwatches, if the rumors are to be believed. We don't expect to see any news about upcoming MacBooks, since new models typically get their own launch event later in the year, but there are possible home-centric devices that could be released.

Possible reveals include a brand new Apple TV 4K, since the last model was first released way back in 2022 and we're overdue for some kind of upgrade — even if it's only performance-based. Mark Gurman also believes that a new HomePod mini could make an appearance, perhaps alongside the long-rumored Apple smart home hub.

The hub has reportedly been ready for a while, but lacked the necessary Siri AI upgrades to make it fully functional. With Siri AI now out in the world that's no longer an issue, even if Apple's chatbot will technically still be in beta following the public release of iOS 27.

What about iPhone 18?

Some of you may be wondering why there's been no mention of the iPhone 18, with all focus being on the Pro and Ultra models. That's because, according to all the leaks and reports, Apple isn't going to reveal the iPhone 18 during the September event.

Instead it's apparently being held back until early 2027, where it will reportedly be revealed alongside iPhone Air 2 and iPhone 18e. Personally, I think it's rather a strange decision to release the standard model so late, and alongside the cheaper E-series phone, but it's not like Apple plans its big releases around the opinion of one guy.

So those of you that aren't interested in buying an iPhone Pro, or the foldable iPhone Ultra, are going to have to wait a few more months before you get the opportunity to upgrade. Though that isn't always a bad thing, considering the price hikes that are expected to hit the incoming iPhone models.

More from Tom's Guide

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Update (Aug. 8, 26): Bloomberg's Mark Gurman dropped a report this morning claiming that the all-glass iPhone 20 is not canceled. "Apple Inc. is still planning to offer a glass-centric overhaul of the iPhone for the device’s 20th anniversary," Gurman said.

Apple's designs are reportedly "mostly locked in" and in advanced testing a year in advance, barring any mishaps. Gurman noted that the design will feature some metal holding the two glass halves of the phone together. The iPhone 20 is supposed to be seamless, it's unclear if this metal band will be visible or not.

Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone could be less exciting next year. Today, Jefferies analyst Edison Lee released a new report that downgraded Apple from sell to hold in his stock recommendations.

The report, "Roadmap to Higher-Priced iPhone Looks Challenging; Downgrade to UNPF," claims that Apple has canceled the all-glass version of the iPhone 20 due to "low yield."

"Apparent cancellation of the 20th anniversary all-glass iPhone is a big setback to raising iPhone's ASP and margin in the medium term," Lee wrote in the report. This means when Apple tests manufacturing the new phone, only a small amount of its test batches have proven viable.

Lee views this as a "major setback" for Apple's plans to sell more expensive iPhones to protect itself against rising memory costs. Apple has been reluctant to really blame memory costs for the recent rising prices, but it's clearly a factor.

Despite this, Lee and other analysts appear cautiously optimistic about Apple's long-term outlook, per TipRanks.

iPhone Ultra and iPhone 19 Pro Max insights

Lee's report suggests that Apple will return to the iPhone 19 nomenclature next year, not iPhone 20, but the Pro Max would get an upgrade to 16GB of RAM from 12GB.

Unfortunately, that could mean higher prices. Lee suggests that the forthcoming iPhone Ultra could cost as high as $2,199 for the 256GB storage version, while the 2TB model could be $3,099 based on estimates.

The Pro Max could go up by $100.

What the iPhone 20 is supposed to feature

The 20th anniversary edition is supposed to feature at least eight major upgrades. The biggest design change is a bezel-less, quad-curved display seamlessly attached to the glass and ceramic back panel. The Pro and Pro Max models would come in 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch sizes.

It could also feature a larger 200MP main camera, on par with Samsung's Ultra Galaxy S series. Additionally, with Samsung finally adding silicon-carbon batteries, it's rumored that Apple could also test out the next tech next year.

One of the more intriguing rumors is that Apple will get rid of the speaker grill on the bottom of the iPhone 20. Instead, "vibration technology" would push out sound. We may see this in the rumored OLED iPad mini that is supposed to launch this fall.

What's next?

Honestly, we don't know.

Lee's supply chain report doesn't reveal how Apple will pivot, just that the design was canceled. At its simplest, this means next year could just be another version of the iPhone 17 Pro design that is expected to continue with the forthcoming iPhone 18 Pro models.

We know Apple will want to do something to celebrate the 20th anniversary, but it might not be the big design revamp that came with the iPhone X for the 10th anniversary.

It all comes down to new CEO John Ternus as he finally takes the reins from Tim Cook. Navigating the RAM crisis and an iPhone redesign is a tough first assignment, but it should give us an idea of how Ternus' term will go.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro pre-order date just tipped — here's when you can get yours
• iOS 27 finally gives you total control over your iPhone lock screen — here's what to change first
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Apple's September event could be the biggest for the company in years as it readies to launch its first foldable phone. And now we have a very good idea of when the event will take place — and when pre-orders could begin.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the Apple event will see an avalanche of new products, from the iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro to the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. We could even see a new Apple TV box and HomePod mini. But there could be a shift in new iPhone pre-orders this year.

Apple September event date (and why iPhone Ultra is the star)

As reported by Gurman, the Apple September event will take place during the second week of September, likely landing on Wednesday, September 9.

Labor Day this year falls on Monday, September 7th. It would not make sense to have people traveling on a national holiday, so moving the Apple event to the middle of the week makes sense.

This will be the first Apple event helmed by incoming CEO John Ternus, and the biggest launch by far is expected to be the iPhone Ultra (aka iPhone Fold). This will be Apple's foldable phone, and based on all of the rumors it's expected to have a short and squat passport-like design similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

The front display on the iPhone Ultra is tipped to be 5.4-5.5 inches and the internal display 7.8 inches. The foldable iPhone will reportedly pack dual rear 48MP cameras (so no telephoto), Touch ID and a big 4,883 mAh battery.

The iPhone Fold is also rumored to eliminate the crease, though it remains to be seen if Apple can go even further than Samsung and its Flex Titanium technology.

iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro pre-order date and possible release date

Typically, the pre-order date for the new iPhone is the Friday after the Apple September event, but this year that would be Sept. 11. And since this will be the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack, Gurman writes that Apple will push back the iPhone Ultra and iPhone 18 Pro pre-order date to Saturday, Sept. 12.

If this date winds up being legit, it's likely that the actual release date of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be either Friday, Sept. 18 or Saturday Sept. 19. It just depends on whether Apple wants the pre-order period to be a full week or not.

However, it's possible that the iPhone Ultra release date my not come until October, as there have been conflicting reports about possible production delays for Apple's first foldable iPhone. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max should still be on target for the typical September release date cadence.

The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are rumored for a new variable aperture camera (for greater depth of field control), faster A20 chip, new dark cherry color, smaller dynamic island and a larger battery (at least for the Max).

The regular iPhone 18 is not expected to launch until the first half of 2027.

More from Tom's Guide

• 3 big ways the iPhone Ultra will beat Galaxy Z Fold 8
• iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max — 5 biggest rumored upgrades you need to know
• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far

When it comes to streaming movies and TV shows, a larger screen is usually considered the better option. But, that only really works if the screen shape actually conforms to the aspect ratio of the content in question. That's not an issue for most phones or tablet screens, but what about the larger, oddly-shaped foldable displays like the one on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra?

I've been testing the Z Fold 8 Ultra for the past few weeks, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that watching video on the larger display means I also have to contend with large areas of blank space around the video. This can be rather irritating, especially in brighter environments that highlight both the display crease and my own reflection.

But as many people will no doubt point out, there are multiple ways to watch videos on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. There's the cover display which, while narrower than most phones, offers a traditional viewing experience. The foldable display can also be oriented in portrait or landscape modes, and switching between the two flips the aspect ratio.

While this may not seem like a big deal, the Z Fold 8 Ultra isn't a perfect square, and that means the flip also changes how video content sits on your phone. But which mode is the better way to watch stuff? I tested the Z Fold 8 Ultra's three viewing experiences against the iPhone 17 Pro Max to find out.

How I tested the screens

It's easy to load up some content on a screen and rely on vibes alone to make your conclusion, but I took things a step further by actively measuring everything on screen. This started with the screen itself, measuring between the bezels and calculating the amount of screen space that is actually available.

I should caveat at this point that this is only a rough calculation, because all four phones have curved corners. This is less of an issue on the Z Fold 8 Ultra because those curves are very slight. However the iPhone 17 Pro Max's corners are larger and more rounded, which means the total screen area is slightly smaller than the math suggests.

Once the total area of each display was calculated, I got to work streaming, throwing up a bunch of different kinds of content and measuring how much screen space they took up. Content included:

• "X-Men (2000)" (2:39:1) purchased on YouTube
• "X-Men-97" (2:35:1) on Disney Plus
• "The Emperor's New Groove" (16:9) on Disney Plus
• "Scrubs" (2001) (4:3) on Disney Plus
• "Avengers: Endgame" (2:39:1) on Disney Plus
• "Avengers: Endgame IMAX Enhanced Edition" (1:9:1) on Disney Plus
• Various vertical videos on TikTok

I set up each video playing on the four screen types, then measured how large each video was. With that in hand, I was able to work out just how much screen space they actually used, and thus, how much space is just sitting there going to waste. Crucially, this means I can figure out the best option for watching content in something close to a full-screen experience.

I should also note that while a lot of streaming platforms offer a "zoom to fill" option on smart phones and tablets, I have not taken this into account since that essentially crops the video and means you don't see everything that's going on.

iPhone 17 Pro Max

The iPhone 17 Pro Max has roughly 17.6 square inches of screen space available, but it seems as though a bunch of the tested content struggles to fill up that space by default. The most efficient use of the screen comes from TikTok, which takes up 92.94% of the screen. This shouldn't be a huge surprise given the platform's vertical video feed that can take up almost the full length of the screen.

When it comes to horizontal video, the content doesn't fare nearly as well. The worst offender was "Scrubs," though this shouldn't really be a surprise since the early seasons were broadcast in the (then standard) 4:3 aspect ratio. That box-like shape isn't great at filling up wider-screen devices, reflected by the fact it only filled 61.41% of the available space.

Widescreen live action movies didn't do so well either. Both movies have been cropped vertically, and can't take full advantage of the landscape height, but they don't fail to take advantage of the iPhone's width and crop that way as well. In fact, all the movies suffered from this and left at least 1.1 inches of wasted space across both sides of the display. In the end, though, both movies wasted only slightly less space than "Scrubs" did, taking up 61.95% of the usable screen space

The IMAX edition of "Avengers: Endgame" fared a little better, with the IMAX scenes using up more of the vertical space that the standard aspect ratio. Because of this, the movie, along with the bizarrely proportioned "X-Men-97," used up 77.95% of the iPhone's available screen space. This was closely followed by the 16:9 "Emperor's New Groove," with 76.53%, a difference accounted for by a slightly shorter and narrower video.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra (Cover Display)

Looking at the results for the Z Fold 8 Ultra's cover display, and you'll see a couple of oddities. Both "X-Men 97" and the standard edition of "Avengers: Endgame" both took up 100% of the screen space. Which is certainly good, though this made me pause and wonder what's going on.

Checking the measurements of the cover display versus the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I noticed that the video was actually smaller on the iPhone — despite the fact the 17 Pro Max has almost 2.5 extra square inches of available screen space.

Weirder still was the fact that my Google-purchased copy of "X-Men" was smaller than "Endgame," taking up a paltry 53.19% of the screen. They were both the same size on the iPhone, but the Z Fold 8 Ultra decided that the black bars must be preserved for this particular movie. This appears to be a YouTube issue, because X-Men on Disney Plus expanded to the full size of the display, just like Endgame did.

The IMAX version of Endgame obviously came out a little worse, since the taller image requires more space than the 8 Ultra's cover display allows — causing black bars at either side of the screen. That said, it still used up 87.54% of the available screen.

16:9 content like "The Emperor's New Groove" fared a lot worse here, though, since the narrow screen forced the video to shrink at the edges even more than an IMAX movie. Likewise the design meant "Scrubs" left a load more wasted space thanks to its square-ish aspect ratio. Both videos used up a respective 71.55% and 57.74% of the available screen space.

As for TikTok, this result did surprise me. The vertical videos used up all the available width when playing, but they didn't take full advantage of the screen length. Which again, I assume is down to the 8 Ultra's narrow cover display, and means TikTok only used 76.94% of the available screen space.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Foldable Display (Portrait)

The Z Fold 8 Ultra's larger display is the size of two cover displays side by side, which should mean a larger video to watch, right? Well, apparently not. At least not when the phone is in portrait mode. The size of the screen means there is a lot more wasted space, but the videos themselves aren't automatically bigger than they appear on the cover display either.

