A new report suggests that Apple is being extremely cautious about demand for its most expensive smartphone to date, the iPhone Fold (or iPhone Ultra). The company is said to have asked manufacturing partners to plan for much lower orders than initially expected.
The report also says Samsung has taken advantage of its technological lead in advanced folding displays to extract a major concession from Apple…
Initial shipment expectations have been cut
election The report said Apple initially expected to sell about 10 million units during the launch phase, but its manufacturing partners are now expected to produce about 3 million.
The article suggests that Apple has learned from the Vision Pro experience, and acknowledges that while there may be a similar market reaction to an extremely expensive folding iPhone, only very early adopters would be willing to purchase the first model.
It is estimated that the starting price of iPhone Ultra will be between $2,000 to $2,400.
Samsung Folding Display for iPhone Ultra
The reason it took Apple eight years to launch its first folding phone was reportedly because it was unhappy with both the fragility of existing folding screens as well as the visibility of the crease. He wanted both of these problems to be resolved before launching the first folding iPhone.
Apple typically prefers multiple suppliers for key components, with display orders typically split between Samsung, LG and China’s BOE. However, it is reported that only Samsung was able to meet Apple’s quality requirements for the iPhone Ultra screen.
The Cupertino company would normally want to get other display partners on stream as quickly as possible, but a new report says that won’t be the case for Apple’s most expensive iPhone yet.
Samsung wins three years of exclusivity
election says Samsung was able to negotiate a contract giving it the exclusive rights to make displays for the iPhone Ultra for a period of three years.
Apple has agreed to exclusively source foldable smartphone organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels from Samsung Display for the next three years, according to multiple industry executives. The agreement will be valid for three years, during which Apple will not use foldable panels from other display suppliers. The special arrangement was proposed by Samsung Display, according to people familiar with the matter.
Samsung’s technological edge has put it in a strong negotiating position, but reports indicate it wanted to protect its investment in the iPhone-exclusive production lines needed to make the displays.
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