Trial production of Apple's long‑rumored foldable, likely dubbed the iPhone Ultra, has stalled after engineers discovered the hinge cannot survive prolonged, high‑frequency folding. Leaker Instant Digital posted on Weibo that the mechanism repeatedly fails quality checks, forcing the team to pause until the wear issue meets Apple’s exacting standards.

The hinge relies on a liquid‑metal alloy supplied by Dongguan EonTec, a material previously limited to tiny components like SIM ejector pins. Its disordered metallic‑glass structure promises superior resistance to deformation, but scaling it to a critical moving part has proved tricky. Apple has been courting the alloy for over 15 years, tracing back to a 2010 licensing deal.

Despite the setback, production timelines appear largely intact; DigiTimes noted a one‑to‑two‑month lag but still expects a fall 2026 launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro line. The device will ship with a 7.8‑inch inner screen, 5.5‑inch cover display, A20 chip, and is priced around $2,000. The hinge issue must be solved before mass manufacturing can begin in July.