Both "X-Men-97" and the standard version of "Avengers: Endgame" ended up being smaller than their counterparts on the Ultra's cover display — in terms of height, width and overall area. Both used a respective 41.08% and 37.71% of the available screen space.

That only worse performer was X-Men on YouTube, which used up 37.04% thanks to the way YouTube presents the video. That means almost two thirds of the screen is going unused. However, the video itself is larger than what I saw on the 8 Ultra's cover screen and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. So there is still a benefit to using the large screen.

There is an awful lot of wasted screen space watching in portrait mode. "The Emperor's New Groove" only used 47.33% of the screen, while the IMAX edition of "Endgame" took up just over half (50.34%). TikTok also suffered, using up 55.63% and showed off a video that was both shorter and wider than the one from the iPhone.

The major winner here is "Scrubs," thanks to the aspect ratio, which means it took up 67.51% of the screen and offered a much larger overall image than we've seen from it so far.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Foldable Display (Landscape)

The key benefit to watching video in landscape mode is that the entirety of the display crease gets covered up by whatever you're watching, which makes it nearly impossible to see. The other main advantage to watching video this way is that the videos are larger (and less wasteful) than in portrait mode

The biggest winner is again, "Scrubs," or any other older TV show that was filmed with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The show took up 83.74% of the total screen space, over 16% more than it did in portrait mode. This obviously means that the video is noticeably larger, though the standard definition image does not look great if you're getting up close with the screen.

Most of the other videos take full advantage of the extra width, with the only exception being "The Emperor's New Groove," which is about 0.4-inches narrower. However the extra height afforded to 16:9 movie means it uses up 58.33% of the screen, compared to the 46.46% utilized by X-Men and the standard version of "Avengers: Endgame."

"X-Men-97" is 0.2-inches taller in this configuration, meaning its total raises to 50.09%, while the IMAX enhanced edition of "Endgame" fills up 58.88% on account of its extra height.

The only real loser here is TikTok, which is shorter and narrower in landscape mode, and wastes an extra 11% of the screen compared to portrait mode. That also makes sense, since this orientation is wider than it is long, and that means the vertical videos get squashed down compared to viewing in portrait mode.

Verdict

With the exception of TikTok, landscape mode actually seems to have the largest overall video size of all four display configurations, barring one. The way "Avengers: Endgame" is presented on the cover display means it is slightly taller on the outer screen, by one tenth of an inch.

The cover display's aspect ratio means it seems to be uniquely suited to playing live action theatrical releases. Assuming the service you're using actually makes the most of the space, and doesn't do what YouTube did with my copy of X-Men and squashes the whole thing down for no reason.

As for TikTok, it's clear that the Z Fold 8 Ultra's foldable display is not as well-suited to vertical video as non-folding screens. Likewise, those of you that are bothered about black areas of screen around your video, you may want to avoid foldables for the time being. If you need a larger image to watch, you should probably invest in some kind of tablet.

But now the one question I have is this: How different would the results have been if I'd had a Galaxy Z Fold 8 to compare everything to? Samsung has positioned the passport-shaped device as the ideal device for streaming and media after all, but that face-off is going to have to wait.

More from Tom’s Guide

• I used a thermal camera to see how hot the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra gets compared to the Galaxy S26 Ultra — here's what happened
• I tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra vs Galaxy S26 Ultra for 2 weeks — here’s the one I’d buy
• I just tried the new Samsung DeX on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 — and it has one huge upgrade

Rumors about Apple's first foldable phone have been circulating for years, but 2026 is looking to be the year the foldable iPhone Ultra finally breaks cover. Considering the foldable phone space has been pretty small potatoes for almost a decade, this could be a turning point that edges this category closer to the mainstream — and puts Samsung's dominance at risk.

Everything we've heard points to the iPhone Ultra launching alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max during the September Apple event. Based on the rumors, we've heard that the iPhone Ultra will have a short and squat passport-style design, possibly no crease at all, dual rear cameras, Touch ID and more.

Here's everything we've heard about the foldable iPhone Ultra so far.

iPhone Ultra: Rumored specs

iPhone Ultra: Price & release date estimates

The iPhone Ultra is expected to be unveiled at the Apple event this fall, which typically happens during the first or second week of September. The date that seems most likely based on the rumors is Sept. 9, which is two days after Labor Day.

This event should also see the reveal of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, both of which should be released before the end of the month. iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 aren't expected to make an appearance, with reports suggesting they'll be released in early 2027.

There is some debate surrounding the iPhone Ultra's release date. Some sources claim that the phone will arrive around the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro, while others suggest production issues may see the phone arrive later in the year — the same way the iPhone X did in 2017.

Whenever the phone arrives, reports suggest that supply may be limited at first, though this may not be as big an issue considering how much the phone is rumored to cost. Early estimates tipped the phone to cost around $2,000, but issues with supply chains and the rapidly rising cost of components now suggest that the iPhone Ultra price could start from $2,400 to $2,500.

iPhone Ultra: Design

The iPhone Ultra will obviously be like no iPhone that has ever been released, since it will ditch the unibody design in favor of the new folding form factor. A slew of dummy units have shown up online revealing the look and feel of the foldable, with Apple opting for a more passport-style design that is shorter and wider than traditional book-style foldable.

The closest comparable foldable is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which adopts a similar look — but appears to be slightly larger than what we expect from Apple. It's speculated that Apple could utilize titanium to enhance the durability of the iPhone Ultra, while keeping the overall weight low — much as it did with the iPhone Air.

Reports suggest that the foldable display will be around 7.8-inches in size, which is around half an inch smaller than the iPad mini 7, with a 5.5-inch cover display. This would likely mean an aspect ratio close to 4:3, just like iPads and the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which makes the Ultra a hybrid phone/tablet.

It's also been claimed that an open iPhone Ultra could be as thin as 4.5mm, and somewhere between 9 and 9.5mm when closed. This would make it the thinnest Apple device so far, beating the 5.1mm iPad Pro. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is thinner than these dimensions.

The smaller size also means that the phone only seems to have two rear cameras, while the front display will reportedly skip Face ID in favor of adding Touch ID to the power button — similar to the system Apple uses on cheaper iPad models.

Rumors about possible colors suggest that Apple will stick to muted options like black or dark gray, and either silver or white. However, there are rumors that a color similar to iPhone 17 Pro Max's Deep Blue could be available.

iPhone Ultra: Crease-free display?

The iPhone Ultra is also expected to have no visible crease. Apple was reportedly very particular about this, and it rumored to be using the crease-free display as one of the iPhone Ultra's key selling points. Reports suggest this will be reliant on a bunch of design innovations, including a more durable liquid metal hinge, ultra-thin glass, a structural glass mid-frame and optically clear adhesive.

These hardware features will apparently work in tandem to ensure that there won't be a visible crease out of the box, nor will it form with continued use. Meanwhile, Apple has apparently worked to ensure the crease depth is under 0.15mm, with a crease angle below 2.5mm. Lower depth should make the crease less noticeable, while the lower angle should offer a flatter look when the screen is unfolded.

It's unclear as to whether the "crease-free" description holds up to scrutiny. After all, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra was reportedly crease-free, and while the crease is much harder to spot, it is still there.

iPhone Ultra: Performance

We don't know a lot about the performance capabilities of the iPhone Ultra, but it goes without saying that the phone should feature an A20 chipset — which is rumored to be built on TSMC's 2nm process.

The transition from the 3nm process will allow boosted performance from the increased transistor density. Reports suggest that the A20 could be 15% faster than the A19 chips, and 30% more efficient. That means stronger performance, less heat generation and lower energy consumption. The latter is particularly important because it means the large batteries rumored to be in the iPhone Ultra should last even longer.

RAM for the iPhone Ultra is expected to be at least 12GB, simply because that's the minimum needed to utilize the full range of Siri AI features. Any less and features like improved dictation and expressive AI voice styles will not be supported on the foldable — which would be absurd for a $2,500 phone.

iPhone Ultra: Software

The iPhone Ultra is going to have to make major changes to the way iOS handles multitasking, since it's going to have to start splitting apps across a much larger area than ever before. It's a feature that works well on iPadOS, and should make the transfer to the foldable device. Likewise, I'd be surprised if we don't see a menu bar, similar to what is already available on iPads and Samsung Z Fold devices.

The fact that this iPhone Ultra will feature two wildly different screen sizes to normal non-folding devices means app developers will need to ensure their apps are better optimized. Not only for the larger foldable display, but also the smaller cover display. Apple referred to something known as "app adaptability" at WWDC 2026, and it's likely this will play a key role in iPhone Ultra app support.

This concept will likely involve ensuring apps can adjust themselves based on the size of the screen they're on — which will allow them to switch between both iPhone Ultra displays. Hopefully, this ends up being a little more robust than some Android foldable apps, which simply blow up the phone app to take up more screen space.

iOS 27 beta also features references to a "foldstate" and "angledegrees," which all but confirms that iOS 27 will need to be able to detect the exact state of a foldable's hinge. Not only does this suggest the iPhone ultra will automatically transfer contents between screens when the iPhone Ultra is opened (or closed), it also hints at a feature similar to Samsung's Flex Mode.

Flex Mode is able to split the foldable screen into two distinct areas when the hinge is fixed at a 90-degree angle. That way you can do something on one half of the screen, while the other does something completely different. This could be helpful for gaming, with a split between the touch controls and the game itself, or when watching videos on social media.

iPhone Ultra: Cameras

The one common theme with iPhone Ultra leaks is that the rear camera array will only feature two lenses — arranged horizontally on a raised camera bar like the iPhone Air. It's unlikely that either of these will be a telephoto lens, due to the foldable's thin design, which means we're likely to see the traditional pairing of main and ultrawide angle lenses.

Both lenses are expected to offer 48MP resolution, which is par the course for modern iPhone flagships. So don't expect any Samsung-style 200MP cameras on this particular foldable.

Selfie camera rumors are a little sketchy, with some rumors speculating that we could see an under-display camera on the larger folding screen. However, the exterior cover display is likely to be a standard hole-punch design which, in the absence of Face ID hardware, should be a lot smaller than the Dynamic Island pill we've already seen on iPhone 17 Pro. Resolution is tipped to be 24MP on both cameras, should we get two.

iPhone Ultra: Battery

Apple is not really one to brag about the size or makeup of its batteries, so don't expect to hear much about the iPhone Ultra's power supply until we get our first post-launch teardowns. But rumor is that Apple won't scrimp on the battery with the iPhone Ultra, despite rumors of the ultra-thin display.

It's been claimed that the battery could be 4,883 mAh, which would be similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 8's 4,800 mAh.

The question is, what sort of batteries will Apple employ? Samsung recently added silicon carbon batteries to boost the capacity in the Z 8 series of foldables, with the highest being a 5,000 mAh battery in the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Since silicon carbon offers better power density, it could allow Apple to offer such large batteries while maintaining the slim, lightweight profile of the iPhone Ultra.

Then again, Apple may also have a different idea in mind, with rumors suggesting that it could redesign the power systems to be thinner, while simultaneously adopting high-density battery cells. What we should expect to see is the total battery capacity split across to separate battery packs — one on each side of the phone.

References in iOS 27 beta suggest that a future iPhone will have more than one battery, and the Ultra makes the most sense — especially since the split battery is a common design feature in other foldables.

iPhone Ultra: What's it actually going to be called?

The name iPhone Ultra has gained popularity over the last few months, toppling the old "iPhone Fold" nickname everyone had been using. However, as we draw closer to the Apple September event it seems the debate surrounding the name of this device is growing.

Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach doesn't believe that Apple will finally adopt the iPhone Ultra name for the foldable. His reasoning is that "It makes no sense to me given the other Ultra branding Apple has. It does not seem Ultra. It’s lesser than but unique compared to the Pro, that is not an Apple Ultra-product.

Fellow Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi, posted her own two cents, stating that, "to some extent this is like the Neo a new category and the name Ultra would be a poor descriptor of what you are buying. Apple might not want to call the iPhone Fold or the iFold but that is what it is really."

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mark Gurman claims that the phone is referred to as the "Ultra" internally, but admitted that we'll have to "see what happens." In other words, nothing is set in stone just yet, but it's clear Apple employees are making the use of the long-rumored Ultra name.

Personally, I feel as though Ultra is a little more fitting, even if iPhone Fold is a literal description of what this phone is.

