iPhone Ultra: News and Expected Price, Release Date, Specs; and More Rumors

The iPhone Ultra is the flagship smartphone expected from Apple in 2024. The latest news says this model will be part of the iPhone 16 series and will offer more advanced features than the rest of the lineup, like a bigger display and speedier hardware. It should also use USB-C instead of the Lightning connector.

When Will the iPhone Ultra Be Released?

Next year's iPhones will include several models: iPhone‌ 16, ‌iPhone‌ 16 Pro, and ‌iPhone‌ 16 Pro Max. This is typical. What's new is the idea of an 'ultra' version. Likely called iPhone Ultra, it's rumored to be the top-of-the-line model that year.

This new addition was originally said to be part of the iPhone 15 lineup slated for later this year (rumors call it iPhone 15 Ultra), but the latest report, from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, is the phone will sit alongside the rest of the 2024 iPhones:

But instead of renaming the Pro Max “the Ultra,” Apple could add an even higher-end iPhone above both Pro models. Internally, the company has discussed doing just that — potentially in time for the 2024 iPhone release.

iPhone Ultra Price Rumors

Since nobody knows for sure when this phone will make its debut, it's tough to predict the price. Will it trend with the 2023 lineup? Or will it fall more in line with next year's prices?

LeaksApplePro is a continual source of (you guessed it!) Apple leaks, and they think the phone will start at $1199. However, LeaksApplePro's prediction in this tweet is that the Ultra model will be part of the iPhone 15 series. So, again, we could be looking at an even higher price if Apple holds out until the iPhone 16 lineup.

Also, that price would be for the lowest storage option. You can expect to pay up to an additional $500 for the top-of-the-line Ultra phone with the most storage.

Pre-Order Information

You'll be able to pre-order the iPhone from Apple's website, likely the same day, or soon after, it's announced. We'll have the exact details during the Apple event; monitor our Next Apple Event page for more information.

iPhone Ultra Specs & Features

As you'd expect, the Ultra model iPhone will need to stand out in some way from the others in the lineup. Gurman speculates (and we agree) improvements to the camera, a faster processor, and possibly a bigger display. He also thinks there could be more "future-forward features," like an all-wireless iPhone with no charging port.

The amount of memory in the iPhone Ultra should match, if not exceed, the 8 GB expected in the iPhone 15 Pro. The latest iPhone has four storage options, which will probably be repeated with this phone: 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB.

Another rumor is that the iPhone Ultra will have a dual-lens selfie camera. If true, it would make sense for this to come to only the Ultra model, if Apple wants there to be a big divide between it and the other models. That same tipster reports that the Ultra's storage will start at 256 GB.

iPhone 15 is expected to be the first iPhone to have a USB-C port rather than the Lightning connector, so we'll also see USB-C in this phone as well. That is unless Apple opts for a completely wireless phone, but there's no strong evidence for that yet.

The iPhone Ultra and iPhone 16 will both ship with iOS 18, or whatever Apple plans to call that year's OS update. Given the history of iOS versions, it only makes sense for that to follow iOS 17.

Designer Jonas Daehnert tweeted this artistic concept of an iPhone Ultra if Apple took ideas from the Apple Watch Ultra. While it's neat to look at, this rendition is unlikely to stick, considering the rumors about phones that will arrive before this one (e.g., there are buttons, which could be removed with iPhone 15).

The Latest News About the iPhone Ultra

You can get more smartphone news from Lifewire, but here are other related stories and some rumors we've found about the iPhone Ultra specifically: