Is this fall’s folding iPhone already a flop?

Source Domain: www.macworld.com

Apple discontinued the Mac Pro earlier this year, and it’s not hard to imagine why: the flagship computer was simply too high-end and too expensive for its own good. As if to demonstrate this, Apple launched the budget MacBook Neo at almost the same time, and it proved a huge hit. Public judgment doesn’t get much clearer than that.

Given this scenario, it’s tempting to wonder why Apple is charging full steam ahead with the iPhone Ultra. Like the Mac Pro, this foldable phone is set to raise Apple’s price ceiling considerably at a time when many customers are having to reassess their outgoings. Foldable phones remain a niche market, and the iPhone Ultra risks following in the footsteps of the Mac Pro and other top-shelf Apple products that failed to move the needle, including the Apple Watch Edition, iMac Pro, and Vision Pro.

I’m worried, in short, that the iPhone Ultra could end up being dead on arrival. It feels like a risky move at the best of times, but with the Mac Pro’s demise fresh in everyone’s minds, is Apple dooming its device before it even arrives?

The hard sell

There’s a common misconception that Apple overprices products to gouge gullible fans out of their hard-earned cash. And sure, Apple products can tend to be on the pricey side. But with reports showing that its devices last far longer than rivals year after year, it’s hard to believe that Apple is ripping off its customers.

Nevertheless, it remains true that Apple is not afraid to charge an arm and a leg to welcome you into its walled garden. The company’s philosophy is not to be the first but to be the best, and that sometimes means going all out with a premium offering that boasts all the bells and whistles.

The iPhone Ultra will be a unique device with a sky-high price tag.

Foundry

The iPhone Ultra will undoubtedly fall into this category. For a start, you can’t make a foldable smartphone without incurring major costs….

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