Not only is this tipped to be the most expensive iPhone ever made, Apple needs to emphasize that this device isn't just a gimmick. As descriptive as the term "Fold" is, it highlights the foldable nature of the phone while seemingly ignoring everything else. "Ultra" suggests that this is a step beyond the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and should intrigue people about the kind of things this phone can do. Or, at least, that's the way I see it.

We won't know for sure until the iPhone Ultra is unveiled at the Apple event, but until then the consensus is that Apple is opting for the "Ultra" name.

iPhone Ultra: Outlook

As we inch closer to the fall Apple Event, we're forming a much better picture of the iPhone Ultra and the kind of things it should be able to accomplish. Obviously, there are still a bunch of unknowns, and we can't form a concrete opinion until we test the phone for ourselves, but the rumors and leaks paint a fairly positive picture of Apple's very first foldable.

Then again, rumored $2,000+ price could be a major sticking point. While iPhone Ultra demand is expected to be high, the fact that it could cost more than three iPhone 17s may make shoppers think twice, even if the new Apple Upgrade leasing program is able to reduce that monthly cost.

We won't know for sure until Apple actually reveals and releases the iPhone Ultra later this year. Until then keep checking back for all the latest news and rumors about the first-ever Apple foldable.

More from Tom's Guide

• I used a thermal camera to see how hot the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra gets compared to the Galaxy S26 Ultra — here's what happened
• 3 big ways the iPhone Ultra could beat the Galaxy Z Fold 8
• This is the Pixel 11 Pro Fold — and this is when pre-orders officially start

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is getting pretty positive review, and it looks like this wide format device is the shape of foldable phones to come. That includes the iPhone Ultra, which is expected to launch this fall.

Based on the iPhone Ultra (aka iPhone Fold) rumors thus far, it looks like Apple’s device is going to be slightly heavier and thicker but sport a very similar passport-style design. So how is Apple going to stand out, especially with an asking price that could reach $2,400 or $2,500 — at least $500 more than Samsung’s device? Here’s three ways the iPhone Ultra could beat the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

No crease at all?!

Samsung worked to greatly minimize the appearance of the crease on the Fold 8. And the result is indeed impressive.

Thanks to Flex Titanium technology, the Fold 8’s display uses a titanium-alloy film to achieve a more stretchable panel. Meanwhile, a titanium plate supports the display module from beneath, allowing for tighter bonding and eliminating air gaps.

The crease is still there, but it’s less noticeable than on the Fold 7. However, Apple is apparently working on a truly crease-free display for the iPhone Ultra and is reportedly partnering with Samsung Display to make it happen.

Apple is apparently pulling this off by employing liquid metal alloy components inside the hinge mechanism. At the same time, Apple is reportedly working on a laser-drilled display metal plate to redistribute stress evenly across a wider bending zone.

Fully optimized apps

This is likely going to be the biggest difference between the iPhone Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 8. There are plenty of apps that are optimized for the Fold 8’s 7.6-inch display with a dual-pane layout, such as Gmail, Calendar, YouTube and TikTok.

I especially like how you can watch vertical videos on one side while looking at comments on the other on TikTok, but on YouTube Shorts you have to close comments to keep scrolling, which is dumb.

However, there are also several high-profile apps on the Fold 8 that look like stretched-out phone apps. This includes X, with a lot of wasted space on either side of the content area. With Slack, you don’t get a dual-pane layout, which you do get on the iPad mini. And on Instagram, the comments cover the content (for now).

The iPhone Ultra likely won’t have this problem, as it will reportedly offer the same app scaling benefits as iPads, even if it’s still running iOS. Samsung says that Instagram’s layout will get an update sometime between July and August, which is nice, but there will still be lots and lots of apps that will “just work” on the iPhone Ultra on day one.

More efficient chip

If you believe the rumors, the iPhone Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 8 are going to have similar size batteries. The Fold 8 has a 4,800 mAh battery with silicon carbon tech, while the iPhone Ultra is tipped to pack a 4,883 mAh split dual-cell battery that may also use silicon carbon.

So at least on paper the iPhone Ultra and Fold 8 have similar battery capacity. But Apple’s A20 Pro chip could make a big difference. The chip will likely use a 2nm process, making it more efficient than the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor.

That efficiency should turn into more endurance, and the Fold 8 already turned in a very good runtime of 14.5 hours in our battery test. We’ll see how much of a boost the A20 Pro provides.

What about the iPhone Ultra price?

Assuming Apple has these three major advantages over the Galaxy Z Fold 8, there’s still the price to contend with. The latest rumors have the iPhone Fold costing over $2,000 with some estimates putting in the $2,400 to $2,500 range.

That would be as much as $600 more than the $1,900 Galaxy Z Fold 8. But Apple has another secret weapon up its sleeve in the recently announced Apple Upgrade program. It will be able to entice buyers with lower monthly payments to help spread the cost out over time, even though it’s just a glorified leasing program.

iPhone Ultra vs. Galaxy Z Fold 8: Outlook

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 has raised the bar for wide-screen foldables with its super light and thin design, as well as smart AI upgrades like Now Nudge and My FanCam. It’s a very good foldable.

However, the iPhone Ultra could surpass the Fold 8 with an even less noticeable crease, a much better app experience and even longer battery life.

Which foldable would you buy? Let me know in the comments.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review: Pros and cons
• Battery life tested: How the Galaxy Z Fold 8 stacks up
• iPhone Ultra delay leak right after Samsung's triumphant Galaxy Fold 8 launch has me sick of waiting for Apple's foldable

After putting the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra to the test, there’s no denying that Samsung continues to make some of the best foldable phones around. While the Ultra boasts better specs and performance, it’s the wider aspect ratio of the standard Z Fold 8 that continues to feel like the fresher of the two.

Yet, despite evolving the designs to be thinner and lighter — along with creating a much more subtle crease across their displays — there’s still one major problem that Samsung and Google have yet to solve properly: app scaling and dynamic layout adaptation.

Rumors are persistent that Apple will announce its highly anticipated iPhone Ultra foldable alongside or shortly after the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. While much of the industry's focus remains on engineering a nearly invisible display crease, Apple's upcoming foldable could ultimately beat its rivals in the area where Apple shines most: delivering a class-defining software experience.

If Apple wants to avoid the biggest trap in the foldable space, it must deliver a fluid, tablet-native UI transition system — and Samsung’s current lineup is proof of it.

Apple has already proven the importance of software over hardware

The idea that Apple products "work like magic" isn’t just a coincidence — it comes from how the company allows software to define the product. When Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone in 2007, the device lacked features that competing phones had offered for years: there was no 3G connectivity, no physical keyboard, and no stylus.

Yet, it instantly made those rival smartphones obsolete because Apple focused entirely on the user experience. Through fluid multi-touch gestures, smooth kinetic scrolling, and a desktop-class Safari browser, Apple demonstrated why its software was paramount. By prioritizing intuitive software, Apple didn't just compete with Nokia, Palm, and BlackBerry — it completely redefined what a smartphone could be.

And you know what? It could end up doing the exact same thing with the iPhone Ultra.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 is big on multi-tasking, but not so much with layouts

What appeals most to me about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is how it’s a multitasking powerhouse, complete with the ability to run three apps simultaneously side-by-side. While the core value proposition of a book-style foldable is turning a compact cover screen into an expansive inner display, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and other book-style foldables fall short of that promise when opening daily apps.

Too often, unfolding current Android foldables results in apps not scaling properly. TikTok is a perfect example: while it looks fine on the cover screen, black bars flank the app’s layout when unfolded on the main display. Another example is how some games I play, like Age of Origins, end up looking stretched out. Worse yet, to get them to scale correctly, I’m often forced to restart the app entirely.

If that’s not enough, there’s also the issue of apps failing to dynamically scale when switching from portrait to landscape. Sure, native Google apps like Gmail and YouTube reorganize themselves seamlessly regardless of orientation, but the vast majority of third-party apps simply don't — and this frustration is shared across virtually all Android foldables I’ve tested.

iPhone Ultra needs seamless scaling

This is where the iPhone Ultra has the opportunity to completely redefine the foldable landscape. Apple doesn't need perfection in a crease-less display, nor does it need to reinvent multitasking — it simply needs to make app scaling invisible.

Apps shouldn't just blow up to fill space when the iPhone Ultra is unfolded because they should adapt using multi-column, iPad-optimized layouts. The UI needs to dynamically transform into a clean, iPadOS-esque interface instantly. Switching between screens shouldn't force apps to restart or clear from memory just to adjust their layout.

If Apple can enforce this level of adaptive scaling across its app ecosystem the way it did with the iPad, the iPhone Ultra won't just be another foldable — it will be the first one that truly feels complete.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried using the Galaxy Z Fold 8’s MyFanCam on my dogs, but I hit a major wall
• iOS 27 finally fixes the most annoying iPhone workaround we all use
• Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra doesn't have a crease-free display — but it's the closest Samsung has ever got to one

Apple held its third-quarter earnings call today, where the tech giant reported "record" $109 billion earnings, largely driven by a 22% increase in iPhone sales. Despite that, Apple's stock fell 8% based on missed revenue estimates in China and the company's services arm.

Outgoing CEO Tim Cook, in his swan song earnings call, was also questioned by investors about the impact of the ongoing memory crisis on Apple supply and future forecasts.

"We reluctantly raised prices," Cook said, referring to last month's price increases that affected every Apple device except the iPhone.

"We did it because we’re in what I’d categorize as a 100-year flood on memory pricing," Cook continued, repeating an analogy he made a month ago.

What Apple is saying about the memory crunch

During the call, Cook admitted that Apple is facing supply constrains that are affecting iPhone, Macs and iPads, primarily on Macs. Cook asserted several times that this issue was largely driven by surprising amounts of demand.

Both Cook and Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh noted that the supply chain has become less "flexible" which was blamed on nodes for advanced SoCs and that they expected continued high levels of demand.

"We expect the impact from supply chain constraints to increase significantly [in September]," Cook said. In response to an investor Cook said that Apple expects to pay even more for memory through the next quarter.

Investors were only allowed two questions but nearly everyone who spoke used at least one to ask about memory and pricing. Cook repeatedly claimed that the cause of Apple supply constraints is "not a regular supply issue" and instead said it was a demand forecast issue where iPhones and Macs performed "remarkably better than we thought they would."

However, "we’ve got a quarter that we’re going to be scrambling on supply side," Cook told one investor.

The upcoming fourth quarter will tell us a lot about how Apple is dealing with the memory crisis. Price increases might defray rising component costs, and the new Apple Upgrade Program could help the company keep a more constant source of revenue.

Apple still has the iPhone 18 series, new Macs and iPads to release and potentially more. But we're already bracing for a potential $200 price increase for the iPhone 18 Pro models. And a possible $2,500 iPhone Ultra.

More from Tom's Guide

• Is the Apple Upgrade program a good deal or a rip-off? I asked ChatGPT to crunch the numbers and here's the verdict
• New iPhone 20 video reveals the 8 biggest upgrades to expect from the 20th anniversary iPhone
• I knew better than to carry around a naked phone — then my iPhone 17 Pro Max met the asphalt

This week, Apple revealed its new Apple Upgrade Program that lets you lease several of the company's devices, including iPhones, Macs, Apple Watches and iPads.

With fixed 12-, 24 or 36-month terms, you're locked into paying a monthly rate for your chosen device until the term is up or you decide to upgrade. Abandoning the lease early is possible, but there are a number of penalties and fees associated with doing so.

Is the Apple Upgrade Program a good deal versus buying the phone outright or getting it from a carrier? I crunched the numbers, but also turned to ChatGPT to find out if it's a ripoff or worth your dollar.

iPhones and Apple Watches

Here's how much an iPhone or Apple Watch will cost you over a 24-month term. If you want to keep the device at the end of the lease, you'll need to pay the remainder.

Macs and iPads

And here's how it looks for Macs and iPads, which are eligible for a 36-month lease. This table specifically looks at a 24-month lease.

The fine print

There are two big caveats to Apple's leasing program. The first is that, according to the terms of service, if you miss three consecutive payments, Klarna (the company managing the lease) will terminate the contract, and the customer will owe the remaining balance.

The second is that AppleCare+ is not included with the lease. You could roll the dice and not subscribe to AppleCare+ but you are liable for any damage, per the fine print.

"Insurance is not included in your lease, and you may incur damage fees if the device is lost, stolen, or not returned in the condition required by the lease."

AppleCare+ ranges in cost from $2.99 (Watches) up to $9.99 (iPhone) per month depending on your device. There are annual payment options as well.

Here's the iPhone and Watches table again with how much a 24-month lease would set you back with AppleCare+.

As you can see, over two years, the price goes up by a few hundred dollars and in some cases exceeds the initial price of the iPhone or Apple Watch.

Yes, that would be the case if you weren't leasing an iPhone. AppleCare+ is a protection plan that you subscribe to a monthly or annual basis.

However, as mentioned, it may be more necessary for a leased device than one you own because of those potential damage fees. You could also be hit with upgrade fees or substantial termination fees if you try to end the lease early.

What about trade-ins?

Another factor against Apple's lease program is that, because you don't own your device, you won't get any credits for trading in your older device, which could lower your monthly payments to something lower than you would get from the Apple Upgrade program.

Let's take the iPhone 17 Pro as an example.

If you're upgrading from an iPhone 16 Pro, you could get as much as $560 in trade-in value, which would lower the cost to $22.45/month for 24 months.

If you were upgrading from an iPhone 15 Pro, you could get as much as $410 in trade-in value, which would lower your monthly bill to $28.70.

While you can trade in your current phone and get credit in the Apple Upgrade Program, it's a one-time thing, as you wouldn't own your phone from then on.

What ChatGPT had to say

According to ChatGPT, the Apple Upgrade Program is not a rip-off, but it may not be the cheapest way for you to obtain an Apple device.

"For most people it's more expensive than buying and later selling or trading in the device. The biggest winner is Apple, because leasing encourages customers to stay on a continuous upgrade cycle," the AI said.

For those who keep their devices for three or more years not be a good deal, especially since Apple devices tend to retain their resale or trade-in value. Plus, the leasing program means that you don't own the device.

Interestingly, I actually prompted ChatGPT as well as Gemini and Claude and none of them mentioned AppleCare+ beyond noting that it is no longer bundled with the Apple Upgrade Program the way it was with the iPhone Upgrade plan.

Unless you upgrade annually or money isn't an issue for you, Apple Upgrade Program may not be the right fit for you. I'm a major proponent of owning your devices and this program doesn't let you do that until the end of the terms.

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I thought turning my iPhone screen monochrome would be a straightforward, low-stakes experiment. A minor productivity tweak to trim maybe twenty minutes off my daily screen time. I was radically, foolishly wrong.

What I expected to be a mild digital detox turned into two weeks of sensory deprivation, phantom-limb anxiety, and a genuine shock at how my brain relies on color, especially in the middle of summer.

If you want to experience instant disorientation, and ultimately, a profound sense of digital freedom, flip your phone to grayscale on a blazing July afternoon. But consider yourself warned: the transition is an absolute shock to the system.

Before you reach the quiet relief of a quieted mind, you have to survive the initial withdrawal of a world drained of its color.

Summer cast in newsprint

The first three days felt like a slow-motion collision between muscle memory and self-restraint, with my brain throwing a quiet, frantic temper tantrum every time my thumb touched the screen.

Taking photos, in particular, degenerated into a bizarre act of blind faith. Standing on a packed pier, trying to capture the moment where the English coast looks like the Mediterranean, yielded nothing on my screen but a dull, slate gradient. It looked less like a seaside holiday and more like an archival photo of a Victorian industrial dock.

Social media felt completely drained of its pull. We rarely notice how much platforms like Instagram rely on rich warmth and hyper-saturated color to trigger envy, hunger, or idle curiosity. In grayscale, the endless feed loses its hypnotic spell.

I'd open an app purely out of habit, stare at a flat gray wall of content for three seconds, realize my brain wasn't getting the cheap reward it wanted, and close it. Then I'd do it again two minutes later.

They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result, and grayscale definitely caught me red-handed.

The day 7 shift

By the time I hit a week, the constant low-grade frustration completely evaporated, replaced by a strange, liberating quiet. The initial withdrawal phase was over.

My thumb stopped twitching toward the phone every time there was a lull in my day, because my brain had finally registered that the rectangle in my pocket was no longer a source of instant entertainment.

With screen time down over sixty percent, my attention span began to heal in ways I didn't expect. I found myself picking up a book on my commute, turning to my neglected record player, and, for lack of a better term, finding play again.

My iPhone went from being a black hole for my attention back to what it was originally meant to be: an inanimate utility tool.

If you want to reach that same turning point without throwing your iPhone into the nearest ditch, you need a strategy to get you through the adjustment period. Here is what helped me survive the shift, and the rules I wish I'd set on day one.

How to enable Grayscale on your iPhone

• Open settings
• Navigate to Accessibility
• Tap Display & Text Size
• Select Color Filters and toggle the switch on
• Select Grayscale

The greyscale survival guide

How two weeks of gray reshaped my habit

By week two, the novelty wore off and my brain just got used to it. The urge to constantly check my phone died down because there was nothing visual pulling me in. I stopped reaching into my pocket out of sheer boredom.

When the two weeks ended and I switched the color back on, it was surprisingly jarring. Everything looked aggressively bright, almost like the screen was turned up too high.

The real test, though, was whether the old habits would immediately come back. They didn't. Even with full color restored, the automatic reflex to scroll was broken. My screen time has stayed way down, and I stop defaulting to my phone every time I had two free seconds.

Did the experiment break my dopamine addiction? Yes, aggressively so. Going grayscale for a bit isn't a silver bullet, but it does a fantastic job of resetting your baseline.

It's a clear reminder that our phones are designed to keep us hooked, docile, and distracted. You just have to decide if you're willing to play along.

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Today Apple announced its new leasing program, Apple Upgrade which is undergirded by Klarna for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad.

The program lets customers sign up for a plan, similar to how you would lease a car, for fixed 12-, 24- and 36-month terms depending on the device. There are options to upgrade to a new device early or return it at the end of the lease.

Apple called the new plan a "more flexible way to pay for products."

It's possible this does offer some flexibility from paying an upfront lump sum or tying yourself to an onerous contract via a network carrier like Verizon or T-Mobile.

However, experts I spoke with think the Upgrade plan is meant to cover rising component costs.

"By shifting the focus to lower monthly payments, it helps mask the effect of rising hardware costs and makes premium devices feel more affordable and attainable for a broader range of consumers," Jitesh Ubrani, a director at IDC, said.

They added that it could entice people who don't want to pay the higher upfront costs, as even Apple has hiked prices recently. It also gives Apple a "steady stream of trade-ins" that the company can resell to expand its customer base.

"Many people are effectively leasing their phones already through carrier plans; leasing a watch or a Mac -- when you know that these are also devices that have upgrade cycles -- can make sense," Techsponential's Avi Greengart told Tom's Guide. "it's still a lease, so you won't be able to use it until it dies unless you buy out the lease, and it may not be the absolute most economical approach."

Beyond upfront prices, is Apple Upgrade better for you? Let's take a look at how the program works.

How Apple Upgrade works

Apple Upgrade offers 12- or 24-month lease terms for eligible iPhones and Apple Watches. For those seeking a Mac or iPad, there are 24- or 36-month options.

Prices start as low as $11.99 per month for the Apple Watch and iPad, depending on size and storage capacity. iPhones start at $17.99, while Macs can be leased starting at $24.99 a month.

You can sign up online or at an Apple Store, where you will be approved by Klarna, which does require a soft credit check that should not impact your credit score.

At the end of the lease term, you can return the device or upgrade to a newer generation or purchase it with a one-time payment.

Compared to the outgoing iPhone Upgrade program, the Apple Upgrade Program does not include AppleCare, which is a separate subscription price and varies in price depending on your device.

Per MacRumors, if you miss a payment, it will be rolled into the next month's payment with no late fees. However, if you miss three consecutive payments, the lease will end, and you will have to pay the full outstanding balance, minus the value of the device when returned. If Klarna can't collect, a debt collection agency will be sent your information.

Apple Upgrade prices

Apple is offering the entire iPhone 17 lineup, plus the iPhone Air, both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 and three iPad options, including the iPad Air, iPad Pro and iPad mini.

For Macs, you can lease the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Studio.

Apple defaults to the 24-month leasing option, so we'll share that. The other options can lower or raise your price. Additionally, higher storage capacity or chip versions will also increase the monthly price.

Finally, the price does not include taxes and fees.

Here's how much the base model of each device will cost you.

We've separated the iPads and Macs out because these devices can have the longer 36-month term. Again, the prices below are for the base model of each device and the 24-month term.

No leasing entry-level devices

You may have noticed several Apple devices aren't eligible for the upgrade program. It includes the vanilla iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, as well as the entry-level models of almost every device category.

Here's the full list of Apple products you can't lease:

• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• Apple Watch SE
• MacBook Neo
• Mac mini
• iPad (A16)
• Studio Display

Availability

Apple Upgrade is available now for all of the listed devices. Apple says that a security deposit is not required and that a trade-in device could reduce monthly payments.

I will note that if you end a lease early, you could see termination fees. Also, if you don't do anything at the end of the lease, you'll be charged the purchase fee.

Lastly, hidden in the fine print, upgrading a device could increase your monthly payments, which is true for both higher-capacity versions of devices and more expensive models when new generations launch in the coming years.

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Apple is supposed to introduce its next iPhone, including the rumored iPhone Ultra, in a month and a half. But who cares about that when the intriguing 20th anniversary iPhone leaks are starting to pick up steam?

The latest batch of rumors comes from the leak-tracking YouTuber AppleTrack, who covered eight major upgrades potentially coming to the iPhone 20 in his latest video.

The updates cover everything from the all-glass curved display to better internal components, including a bigger main camera and new battery technology.

All glass everything

One of the more consistent rumors we've seen is that Apple plans on making the 20th anniversary nearly all-glass, starting with the display.

AppleTrack alleges that Apple has codenamed the next iPhone "Glasswing" after a type of butterfly with see-through wings. Check out this blog on the Greta Oto from PBS for a picture of the transparent butterfly.

Simply, as we've seen before, the iPhone 20 will be bezel-less with a quad-curved display that is seamlessly attached to the glass and ceramic back panel.

Curvy

Continuing with the display, the curved design could come in two sizes: 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches. iPhones are already fairly round, but this new design could make them even curvier.

If you want an existing reference, Apple's own Watch Series 7 hints at how the iPhone 20 might look. There shouldn't be side bezels, and it should look all of a piece compared to the two-tone currently on the iPhone 17 Pro.

Sinking the island

Since the Dynamic Island was introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, there have been rumors that Apple is trying to reduce or remove the cutouts for the front-facing camera and Face ID.

Instead, Apple would replace it with under-display technology that conceals those features below the screen. It would also mean a smaller or even non-existent Dynamic Island

This is the most grain-of-salt rumor that keeps recurring. I'll believe this one when I actually see it.

Huge main camera

Currently, the iPhone 17 Pro features a lineup of 48 MP rear cameras, including the main, ultrawide and telephoto lenses. However, per AppleTrack, the iPhone 20 is going to make a massive leap to a 200MP sensor, at least for the main camera, which would match Samsung's Ultra Galaxy S series phones.

This does match rumors from earlier this year that Apple is testing out a 1/1.12-inch sensor to boost its cameras to 200MP. Though at the time it wasn't clear when this new camera would launch.

Image stabilization

Alongside a huge main camera, the ultrawide lens is supposed to get optical image stabilization. Basically, this makes recording videos smoother and less jittery.

The telephoto lens already features this tool, which helps, but you're more likely to use the ultrawide when recording video. So this should make movies even smoother.

New buttons

Clickable buttons may be a thing of the past with the iPhone 20. It's rumored that Apple will get rid of buttons for solid-state ones that provide haptic feedback. This is supposed to make the iPhone 20 more water-resistant.

Similar to the under-display rumors, haptic buttons have been rumored since at least 2022. We even reported on a patent for haptic buttons on the iPhone 20 last October.

In the case of the iPhone 20, it actually makes sense considering the all-glass design. I rate this one as more than likely if the display rumors are true.

No more speakers?

This rumor is wild and the first we've heard of it. Apparently, Apple might remove the speaker grill on the bottom of the iPhone 20.

Instead, Apple would use a "vibration technology" without the need for a speaker cutout. The vibrations would be responsible for the sound. Allegedly, this will debut with an OLED iPad mini that is supposed to launch later this year. I'm very curious about this one.

Better batteries

The final rumor surrounds power and battery. First, AppleTrack says Apple will be introducing reverse wireless charging with the iPhone 20, enabled by a new battery.

Since 2024, Chinese manufacturers like Oppo and Huawei have been introducing silicon carbon batteries in their phones, enabling larger capacity batteries to be inserted into the same space as current lithium-ion ones.

