Five Advantages the iPhone 18 Pro Could Have Over Apples Pricier Foldable iPhone Ultra This Autumn Season

Apple is preparing to unveil its first foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at a Sept. 9 event, and mounting leaks suggest the standard Pro models could actually outperform the pricier foldable device, widely expected to be called the iPhone Ultra, in several meaningful ways.

Apple confirmed its fall product event this week with a media invitation carrying the tagline "Surprise and shine," alongside rumors that the company will unveil three flagship devices this September rather than the usual four-model iPhone lineup: the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the company's long-rumored foldable. Reports suggest the base iPhone 18 and a lower-cost iPhone 18e will instead arrive in spring 2027, a departure from Apple's traditional September release pattern.

The first advantage centers on the camera. According to a report from 9to5Mac, the iPhone 18 Pro line is expected to gain a variable-aperture main camera, a feature that would let users manually adjust how much light reaches the sensor, potentially improving Portrait mode results and offering greater control over depth of field along with meaningful gains in low-light photography. Multiple outlets, including the technology site Gotechtor, have reported that the foldable iPhone is not expected to receive the same hardware, largely because the components required for variable aperture are believed to be too large to fit inside the device's notably thin body.

A second advantage involves optical zoom. Current reports indicate the foldable iPhone will ship with only two rear cameras, a main sensor and an ultrawide lens, while the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected to retain a dedicated telephoto lens as part of their triple-camera systems. That would leave Apple's most expensive iPhone without true optical zoom capability, a notable gap for a flagship-priced device that could push buyers who prioritize zoom photography toward the standard Pro models instead.

Battery life represents a third area where the Pro line is expected to have an edge. According to 9to5Mac, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is rumored to receive a physical battery roughly 10% larger than the one in the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and it is expected to benefit further from efficiency improvements tied to Apple's new A20 Pro chip and its in-house C2 modem. While regulatory filings suggest the foldable iPhone should still offer solid battery performance for its category, most reports agree the Pro Max's combination of a larger physical battery and chip-level efficiency gains should make it the longest-lasting iPhone Apple has ever released, a benchmark the foldable's unique thin-and-light form factor makes difficult to match.

A fourth potential advantage involves biometric security. Multiple outlets, including Tom's Guide, have reported that the foldable iPhone may forgo Face ID entirely in favor of Touch ID built into its power button, a design choice likely driven by the challenge of fitting Face ID's sensor array into such a thin device. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, by contrast, are expected to retain Face ID, preserving the more familiar unlocking and authentication experience current iPhone Pro owners are accustomed to.

Raw processing performance provides a fifth point of separation. According to Tom's Guide, the foldable iPhone is rumored to use a standard A20 chip rather than the more powerful A20 Pro variant found in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, even though both chips are expected to be built on the same advanced 2-nanometer manufacturing process, which industry reports suggest could deliver roughly a 15% improvement in processing speed and a 20% boost in efficiency compared with the current generation.

These reported trade-offs come as the foldable iPhone is expected to command a substantially higher price than the Pro lineup, with multiple outlets estimating a starting price near 2,000 dollars, nearly double what the iPhone 17 Pro Max currently costs. Design-wise, the foldable is rumored to open in a book-style format with a titanium frame, an outer display measuring roughly 5.3 to 5.5 inches, and an inner display around 7.6 to 7.8 inches when unfolded, aiming for an iPad-like 4:3 aspect ratio and a display Apple hopes will be nearly free of the visible crease common to other foldable phones on the market.

Apple has not confirmed any of these specifications ahead of its Sept. 9 event, and the company's official presentation remains the only source that will resolve the current wave of speculation. For consumers weighing whether the novelty of a folding screen justifies the foldable's expected premium, however, current leaks suggest the more traditional iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max could actually deliver stronger cameras, longer battery life, familiar biometric security and faster raw performance, at a considerably lower price than Apple's most ambitious device to date.