Apple considers iPhone Ultra for 2024 release

According to Mark Gurman's Bloomberg newsletter, Apple is seriously considering an iPhone Ultra model. This model will sit above the Pro and Pro Max models and would be even more expensive.

Gurman cites Tim Cook's answer to investors on whether the iPhone's rising average price was sustainable. Cook said that people "are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category". Cook reportedly sees the iPhone as "integral" to people's lives - they use it to make payments and store banking data, control smart-home appliances and manage their health.

Apple is reportedly very open to unveiling a fifth iPhone model - the Ultra - alongside the regular, the Plus, the Pro, and the Pro Max. The company could launch it as early as 2024. Apple already uses the Ultra brand for its most powerful M1 processor and its flagship Apple Watch.

What isn't clear, and Gurman doesn't speculate, is what features would an iPhone Ultra have to justify its higher position. He notes that it may not be a folding iPhone, as Apple is reportedly concentrating its foldable efforts on larger devices, like laptops, and a folding iPhone likely isn't coming until after 2024.

An iPhone Ultra might have an even bigger display than the Pro Max, better cameras, and a faster processor. But before 2024, Apple is expected to finally bring a periscope zoom camera to the 2023 iPhone 15 lineup.

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