Rival Samsung finally made the leap to silicon carbon with the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra that were released this July. “We have been testing silicon batteries for quite some time. We’re looking at being very — I wouldn’t say conservative — but more taking it one step at a time," Samsung's executive VP of the Z Fold series, Jay Kim, told Tom's Guide in an interview.

Apple is known for being cautious with new technology, like waiting for a crease-free display to release its version of a foldable.

The iPhone 20 could finally be Apple's time to try the new battery technology out.

Price and release date

Apple probably won't change its usual September release window, so I expect we'll see the 20th-anniversary iPhone launch in September 2027. We should also see the iPhone Ultra 2.

As for price, the iPhone 20 likely won't be cheap. Apple just raised prices on everything but the iPhone. However, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will give us an idea of where things are trending heading next year.

We're expecting the iPhone 18 Pro models to be $200 more expensive. Currently, the iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099, so the iPhone 18 Pro could cost $1,299. The 20th anniversary might go as high as $1,399 or $1,499 if trends continue.

We're still more than a year away from launch, so we have some time to twiddle our thumbs and ponder.

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There was a point a couple of years ago when you could make an argument that phones didn't need cases or screen protectors. Phone makers had been adopting more durable materials, titanium frames were all the rage, and display glass was reaching the point where it could hold up to everyday conditions rather well.

But those days are long gone, and given everything that's happening in the phone industry it's unlikely that they'll be coming back anytime soon. And my recent experience dropping a caseless iPhone 17 Pro Max proves it.

It happened yesterday afternoon while taking my son for a walk. I'd kept the iPhone 17 Pro Max in a pouch on his stroller alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra — so they would be easily accessible to take photos with. Unfortunately, later on in the day, I didn't grab the iPhone tightly enough and, unable to catch it in time, it took a short tumble (maybe 4 feet) onto the asphalt below.

Had I been sensible, and put my iPhone in a case, things could have been different. I drop phones onto a variety of surfaces all the time, because I'm a clumsy fool, but those phones typically have some kind of protection. For some reason, I never afforded that same protection to the iPhone, and now that carelessness has come back to haunt me.

The damage is pretty minor, and nothing close to as catastrophic as it could have been had the circumstances been a little different. But I really should know better, and everyone out there should learn from my mistake.

A backwards step for durability

A lot of phone companies like to employ aluminum in their phones, and with good reason. It's lightweight, easy to work with, easily recycled and, perhaps most importantly, cheap. Apple was pretty quick to jump onto the stainless steel bandwagon with 2010's iPhone 4 before moving to a wrap-around steel band on iPhone X.

The main benefit of stainless steel is that it's considerably stronger than aluminum, though the exact difference varies depending on the specific alloy used. The downside to that strength is that steel is a lot heavier, so you're trading comfort for increased durability.

Apple's eventual switch to titanium on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max was designed to offer the best of both worlds, a light design that maintains the strength and durability of stainless steel. Unfortunately, Apple didn't stick to that change for very long, ditching titanium just two years later with the release of iPhone 17 series.

Various reasons were given for the change, most notably the fact that titanium has poor thermal conductivity and that led to reports of iPhones overheating. However, the fact that titanium is rather an expensive metal can't be ignored either. This factor also means that Apple is unlikely to return to titanium on the majority of its phones — especially since RAMageddon has caused component prices to rise to unprecedented highs.

This means only the devices that really need titanium, like iPhone Air and (we assume) iPhone Ultra, are likely to get that metal in the near future.

But rather than switching back to stainless steel, Apple opted to use aluminum instead. Not just any aluminum, of course. According to Apple this is an "aerospace-grade 7000-series aluminum alloy" which supposedly exceeds industry standards for hardness.

While that sounds all well and good, it doesn't change the fact that aluminum is a softer metal — and it didn't take long for people to notice just how much damage it can pick up.

I knew about scratchgate and neglected to case up anyway

The first reports of what became known as "scratchgate" started happening within days of the iPhone 17 Pro being released. Users were reporting damage occurring to the back of their iPhone, particularly around the raised edges of the phone's protruding camera bar — also known as the forged plateau.

People were noticing that the anodized layer was getting damaged, exposing the silver aluminum underneath. Apple did respond, even going so far as to claim that some of the scratches weren't actually scratches at all and could be wiped away.

Some of us here at Tom's Guide experienced the issue first hand, to varying degrees, and even my iPhone 17 Pro Max had some minor scratches that came from everyday use. Now, though, it's collected a few dents and a scratch along the edge of the ultrawide camera lens. It's purely cosmetic damage, and doesn't actually affect the day-to-day workings of the phone, but I'm still kicking myself for letting it happen.

Because, let's be completely honest here, I could just have easily done some serious damage. All it would have taken is if the fall had been a little higher, or the phone had landed at a slightly different angle, and suddenly you have a busted phone or cracked screen that needs fixing ASAP.

Don't make the same mistake I did

Everyone out there should learn from my mistakes, and let this be a lesson in over-protectiveness. Your phone is an expensive device, and a split-second fumble could be the difference between it lasting through the day and needing an expensive out of warranty repair. I got lucky this time, but the next accidental drop may actually take out my iPhone 17 Pro Max — which is the absolute last thing I need to happen.

The fact that phone companies are looking for ways to help cut costs also means that durability is potentially one of the things that gets cut. We know this has happened to Pro-tier iPhones, but we've also seen other companies pull similar tricks. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is made of aluminum too, a downgrade from the titanium S25 Ultra and S24 Ultra of previous years.

This means protecting your phone is about to be even more important than ever. You don't need an expensive bulky shock-absorbing case that can survive a nuclear blast, but you should have something to help keep the thing safe from falls and other accidental damage.

Likewise, a screen protector is crucial to protect the most important part of the phone itself. Believe me, nothing is worse than having a phone that would be working perfectly well, if it weren't for the cracked screen making it totally unusable. I had to swap out my Sony Xperia Z3 because of this about a decade ago, simply because nobody could get the right parts to repair it.

Even Apple's Ceramic Shield 2, which is regarded as one of the best and strongest display glasses out there, isn't perfect. It's still glass, and glass will break under the right conditions. Once that happens, an official Apple screen repair is going to set you back $379 if you don't have AppleCare+, or $29 (plus the $140 annual fee) if you do. The cost of a semi-competent case and a screen protector is a fraction of that price — not to mention it saves you the hassle of getting the repair sorted.

That's a best case scenario in terms of major damage. Worst case is that your phone needs completely replacing. With iPhone 17 Pro Maxs starting at $1,199, and rumors that prices could rise by as much as $200 for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, you do not want to face the prospect of paying it all a second time due to your own carelessness.

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The question of "when will the iPhone Ultra actually be released" still doesn't seem to have an answer. After some back and forth over whether the first Apple foldable will be released alongside iPhone 18 Pro, another report from DigiTimes suggests that the actual release date for the foldable still remains uncertain

At this point I don't know who I should believe, and the only thing I know is that I am so tired of hearing about if and when the foldable iPhone might arrive. Especially now that Samsung has just launched a new wave of foldables, including its own passport-style Galaxy Z Fold 8 that could rival Apple's foldable ambitions.

I just wish Apple would start hustling and release this thing, because it feels like everything even remotely new gets stuck in a perpetual state of "it might arrive this year."

The current deal with the iPhone Ultra

According to previous reports, iPhone Ultra mass production began earlier this month. The final assembly is reportedly being carried out by long-time Apple collaborator Foxconn, who DigiTimes's sources claim are "the only partner likely to have a realistic chance of meeting the expected production target."

It's unclear whether that production target means the full 10 million units Apple has reportedly ordered, or simply enough to satisfy demand during the initial release window.

Foxconn is apparently in the process of "final mass-production adjustments," which has led to even more speculation that the iPhone Ultra may be delayed after all. While it's widely assumed that the phone will be unveiled alongside iPhone 18 Pro at Apple's September event, the actual release date remains unknown.

Last we heard Apple's suppliers believed everything was still on track, and the iPhone Ultra was shaping up to release alongside iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. But any hypothetical issues could alter the release schedule depending on the severity of the problem.

Past reports suggested that the hinge structure and display durability could be the real sticking points — especially with Apple pushing to release an "exceptionally refined product."

While the foldable is expected to be very expensive, with a rumored starting price around $2,500, demand is still expected to be rather high. Prolonged issues would force Apple to push back the release, to try and ensure there is enough supply to match release-day demand.

So while there's no need to panic about this right now, this back-and-forth over the fate of the iPhone Ultra is really starting to get tiresome. to the point where I'm starting to resent the fact that Apple seems to have taken so long to actually release the phone.

Just release the thing already

Maybe it's just because September's iPhone launch event is coming up fairly soon, or maybe it's just because foldable iPhone rumors have been circulating for the better part of a decade. We're at the stage now when I'm sick and tired of hearing about it, and wish Apple would hurry up and get the iPhone Ultra out into the world.

I'd even settle for an announcement and confirmation that the Ultra will actually arrive a few months later than the iPhone 18 Pro. It happened with the iPhone X back in 2017, and I feel like the knowledge that a release date is confirmed would be quite comforting — and would certainly put the majority of these rumors to bed.

The crazy thing is that this problem isn't exclusive to the iPhone Ultra. It actually seems to happen to most major Apple releases, with rumors circulating multiple years before the final product ever gets released.

The most infamous example is the Apple Car, which was in development for a decade before Apple realized it had bitten off more than it could chew. Who knew that trying to develop a fully-autonomous car from nowhere wasn't going to work out? So the project was canceled, and some of the stuff Apple learned was rolled into its ongoing work with AI and Apple Intelligence.

A similar situation to the iPhone Ultra happened with Apple Vision Pro. Rumors of an Apple VR or mixed reality headset circulated for multiple years, and I distinctly remember a lot of rumors and speculation that Apple could reveal it at the next Apple event.

We've been seeing something similar happen with Apple Glasses and the long-awaited Siri-powered smart home hub. It's not Apple's problem that these things leak so early, and we've seen it make a concerted effort to plug leaks over the years, but it makes it feel as though these new products are being developed at a snail's pace.

Bottom line

I've always argued that Apple has been a little too particular about when it releases new products. It often feels as though the company has been so hell-bent on making the "perfect" product that it's willing to drag production out for an extended period of time as it attempts to chase an impossible dream.

The botched Apple Car development and the obsession over eliminating the display crease says to me that Apple has a problem with accepting when a new product is simply "good enough."

Others would argue that Apple was wise to wait, in an attempt to make the best foldable phone possible. Studying the market, working out the issues that can be fixed, them jumping in to knock Samsung off its throne.

Considering the foldable phone market is rather small, you could argue that Apple isn't really missing out by waiting and endeavoring to make the best foldable it can — even if it takes several years.

That doesn't make the constant talk of what may or may not be happening any less exhausting, though. It's at the point that I feel Apple should really have released the iPhone Ultra three or four years ago. So, the sooner it actually makes it to Apple Store shelves, the happier I will be.

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It appears likely that Apple is looking to make a big shift in how it treats leased iPhones and payment plans. The changes include a new Upgrade Program and leaked iOS 27 beta code that suggests Apple could restrict iPhones when customers skip payments.

Apple Upgrade Program

The code leak (from 9to5Mac) appears to coincide with a report from yesterday that Apple is planning to ditch the iPhone Upgrade Program in favor of one that lets you lease different Apple devices.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will partner with Klarna to finance the program, which would cover most iPhones, Macs, MacBooks, iPads and Apple Watches, save the entry-level models. The leases would run between 24 and 36 months depending on which device you get.

Like car leases, the Program would let you pay off your device or upgrade to a new model before the lease ends. At the end of the term, you could keep the device or return it.

iOS 27

With that in mind, according to 9to5Mac, iOS 27 contains code that reveals a "broader system for managing a financed iPhone." This system apparently includes the ability to restrict apps and service if a payment is missed.

There is something called App Managed Features which would authorize financing and perform status checks, presumably to ensure payments have been made.

If a payment is missed, the iPhone would be put in "Restricted Mode." This mode "blocks access to most apps." A small set of apps would remain available, including:

• Accessibility Reader
• App Store
• Health
• Magnifier
• Phone
• Clock
• Settings
• Wallet
• Passwords
• The Restricted Mode interface itself

Some apps like Messages and Home or safety apps might also remain accessible. Though it seems the financial provider has control over the exceptions.

Apparently, the number of missed payments that trigger Restricted Mode is up to the financial provider and their policies.

When could Restricted Mode arrive?

Apple is rumored to launch the new Apple Upgrade Program next week on July 28. However, 9to5Mac couldn't find references to the Restricted Mode in the current beta code or iOS 26.6 RC, which was released yesterday.

