Tim Cook helped shape Apple’s foldable iPhone Ultra — and the $2,199 price talk
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Tim Cook pushed Apple’s foldable iPhone after seeing rivals in Asia, with internal pricing now discussed around $2,199.
On the eve of Apple’s Surprise and Shine event, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman published fresh detail on how Apple’s first foldable iPhone took shape — and how expensive it may be.
According to reporting summarized by MacRumors and 9to5Mac, Apple’s hardware teams had studied foldable phones for years, but former CEO Tim Cook became an unusually hands-on champion around 2020. After a trip to Asia where he saw many people using Samsung and Huawei foldables, Cook returned “unusually energized” and pressed the company to accelerate a mainstream foldable iPhone, rather than starting with a foldable iPad concept.
People familiar with the project told Gurman that Cook’s involvement stood out because he typically stayed farther from early product conception. One source called him “the earliest and biggest champion” of the foldable phone effort. New CEO John Ternus, previously Apple’s hardware engineering chief, is also described as a major champion who helped push the device over the finish line — making the foldable an apt showcase for his first September keynote as CEO.
