Apple's first foldable iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone Ultra," is expected to launch without at least four features that will be present on the iPhone 18 Pro models, despite a price tag of at least $2,000.

The iPhone Air lacks Ultra Wide and Telephoto rear cameras, a SIM card slot, and stereo speakers. With a super thin design, a titanium frame, and a glass back, the iPhone Ultra is expected to be very similar to the iPhone Air in terms of design, and it is possible that similar concessions will be present on the device. There are no indications that the iPhone Ultra will be missing stereo speakers, but it is not out of the question given the other compromises Apple has chosen to make. Based on over a year of reports and rumors, the iPhone Ultra could be missing the following features: Face ID/TrueDepth camera array, Telephoto camera/third rear camera, Action button, Physical SIM card slot, and mmWave 5G.

The iPhone Ultra is believed to be too thin to accommodate Apple's TrueDepth camera array, which is required for Face ID authentication, so Apple is expected to revert to a Touch ID side button instead. There will still be a front-facing camera for both displays, with the inner one rumored to be a 24-megapixel under-display sensor, but biometric authentication will be handled by the fingerprint reader. The last flagship iPhone with Touch ID was 2016's iPhone 7.

As visible on dummy models shared by Sonny Dickson, Vadim Yuryev, and others, the iPhone Ultra is expected to sport only two rear cameras. These are believed to be 48-megapixel Wide and Ultra Wide lenses, with no third Telephoto camera of the kind found on the Pro models. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said last month that the people who have used the device are impressed by it, but singled out the camera system as the most likely disappointment for buyers. Dummy models continue to point to the absence of the Action button, making the iPhone Ultra the first iPhone with no Action button or silent switch.