It's possible Apple could launch either feature later.

We'll know in less than a week whether or not Apple decides to actually launch its revised Upgrade Program.

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Apple is reportedly planning on ditching its long-running iPhone Upgrade plan for a new "leasing" program. The new "Apple Upgrade" program is allegedly going to launch at the end of the month.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the new plan will be similar to how a car lease works with options to upgrade a new device early or keep or return the iPhone at the end of the lease.

One upside of the plan is that it will supposedly cover most Apple devices including iPhones, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch models. Apple is allegedly partnering with Klarna, a digital banking platform based out of Sweden. You may be most familiar with Klarna and its "Pay Later" program, similar to offerings from PayPal and Affirm.

However, entry-level devices like the base model iPad, Apple Watch SE and MacBook Neo are reportedly not eligible for the new program. Additionally, Apple is not including AppleCare with the plan, unlike the iPhone Upgrade Program. Unfortunate since Apple just raised AppleCare subscription prices.

How the 'Apple Upgrade' program could work

Per Gurman, starting July 28 this Apple Upgrade program would replace the iPhone Upgrade plan with 24-month leases for iPhones and Apple Watches, and 36-month leases for iPads and Macs. Apparently, you will need to be approved via a soft credit check.

Current iPhone Upgrade subscribers can upgrade to the newest model, presuming they've kept up 12 months of payments. Gurman says you'll be able to upgrade to a new model earlier if you want, like a car lease. That would just extend the lease another two years.

Allegedly, Apple is planning to pitch the change as a way for customers to have lower payments versus current financing programs. Most customers, at least in the U.S., who don't purchase directly from Apple likely lock into contracts with the big three network carriers that offer "free" iPhones, but really it's subsidized into your bill over the contract period.

What it replaces

The iPhone Upgrade Program has existed since 2015 as a way for Apple-buyers to upgrade to the premium iPhone at a lower monthly cost than the upfront price. It is (or was) marketed as a first-party program directly through Apple.

Importantly, the iPhone Upgrade program let you get a new iPhone every year (after 12 installments) without being tied to one carrier. Apple also threw in its AppleCare+ warranty, which includes up to two years of hardware repairs, software support and up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage (subject to an additional service fee).

Beyond that, it means Apple is operating through a new partner, Klarna, instead of Citizens One in the U.S. and Barclays in the U.K. It mostly means that Apple continues not having to bear the risk of financing.

It's not clear from Gurman's report if current subscribers to the iPhone Upgrade Program will be pushed over to the new Apple Upgrade plan, especially with the lack of AppleCare.

Lease to own?

One of the fears surrounding the ongoing RAM crisis is that companies will force you to rent your computers instead owning them moving forward. This does feel like Apple attempting to build their version of that concept.

Earlier this year, comments made by Amazon's Jeff Bezos resurfaced when he claimed that computing wasn't going to be something rented off the grid. "That's not going to last. It makes no sense. You're going to buy compute off the grid. That's AWS," Bezos predicted.

In February, HP launched a laptop subscription service that lets you pay a monthly fee for an AI-powered PC that starts around $34.99 per month. We did the math and found that after three years, you'd be overpaying for the laptops.

Phones and laptops are expensive, with starting prices for a decent model starting around $700. For many, having that kind of scratch on hand can be tough, but a phone and laptop are nearly essential in today's world.

Plus, as we've repeatedly found with digital games, movies and ebooks, it means you don't own the product, which also means companies can take them away whenever they want.

The next big fight in tech between the little guy and big corporations may be over the right to own the things we pay for.

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The iPhone 18 Pro models are right around the corner, but September's models may be merely a stopgap until the 20th anniversary next year.

We're expecting big changes to come with the iPhone 20, and one of them may include an increased display size.

Regular Apple tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) posted on Weibo that Apple is testing out a 7-inch display for the iPhone 20. Which, admittedly, is more of a step than a leap over the existing 6.9-inch iPhone 17 Pro Max, but it would still be the largest iPhone display to date.

"An exclusive and forward-looking information shows Apple is proofing a super-large screen with a physical size of 6.96 inches and a standard size of 7 inches," DCS wrote (machine translated).

In response to a comment, DCS claimed that the aspect ratio would be similar to the iPhone 17 Pro Max "making it comfortable to hold."

It's an interesting rumor with the caveat that we're more than a year away from the anniversary edition and Apple is known to test new features all the time, even if they don't make it into the next phone.

Borderless display

Notable Samsung leaker Ice Universe posted a similar rumor about the iPhone 20 yesterday, July 21. They suggested that Apple will achieve this larger size by decreasing the bezels on the display.

Both DCS and Ice Universe's posts seem to lend credence to previous rumors that Apple is working on a quad-curved screen for the 2027 iPhone. This means the iPhone 20 could have an all-glass design that wraps around the phone to the already glass and ceramic rear panel. The illusion will be that the iPhone 20 is completely made of glass.

A few more iPhone 20 rumors

With so much time in between and the iPhone 18 family likely just over a month away, we don't know much about the 20th anniversary iPhone beyond the recurring rumors of an all-glass design.

A few other tidbits have suggested that there may be two iPhone 20 models that would replace the Pro and Pro Max iterations. But it's not clear if that means the base models would also disappear.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also reported that the iPhone 20 will run on a 2nm A21 chipset, meaning it will certainly be more efficient and more powerful than the current 3nm A series. We'll have to wait until we can test it ourselves to find just how powerful it is though.

Alongside the expanded display, rumors suggest Apple may ditch the cutout for the front camera and Face ID in favor of under-glass versions. To be clear, this rumor has been circulating for every iPhone going back to the iPhone 14, so take this one with a grain of salt.

Other rumors suggest we may see solid-state buttons with haptic feedback, a stronger version of Ceramic Shield and a 6,000 mAh battery.

In the meantime, you can check what's happening with this year's fall event by checking out our official hubs for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Ultra.

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• iOS 27 beta 4 is now here — all the newest features for your iPhone

Following the launch of the iOS 27 public beta early last week, the fourth iteration of the developer beta is now rolling out as well. Since the developer beta is slightly ahead of the public option, this means there are a bunch of new features coming to those of you that signed up.

This update isn't particularly extravagant — offering a few small upgrades and fixes rather than a bunch of new features. However, the changes are important quality of life updates, which should improve your overall iOS 27 experience — either as a beta tester or once the official version lands later this year.

Here's what's changed in iOS 27 beta 4.

New features in iOS 27 beta 4

Changes have come to Siri, with the most noticeable update being a new "splash screen" that appears when you summon the AI from either the Dynamic Island or your home screen. This features a little more information about the "All-New Siri" and gives a brief explainer for those users who may not be familiar with what the changes to Siri mean.

The recent apps menu in the pull-down menu has also been fixed with this new update, with the app options no longer appearing grayed out.

Siri's Expressive Voice feature has been drip feeding us updates over the course of multiple beta updates. Beta 3 added the ability to change the pace and expressiveness for two distinct voices. iOS 27 beta 4 adds new voices and an array of new English-language accents that you can choose from. However, the customization options are still limited to those original two American accents for the time being.

Siri's settings now include a feature to adjust the length of previews in the Siri app too. This lets you pick anywhere between zero lines of preview and five.

The Control Center now supports the AirPods Pro adaptive mode slider, which was introduced in iOS 27 beta 3. This means you can alter the level of ANC and transparency on your AirPods Pro 2, Pro 3 or AirPods 4 without necessarily having to go into the AirPods app first.

Apple TV app now includes a toggle that will set Apple TV to automatically download upcoming episodes of your favorite streaming shows. So long as the show is in your "Continue Watching" list, Apple TV will automatically download the next two episodes, and automatically delete old ones once you've finished watching.

Simply head to Settings > Apps > TV > Automatic Downloads. It's a quick process, and means it should be a lot harder to find yourself caught out with no new episodes to watch offline.

Other smaller inclusions include a new "Zoom Photos to Fill" toggle in Apple Photos, which automatically fits your photos to match your screen's aspect ratio. The camera app now has an option for ProRes log Format if ProRes is switched on, while Wi-Fi settings give you the choice to turn off Connectivity Assist for individual Wi-Fi networks.

Sadly Apple has also removed the wallpaper preview in the Notification Center, which lets you see a cutout of your wallpaper's subject as you're swiping down. It's unclear why, but I'd guess that it was probably a bug that wasn't supposed to be there.

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Apple’s fall iPhone launch is tipped for a major shakeup this year because the company isn't launching all of its typical models at the same time. The base iPhone 18 could be delayed until next year, while the iPhone Ultra (Fold) might debut at another time, possibly in the winter.

That leaves the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max as the likeliest models Apple ends up revealing at its usual fall launch event. I’ve tested every iPhone ever released, and these new models have a lot to prove if they want to be memorable. Not only will I break down all the biggest upgrades they’re expected to get, but I’ll also tell you how they stack up against my favorite iPhones of all time.

iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: Biggest rumors

Variable aperture

Out of all the rumors floating around, the one about the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max getting a variable aperture is the most intriguing. As a camera buff who routinely puts Apple’s devices through intense photo shootouts against the best camera phones on the market, this upgrade has me genuinely excited.

While variable apertures in phones are nothing new, this would be a first for an iPhone. Introducing one to the iPhone 18 Pro models would allow shooters to switch the aperture to something other than the fixed f/1.78 currently used by the iPhone 17 Pro series.

The average person probably won’t have much need for changing apertures, but it is incredibly helpful for dialing in a specific photographic look. For example, you could close the aperture down to f/4.0 or f/8.0 to slow down your shutter speed for a long exposure, making water ripples look silky smooth. Conversely, you could open it wide to f/1.78 to create real separation between your subject and the background.

If this rumor turns out to be true, I just hope Apple finally gives us a true manual mode for photos and videos to actually let us control it.

Larger capacity battery

A massive battery boost is the fastest way for a new phone to earn a spot on my all-time favorite list, and the leaks suggest the iPhone 18 Pro Max is in line for some much-needed extra juice. From the looks of it, Apple is planning to increase the battery capacity for its largest flagship — but there’s a catch.

Since Apple exclusively uses eSIM for its phones in the U.S., the U.S. version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max is rumored to pack a massive 5,425 mAh battery. Meanwhile, versions of the phone sold elsewhere with a physical SIM tray will reportedly top out at 5,235 mAh to accommodate the space required for the physical card slot.

Either way, this is a monumental leap from the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s capacities (5,088 mAh for eSIM and 4,823 mAh for physical SIM). While it still isn't the cutting-edge silicon-carbon battery tech I see in some rival Android flagships, I’ll gladly take the extra capacity — even if the physical hardware is rumored to make the iPhone 18 Pro Max as the heaviest iPhone ever.

A shrinking Dynamic Island

Ever since it debuted, the Dynamic Island has felt like a clever feature — and Apple's way of hiding a massive physical display cutout with useful UI animations. Leaked images from not too long ago, purportedly of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, indicate we’re finally getting the hardware evolution we've been waiting for.

The leak suggests that Apple has found a way to move key Face ID components completely underneath the glass, allowing the physical punch-hole to shrink significantly on the new iPhone 18 Pro. By packing a much narrower pill into the display, Apple is going to free up precious screen real estate. The Dynamic Island is one of those genuine features I didn’t think was promising early on, but it has since proven to be invaluable for things like tracking live sports scores or Uber arrivals at a glance. Slimming it down is exactly what the front display needs to feel modern again.

A20 Pro chip makes a leap

Since I put all the iPhones I test through a barrage of synthetic benchmarks, I’m eager to see how the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max perform. That’s because they’re rumored to be Apple’s first devices to use a cutting-edge 2-nanometer processor.

Switching to TSMC's 2nm manufacturing process is bound to deliver a substantial performance boost with the A20 Pro. Packing more transistors onto the chip should allow it to easily eclipse the current A19 Pro. At the same time, this efficiency leap should also work wonders for battery life — especially since the new flagships are also tipped to gain a new vapor chamber design to better dissipate heat.

All of this simply means they’ll run faster, stay cooler under load, and stand as the most power-efficient flagships to date.

New shades

While the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to recycle the design language introduced by the previous generation, one upgrade I’m always happy about is getting fresh colors. If last year’s Cosmic Orange is any indication of how a color swap can garner attention (and drive sales), then the rumors about the iPhone 18 Pro lineup indicate that Apple is listening.

A recent report suggests we’ll be getting three options this time around: Dark Cherry, Light Blue, and Silver-Gray. While the latter leans into the safe, neutral tones that the Pro series is known for, the other two standouts have the potential to attract just as much attention as Cosmic Orange.

