iOS 27 Might Have Just Confirmed Apple’s First Foldable iPhone

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iOS 27 has been in beta testing since WWDC (though Apple only opened the public beta last week), and testers have made new discoveries ever since. Usually, these are features that Apple didn't announce as part of these updates, like the new hidden Siri AI menu in macOS 27. However, the latest iOS 27 beta might reveal a new product Apple hasn't announced yet: the company's rumored foldable "iPhone Ultra."

What do you think Apple is going to call its foldable iPhone? That's just one of five questions Lifehacker is asking readers for the second round of its Big Guessing Game. Enter for your chance to win the latest Apple Watch.

iOS 27 developer beta four might have just revealed the iPhone Ultra

After diving through the fourth developer beta for macOS 27, Macworld found something quite interesting: The outlet discovered "Battery Health" strings in the OS' code that make references to an iPhone with multiple internal batteries. They include things like, “The batteries in this iPhone are performing as expected,” and “the health of the batteries in this iPhone has significantly degraded" as opposed to specifying "the battery in this iPhone." Macworld even found that one string notes that "one of the batteries" may not be genuine, anticipating a case where a customer only replaces one of their iPhone's batteries. Apple has been making iPhones for nearly 20 years, and all of them have shipped with one embedded battery. Multiple batteries in one iPhone would indeed be something new.

While these strings make no sense for Apple's current iPhones, they'd track for a future foldable. We don't know the exact specs of this upcoming product, of course, but Apple could theoretically place a battery in each side of a foldable iPhone to power the extra screen real estate. This is how other foldable smartphones handle batteries, like the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Samsung splits the batteries in two, effectively including two smaller batteries in each side of the device.

Macworld says the first iOS 27 beta had references to "angle detection" and "fold states," which are even bigger flags that Apple is prepping this update for a foldable device as well. Will the company actually pull the trigger and release its own foldable smartphone in the fall? There are no guarantees, but the signs do seem to be pointing there. Personally, I'd rather see the company roll out an "iPhone Flip," but I'm curious to see Apple's take on a foldable smartphone (if it even happens).

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