The foldable iPhone, referred to in rumors as the iPhone Ultra, currently exists only at the level of leaks, but there are already plenty of people willing to give it a try. The logic is simple: buy it, feel it out, live with a flexible screen for a couple of weeks, and if it doesn’t click — sell it and recoup some of the money. A smartphone buyback service warns that such an experiment could cost a pretty penny. According to their calculations, in the first year, a foldable iPhone owner risks losing up to $1,292.
The foldable iPhone will depreciate faster than a regular one
How Much Do Foldable Smartphones Drop in Price Over a Year
The data was collected by SellCell, which analyzed how flagships from Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola, and OnePlus hold their value one year after launch. The conclusion is disappointing for flexible screen enthusiasts: foldable models lose an average of 64.6% of their value over twelve months. This is the worst result among all smartphone categories. By comparison, traditional slab phones lose 55.3% over the same period.
In dollar terms, the gap is even more striking. A foldable device owner parts with an average of $997.69 over a year, while a classic smartphone owner loses $605.32. The difference is nearly $400, and that’s considering foldable devices cost significantly more to begin with. So you pay more upfront and lose more when selling.
After a year, a foldable smartphone retains only 35.4% of its original price. For regular models, this figure is higher at 44.7%. In plain language, if you invested a hypothetical hundred thousand, you’d get roughly a third back after a year. The flexible screen, hinge, and complex construction currently work against resale value, not for it.
How Much Will iPhone Ultra Cost a Year After Launch
Now for the most interesting part — let’s apply this data to the iPhone Ultra rumors. According to insiders, the foldable iPhone will launch in fall 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, with a price tag of around $2,000. The figure itself is impressive, and if the new device depreciates at the same rate as the average foldable smartphone, the picture turns out quite grim.
Ready to experiment on yourself for two thousand dollars or more?
SellCell estimated that at the typical depreciation rate for foldables, a $2,000 iPhone Ultra would be worth approximately $708 after a year. That means a loss of those very $1,292. For a device that many want to pick up just to “see what it’s like,” that’s very expensive curiosity.
And don’t forget about the Russian reality. Here, iPhones arrive via parallel imports with a markup, so the starting price of the foldable flagship could easily exceed 200,000 rubles. This means losses on reselling the original could turn out to be even more painful than the dollar calculations from the Western service suggest.
There is a caveat worth mentioning, though. The calculation is based on the behavior of current foldable smartphones from Samsung and other manufacturers. Apple isn’t part of this statistic yet simply because a foldable iPhone doesn’t exist. And Apple devices, as we know, hold their value in a completely different way.
How iPhone Holds Its Value Compared to Android
And this is where potential buyers get some hope. In the same study, the iPhone 16 lineup showed the best result among all manufacturers: after a year, these models retained 51.5% of their value. That’s more than any competitor.
| Manufacturer | Value retained after one year |
|---|---|
| Apple (iPhone 16) | 51.5% |
| OnePlus | 46.8% |
| 40.8% | |
| Samsung | 39.5% |
| Motorola | 24.5% |
The difference compared to Motorola is more than twofold. Apple traditionally outperforms Android flagships in resale value, and the foldable iPhone could theoretically inherit this trait. SellCell calculated this scenario too: if the iPhone Ultra depreciates at the iPhone 16 lineup’s rate, it would be worth about $1,030 after a year. That’s over $300 less in losses than the average foldable smartphone.
Reality will most likely be closer to Apple’s current performance. The base iPhone 16 retained 51.4% of its price over a year, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max with 256 GB held onto a full 56.4%. But even in that scenario, the loss on a $2,000 device would still be around $1,000 over a year. And although the design, specs, and release date have already been leaked, no one can yet say how the resale value of the first generation will behave.
Is It Worth Buying the First Foldable iPhone at Launch
In short, buying an iPhone Ultra just to try it out and resell it is a questionable endeavor. A thousand dollars in losses over a year isn’t the price you want to pay for curiosity. The flexible screen is genuinely interesting, but the first generation of any Apple device is always a compromise: high price, inevitable rough edges, and not the most stable price on the secondary market.
I’d advise holding off on buying at least the first generation of the foldable iPhone. Or commit to keeping it for two to three years
There is a loophole, though. Apple has a 14-day return policy. If you buy an iPhone to figure out whether the foldable form factor is for you and stay within those two weeks, the experiment will be completely free. Buy it, use it, didn’t work out — return it and get your money back. The key is to make the decision before the deadline, rather than waiting six months hoping you’ll grow to like it. And of course, you need to be in a country where Apple officially operates and has an Apple Store.
Personally, I wouldn’t rush to buy the first foldable iPhone at launch. Waiting for reviews, checking real-world battery life, hinge durability, and everyday screen behavior is far more sensible than spending $2,000 on a device that will lose half its price by the following summer. And if you really want to be first, keep those two weeks in mind and honestly assess whether a foldable screen truly changes your usage scenario.