All-time most memorable iPhones

Now that you know what's in store for Apple’s upcoming flagships, it begs the question: are these upgrades enough to make them truly memorable? And more importantly, where could they land on my all-time favorite iPhone list? Here is the legendary lineup they’re competing against:

The original iPhone

I don’t think anyone would disagree with this one, as the original iPhone triggered a complete revolution. Sure, it was stuck running on incredibly slow 2G connectivity, but it remains timeless because it redefined the modern smartphone with its capacitive display, multi-touch support, silky-smooth kinetic scrolling, and simplified user interface. It practically made standalone MP3 players and dedicated PDAs obsolete overnight.

iPhone 4

Second on my list is a device that gave us one of the most memorable moments in keynote history. Not only did the iPhone 4 introduce a stunning metal meets glass design, but it was also the first to feature a razor-sharp Retina Display and a viable video calling solution in FaceTime. With a front-facing camera onboard for the first time, Steve Jobs famously had to ask the crowd in attendance to turn off their personal Wi-Fi hotspots just so he could demo FaceTime to the world.

To mark the iPhone's 10th anniversary, Apple introduced the radically different iPhone X, famously ditching the physical home button. Just about everything about this device represented a massive shift, from its edge-to-edge OLED screen and secure Face ID unlocking to the intuitive, gesture-based navigation we still use today.

iPhone 6 Plus

While the iPhone 5 was the first to stretch the screen, it was actually the iPhone 6 Plus that brought about a more substantial design revolution. At a time when its rivals were dominating the "phablet" category, Apple responded with the 6 Plus — offering a massive 5.5-inch display, a sleek matte aluminum frame, and rounded edges that gave it an incredibly elegant style.

iPhone 11 Pro

Apple’s very first “Pro” iPhone remains memorable because it established the foundation for the design language Apple still uses today. Apart from its matte textured glass back, the iPhone 11 Pro is particularly notable for finally adopting a triple-camera system — giving mobile photographers a level of focal-length utility that was previously unavailable on an iPhone.

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The iPhone 18 Pro Max is likely less than a couple of months from being unveiled, but we just got a big clue to its headline camera feature. The rumors of variable aperture coming to the iPhone have been circulating for a while, but as a result of the recent Tata Electronics leak, it seems like a lock.

The team at Notebookcheck found an internal diagnostic log buried inside the files from the Tata leak, and it points to calibration data for a variable aperture main camera. Before we go any further, Apple hasn't officially commented on any of this.

Still, the log contains information about a new Sony IMX905 camera sensor being used inside the iPhone 18 Pro Max that retains the same 1.22μm pixel size as the iPhone 17 Pro Max but builds in variable aperture.

As per Notebookcheck: "The log confirms variable aperture support on this sensor, backed by a calibration block that reads actuator data tied to the aperture mechanism from the sensor's non-volatile memory."

The log also confirms that all other elements of the iPhone 18 Pro Max's camera array will remain the same as the iPhone 17 Pro Max. That includes a Sony IMX973 sensor for the telephoto lens, a Sony IMX972 for the ultrawide, a Sony IMX591 for the LiDAR receiver, and a Sony IMX914 for the selfie camera.

Why should I care about variable aperture?

If you use your smartphone for photography — and let's be honest, most of us don't always have one of the best mirrorless cameras within reach — variable aperture is an upgrade you're going to appreciate.

In a nutshell, it means that instead of using software to simulate depth of field (DoF), mechanical blades inside the camera physically expand or contract to control how much light hits the sensor. Better yet, it should mean you can precisely control DoF to get the dynamic range you want. This means more balanced and better-exposed images coming straight out of the camera and less editing required.

Other premium smartphones have already embraced this technology, and after trying it, we're convinced the iPhone needs to adopt it as soon as possible. Thanks to this huge clue from probably one of the biggest leaks Apple has ever suffered, it seems like it's in the cards.

Apple's flagship camera is currently second best

While the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a fantastic phone for shooting (and editing) video, we don't rate its photography prowess over its chief rival, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

My colleague John shot 200 photos with each phone to see which came out on top and, in his words, the wider apertures for Samsung's main shooter alongside its 5x telephoto cameras gave it the edge. John shoots photography professionally and notes that while the iPhone 17 Pro Max is great for average folks, the extra utility from Samsung gives it the edge.

Here's an example of images from the two phones head-to-head showing how they handle dynamic range:

John noted that the Galaxy S26 Ultra was better at compensating for the exposure across the entire scene. The iPhone 17 Pro Max maintained a stronger contrast that made the overall image look darker. In this shoot-out, John handed the win to the Samsung, but if the iPhone 18 Pro Max is able to rely on a variable aperture main camera the result could look very different.

Is a better camera the feature upgrade you look for most in a new phone? Or are you more concerned with things like battery life and day-to-day performance? Let me know in the comments below.

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If you ever went diving into the various hidden features on offer in iOS 26, you may be aware of the handwriting option in the Messages app. Doing exactly what its name suggests, this feature lets you handwrite messages or draw pictures, and send them to contacts. Potentially very useful, even if it wasn't easy to find.

iOS 27 takes that idea and makes it a lot simpler, turning iMessage's handwriting mode into a dedicated applet within the Messages app. Or, in other words, Apple has tweaked the feature in such a way that it is easier to both find and use. Better still, a bunch of useful improvements were added in the process, making it more like the handwriting tools in Apple Notes.

Here's how to send handwritten messages and drawings over iMessage in iOS 27.

There you have it, an easy and quick way to send handwritten messages in the Apple Messages app, and without being forced to use landscape mode in the process.

It may not be an entirely new feature for iOS 27, but Apple has taken this extremely well-hidden feature and made it that little bit more accessible for iPhone users everywhere. So you might as well take advantage of it and flex your handwriting muscles once more.

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We’ve all been there: you spot a bizarre, brightly colored bug crawling on your tomato plants or a strange, furry moth hovering near your flowers, and you want to know what it is right now. But rather than typing desperate, vague descriptions into a Google search bar, there’s a much faster way to decode your backyard.

Hidden directly inside your iPhone's standard Photos app is a remarkably powerful machine learning tool that turns your camera roll into an instant nature scanner.

I’ve spent the last week or so pointing my camera at every leaf and brick wall in my yard to see just how accurate this built-in feature really is. Here is how to find the button on your phone, and the wildest garden bugs it's helped me identify so far this summer.

How the feature works

The next time you snap a crisp close-up of a creature or plant, simply open that image in your Photos and look closely at the action bar running along the bottom of the screen.

If your iPhone recognizes a subject in the frame, the standard information circle icon will automatically transform, signalling that Visual Look Up is ready. Tap that, then hold the answer to have Siri pull up more information about your snapped subject.

The best part about this is that it isn't just a dead end. Once Siri identifies the insect, you don't have to stop there. Because iOS now supports conversational continuity, you can actually get into a back-and-forth chat with Siri about the specific thing you’ve found.

You can ask follow-up questions like whether it's dangerous to your tomato plants, what its lifespan is, or how to encourage more of them to visit, allowing you to learn much more without ever leaving your photo library.

Identifying my garden neighbours

Once you know how to trigger it, your photo library essentially becomes a real-life Pokédex. I’ve spent the summer pointing my lens at the grass and garden walls to see how many 'rare spawns' I could find, and I’ve cataloged a bizarrely brilliant cast of characters that I used to walk right past.

My absolute favorite find was a frantic, hovering blur near my lavender. A quick scan unmasked it as a Hummingbird Hawk-Moth, an insect that mimics a bird so perfectly I thought I'd stumbled upon some rare phenomenon, but I was soon schooled about the day moth's lore.

Suddenly, every morning (and evening) became a game of hunting down new species. I used the tool to log a tiny, striped Zebra Spider, spot a Scarlet Tiger Moth hiding by the nettles, and a Red-veined Darter dragonfly.

By the time I had logged everything from grasshoppers to metallic beetles, my perspective on my yard had completely shifted. Thanks to this one iPhone feature, I now see my garden for what it is: a beautifully complex, thriving ecosystem.

Why don't you have a go at scanning your own backyard. Just don't blame me when your camera roll is completely taken over by bugs.

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After Apple’s dramatic showing at WWDC 2026 last month, I’ve been getting cozy with all the new features thanks to the iOS 27 developer beta. Unless you’ve signed up for a developer account, the vast majority of people need to wait for the public release.

Thankfully, the wait is over. The iOS 27 public beta has launched, and supported iPhones can finally experience the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer with its phone software. What’s fascinating is that my colleagues and I felt iOS 26 left users feeling like Apple was trailing behind in the AI wars — but iOS 27 is an absolute redemption arc.

That’s because it’s taking a big leap, complementing the foundational features of the platform with AI features and tools that don’t just make life easier; they fundamentally change how you interact with your iPhone on a daily basis. I’ll tell you how I feel about these new changes and additions with my iOS 27 public beta hands-on.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Supported iPhones

Before you take a stab at trying some of the best iOS 27 features, you’ll obviously need an iPhone that can support it. Apple has optimized the software structure so well that it runs smoothly even on older hardware, which is why official compatibility extends as far back as the iPhone 11.

However, there’s a small caveat regarding which models gain support for the most advanced Apple Intelligence features and Siri AI. Because these tools require significantly more processing power, only the last few generations of hardware will get access to them. Here is the full list of iPhones that support iOS 27, with the models in bold indicating they’ll support the most advanced AI features:

• iPhone 17
• iPhne 17e
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (both 2020 and 2022 models)

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: a much smarter, more reliable assistant

I’ve been running the iOS 27 developer 3 beta for a while now, and nothing continues to stand out more than Siri AI. Apple’s assistant finally gets its most substantial upgrade since its inception, acquiring new on-screen contextual awareness that makes this assistant feel far more capable than before. What’s really notable is the proactive, dynamic approach that Siri AI takes when you're using your phone.

For example, if you’re reading an email or texting back and forth in Messages, Siri AI will scan the screen and provide a contextual suggestion — like offering a one-tap option to create a Calendar invite based on a discussed time and place.

When it comes to productivity, I love using Siri AI to handle trivial, repetitive tasks. In the past, it was a total time suck to manually copy and paste text or pull hashtags from an Instagram post, but now I can simply tell Siri AI to grab them for me. It knows exactly what I’m looking at on screen and understands the intent behind my request, saving me from tedious tapping and typing.

Additionally, a dedicated Siri app now aggregates all of your previous requests in one place. It organizes your history much like the Gemini app, letting you easily search through past queries and jump right back in to follow up on them.

But as much as Siri AI makes life easier, it still has some catching up to do. Most of its deepest functionality is currently locked down to Apple's native apps. It still lacks the robust third-party app integration that would allow it to execute complex, multi-step real-world tasks — like letting me place an order for Dunkin' Donuts via the DoorDash app.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Speed Boost

On the surface, Liquid Glass still makes iOS 27 look visually appealing with its sense of depth, transparency, and layered layout. While I’m happy to see that Apple is letting users tune the intensity of the transparency effects, I’m far more impressed by how much more responsive iOS 27 feels.

You can’t fully appreciate the fluidity of iOS 27 until you see it side-by-side with iOS 26. Running two iPhone 17 models side-by-side — one with the iOS 27 beta and the other with iOS 26 — immediately reveals how much smoother the system animations are and how much faster apps launch. As you can see from the data comparison chart above, the speed improvements when launching apps from the home screen are undeniable.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Reframe and Photo Clean Up

I’m big on generative AI and how its features can enhance my photos. Fortunately, iOS 27 brings some much-needed Apple Intelligence upgrades to the table, and I for one am thoroughly impressed by what they can do.

The standout feature you need to know about is Reframe. I’ve used it countless times already to shift the perspective of photos I've captured — and they don’t even need to have been shot on an iPhone. For instance, I used it to adjust the angle of a BMW 7 Series photo to show more of its side profile than the original shot did. Honestly, it’s unlike any other AI photo tool I’ve come across on a smartphone.

Then there is the vastly improved Photo Clean Up tool. While it was fine for basic object removal when it first launched, it was nowhere near as capable as Google's or Samsung's equivalents. This update changes that by better analyzing the scene to deliver far more realistic, practical results. Just take a look at the photo of Panos Panay above because I was able to easily erase the background crowd, relying on Apple Intelligence to seamlessly fill in the rest of his jacket that was covered up.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Custom passes

This one is long overdue. I’ve spent years relying on third-party apps just to keep track of my cards, so if you carry plastic loyalty tags on your keychain or stuff your gym membership into your wallet, you’ll be just as ecstatic as I am about this change. With iOS 27, you can finally create your own custom passes directly in the Wallet app.

