How Tim Cook shaped Apple’s foldable iPhone, and what it may cost

Chance Miller | Sep 8 2026 - 5:43 am PT

iPhone Ultra timing remains unclear as 'final production adjustments' made | Render shows iPhone Ultra concept

On the eve of Apple’s special event, Bloomberg is out with a new report detailing the decade-long foldable iPhone development.

The report highlights former Apple CEO Tim Cook’s involvement in the project. Plus, details on how much the foldable iPhone could cost.

Mark Gurman says Apple engineers started iPhone Fold development around 2016. In 2020, Cook returned home from a trip to China and was “unusually energized” about foldable phones. He reportedly pushed Apple’s hardware teams to accelerate work on the company’s first foldable.

Typically, Cook “stayed away from the conception of new products.” Therefore, his involvement in the foldable iPhone’s development gave the project added weight:

Cook’s enthusiasm helped change the direction of the work to something that could be more mainstream. Rather than begin with a foldable iPad, Apple turned its focus to creating a foldable iPhone. “Tim was the earliest and biggest champion of this,” one of the people said. “He saw them everywhere in Asia and said Apple needed to play in this space.”

In terms of pricing for the foldable iPhone, which everyone inside Apple refers to as the iPhone Ultra, the company originally targeted an entry-level price of $1,999. Most recently, however, rising component costs have shifted that goal to $2,199.

More recently, Apple has discussed pricing the foldable product as high as $2,199, according to one of the people, who said various options have been considered in recent weeks and that the memory shortage has led Apple to blow past its cost goals.

Some larger-storage configurations of the device could approach $3,000. Compare that with the standard iPhone, which currently starts at $799, or the iPhone 17 Pro, which begins at $1,099.

Apple is expected to debut the iPhone Ultra tomorrow. 9to5Mac will be inside Steve Jobs Theater to cover everything in depth.