The software now allows you to digitize those physical cards so you can simply show them on your iPhone. In the past, you were out of luck unless a company explicitly built native Apple Wallet support into their own app. iOS 27 completely squashes that requirement, letting you scan and digitize even the most obscure local passes.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Finally, a helpful co-pilot

If you're like me, you probably rarely interacted with Siri while driving in the past because it could only handle basic commands — and nothing complex like jotting down structured notes. Now that Siri AI is accessible through CarPlay, it completely transforms the hands-free driving experience. First and foremost, Siri is finally way more conversational, shedding its robotic roots for natural inflections and tonal shifts that make it sound genuinely human.

However, the real magic is how Siri AI now maintains context. For instance, when I dictated some initial thoughts about a car I was testing, I was able to summon Siri a few minutes later and say, "Go back to that note and add this detail." It was smart enough to locate the exact note, update it, and even organize the text into a clean layout with a title and a bulleted list that was ready to view on my iPhone once I parked.

While it still needs deeper real-world search capabilities — like the ability to pull live, real-time traffic conditions on the fly — this is still a massive leap forward and way more helpful than previous incarnations of CarPlay.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Safari, Wallet, and Shortcuts

There are far more iOS 27 features to go through, but here are a few of the ones I’ve leaned on heavily during my time with the beta. First, Safari now uses on-device intelligence to automatically organize tabs, instantly grouping similar open pages into neat, thematic folders. It completely removes the headache of hunting down a stray article you opened days ago.

Another helpful feature I’ve come to appreciate is the new bill-splitting function in the Wallet app. I can snap a photo of a receipt directly inside Wallet—or pull up one I’ve taken previously in the Photos app—and the software dynamically parses the text. From there, I can easily assign specific items to different people or simply split the total right down the middle.

Finally, I rarely had the desire to use the Shortcuts app in the past because creating personalized automations felt incredibly overwhelming. Luckily, iOS 27 removes that complication with a big assist from Apple Intelligence. Now, I can just type what I want to achieve in plain English, and the system automatically builds the correct architecture for me. It transforms Shortcuts from a niche tool for power users into an accessible, everyday time-saver.

iOS 27 public beta hands-on preview: Outlook

The iOS 27 public beta proves that Apple is no longer just playing catch-up when it comes to AI — it's actively shaping it with features that transform how I use my iPhone daily. While the new Apple Intelligence tools and Siri AI are leading the charge, the under-the-hood performance optimizations and a highly customizable Liquid Glass interface make iOS 27 stand out as one of the most comprehensive and satisfying iPhone updates in years.

Time will only make this software better. With the final release slated for later this fall, iOS 27 is shaping up to be an elevated experience that will save you more time than ever before.

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You don’t have to wait any longer to experience the latest iPhone software because the iOS 27 public beta is finally available. Arriving a little over a month after its reveal at WWDC 2026, this release brings the new Siri and a host of fresh Apple Intelligence features into the fold.

Aside from a sleek visual makeover, iOS 27 introduces a slew of AI tools that prove Apple is serious about giving consumers features that save them time. From the powerful new capabilities of Siri AI to unique, generative AI-powered tools like Reframe, the iOS 27 public beta is set to breathe new life into your device.

Best of all, Apple has extended support for iOS 27 as far back as the iPhone 11 — though only the latest-generation models will have access to Siri AI and the most demanding Apple Intelligence features. If you’re holding onto a supported iPhone, here is how to download the iOS 27 public beta.

Once it's installed, you can dive right into the most exciting new iOS 27 features. Keep in mind that you'll likely need to sign up for a waitlist to get early access to Siri AI, as it's still technically in beta. Once you're approved, you’ll be able to try out all of its new capabilities, provided you're using a supported iPhone model.

Beyond that, you can immediately tap into other excellent iOS 27 features that don't require a waitlist. These include the ability to create custom digital passes in the Wallet app, the vastly improved Photo Clean Up tool, and much more.

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The iOS 27 developer beta has been available for the past month, though it requires an Apple developer account to actually install. A public beta was promised, though Apple never confirmed the exact date it would arrive — only saying it would be some time in July. Well the good news for all you non-developers is that the iOS 27 public beta has just landed.

While some have criticized iOS 27 for being a fairly small update, more focused on backend performance, I don't really agree. There's quite a lot to digest in this update, and the more I use the iOS 27 beta, the more hidden features seem to appear. The problem is figuring out where you should start.

So, for those of you that are just getting ready to experience the iOS 27 beta for the first time, here are 9 of the best features you should try first.

Siri AI

I'll be totally honest, this whole list could easily have just been a list of all the new things Siri could do. The upgraded Apple AI is easily the standout feature of iOS 27 beta, and transforms what used to be a fairly mediocre voice assistant into a fully-fledged AI chatbot.

Siri AI is contextually aware, can hunt down details in various supported apps, understands what's happening on your screen, and has the ability to learn about you based on your historical interactions with the AI — assuming you opted in to store a lengthy interaction history. The AI also features multimodal capabilities, with the ability to understand text, audio, videos and images at the same time.

There's a lot to go through, and it makes sense to start getting to grips with Siri AI from day one.

The Liquid Glass Slider

Liquid Glass has been a controversial design change since it debuted in iOS 26, but it's sticking around for iOS 27 — but not without a few changes. Apple has spent a great deal of effort tweaking the Liquid Glass design to improve readability, and make sure the transparency effects don't cause you to develop a splitting headache.

There's also a new slider to customize the effect, and choose just how much of the transparent effect you actually want. That's in contrast to the binary options that were available in iOS 26, and only gave you the option to choose between full and zero transparency. We like choice here at Tom's Guide, and whether you love or hate Liquid Glass, I'm sure we can all agree that having the ability to choose can only be a good thing.

Reframe

AI photo editing has been one of my favorite uses of the technology, but iOS 27 beta's Reframe is unlike anything we've seen before. The idea behind this is simple, you take one of your existing photos (even one that wasn't shot on an iPhone) and Apple Intelligence will let you shift the perspective and give you a whole new look.

This is the perfect tool for more stress-free photography, because it means you don't need to worry about getting the perfect angle the first time around. And should you ever change your mind, and wish you had shot the photo from a slightly different perspective, iOS 27 can make it happen. It feels like magic, but it's really just AI smarts.

New parental controls

Kids love technology, but the big bad world of the internet can be rather dangerous if you're not too careful. Parental control apps do exist, including some on iOS itself, but with iOS 27, Apple has upped the ante by offering a bunch of helpful new features to keep your kids' activity limited to stuff you approve of.

First up is the ability to create dedicated child accounts, which give parents far better control over what sort of apps and features their kids can or can't use on their Apple devices. This also includes browser controls, to blacklist or white list certain websites, and expansion of Apple's "Questionable content" filters that warn kids if they're sending or receiving content with nudity, gore or violence.

Of course the new feature also includes an expansion of the ScreenTime feature, which lets parents see and manage what their kids are actually doing — while also setting strict time limits on different categories such as games and social media. Of course, kids will be able to send requests to parent accounts asking for permission to use certain apps or sites, which you as a parent can approve or deny.

Shortcuts made easy

Shortcuts are an invaluable tool in iOS 27, but they aren't exactly beginner-friendly. If you don't know what you're doing, it can be quite an intimidating experience getting one together. Thankfully iOS 27 beta has taken all the difficulty out of it, thanks to integration with Apple Intelligence.

Once the beta is installed, all you'll see to do is tell the shortcuts app what you'd like the end result to be. The Shortcuts app will then generate that shortcut for you in the space of a few seconds, and let you get back to focussing on other things. The manual mode is still available for those that want it, but the act of getting started with Shortcuts is now significantly easier.

Siri Mode

Visual Intelligence has changed, and probably for the better, with iOS 27. Rather than being a standalone feature that utilizes the cameras, Apple has baked its AI vision into the official camera app. It's also changed the name, ditching Visual Intelligence and tying it into the new upgrades to Siri AI.

Siri Mode isn't all that different from Visual Intelligence, though it does benefit from the improvements Apple has afforded to Siri with this particular upgrade. Essentially you point your camera at things, and Siri Mode will help you understand everything that can be seen. Be it text that needs translating, QR codes or if you just want to find out more about a particular object in view.

Plus it's now a lot easier to find, and the name is totally self explanatory. That makes it possible to stumble upon Siri Mode fairly easily, and figure out exactly what it's supposed to do right away.

Apple Wallet passes

Apple Wallet got a sizable update in iOS 27, but the feature that's the most exciting is the fact that you can now create your own custom passes within your wallet. The goal of this feature is to let you create virtual versions of tickets, membership cards and anything else that doesn't already have official Apple Wallet support.

This gives you more opportunity to ditch physical items that may get damaged or lost, and just take up space in your bag. No more carrying about paper tickets for your day trips, no more ratty gym membership card attached to your keys — safely store everything on your phone.

AirPods' custom EQ

If you're the proud owner of AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4, you'll find that the AirPods app now features a custom EQ feature in iOS 27. This gives you the option to personalize your music to better suit your own listening tastes, altering the likes of bass, midrange and treble. It's something a lot of other headphones offer, and it's great to see it finally arrive for Apple's latest earbuds.

The AirPods app also features a new slider that lets you adjust the level of Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency. At one end of the slider is full ANC, while the other has full Transparency. So by adjusting the scale you don't have to choose between those two extremes and pick a happy medium that suits you best.

Safari extensions

Mobile browsers typically don't get anything like the same level of extension support as they do on desktop. But Apple has made an effort to add extension support for Safari in iOS over the years, and iOS 27 takes it to a whole new level. In short, you gain the ability to tell your phone what extension you like, and it will create it using artificial intelligence.

Simply enter your prompt, and the AI will generate that extension for you to try. If you like it enough, you can save to Safari to use later. Just be aware, it doesn't seem to be able to do anything particularly complex, nor can it create extensions that already exist in the App Store — like ad blockers

More from Tom's Guide

• Forget Chrome — Safari just got 3 massive Al upgrades in iOS 27
• Apple is paying $250 million to iPhone customers over delayed AI features — here's how to get your share
• 7 hidden iOS 27 features Apple didn't tell you about

Apple is cutting checks to millions of iPhone owners. If you bought an iPhone 16 or iPhone 15 Pro between June 2024 and March 2025, you likely qualify for a settlement payout between $25 and $95 per device.

This settlement comes from a class action lawsuit over Apple's misleading marketing around AI features. Approximately 36 million customers are eligible. Here's what you need to know to claim your share.

Why Apple is paying this settlement

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 16, marketing at the time heavily emphasized AI capabilities. The company promised enhanced Siri that would function as an intelligent agent, positioning these new devices as built specifically for advanced AI features.

Apple also marketed upcoming Apple Intelligence to iPhone 15 Pro buyers during this period. Customers purchased based on these promises.

At launch, Apple Intelligence was nowhere to be found. Five weeks later, iOS 18.1 arrived with basic tools like Writing Tools, Notification Summaries, and Clean Up in Photos. But the advanced Siri features Apple had prominently advertised were still missing.

The lawsuit alleged Apple deliberately misled consumers with deceptive advertising. Rather than fight the case, Apple agreed to the settlement to resolve claims and avoid prolonged litigation. The company's statement specified that this settlement did not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.

Who qualifies?

You're eligible if you purchased any of these devices between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025:

iPhone 16, iPhone 16E, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The iPhone 15 Pro models qualify because they have the processing power to run Apple Intelligence. Sources are reporting payouts range from $25 to $95 per eligible device depending on how many people claim their share.

How to claim your settlement

You don't need to act immediately. Apple is compiling eligible customer information and sending it to settlement administrator Verita.

Once verified, Verita will contact you via email and postal mail with a link to the settlement website. You'll have 90 days from the date you receive your notice to submit your claim.

Check your email carefully, including spam folders, because missing the deadline means losing your payment.

To file your claim, you'll need proof of purchase. If you have your receipt or confirmation email, save it. If not, Apple can verify your purchase through the Apple ID you used to set up the phone.

When will you actually get paid if eligible?

The settlement was approved in June 2026. After Apple provides customer data to Verita and verification is complete, a 45-day notice period begins informing eligible customers.

Payments are expected to arrive sometime after September 2026. Settlement processes can move slowly through verification and legal proceedings, so manage your expectations.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple hid a perfect 'dumb phone' feature inside your iPhone that's great for kids — here's how to turn it on
• iOS 27 beta now lets you customize Siri's pace and expressivity — here's how to do it
• iOS 27's new AI feature will automatically fix your weak passwords — how to set it up