{"id":23044,"date":"2026-09-05T16:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T15:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/?p=23044"},"modified":"2026-09-05T18:54:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T17:54:33","slug":"the-iphone-fold-might-be-even-more-expensive-than-we-first-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/05\/the-iphone-fold-might-be-even-more-expensive-than-we-first-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"The iPhone Fold Might Be Even More Expensive Than We First Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apple\u2019s first<strong> foldable iPhone<\/strong> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/02\/apple-confirms-live-streams-for-sep-9\/\">getting very close to becoming a reality<\/a>, and the latest leak has given us something rather important: a potential price tag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And, well\u2026 you might want to sit down for this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A post <a href=\"https:\/\/m.weibo.cn\/status\/RgpPVo0lK?jumpfrom=weibocom\">circulating on Weibo<\/a> claims that Vodafone Australia has revealed when it will begin taking pre-orders for Apple\u2019s much-rumoured foldable iPhone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the claim, pre-orders could begin on <strong>September 12<\/strong>, just days after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/02\/surprise-and-shine-john-ternus-gets-his-first-big-apple-moment\/\">Apple\u2019s September event<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.26.31.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"568\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.26.31-1024x568.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23045\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.26.31-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.26.31-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.26.31-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.26.31.png 1346w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/tech.yahoo.com\/ai\/apple-intelligence\/articles\/forget-iphone-18-apples-iphone-164709318.html\">Yahoo News<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it\u2019s the pricing that really caught my attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The alleged Australian pricing is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>256GB \u2014 A$3,699<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>512GB \u2014 A$4,199<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1TB \u2014 A$4,699<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those are seriously big numbers for an iPhone. The 256GB model alone would put Apple\u2019s first foldable into an entirely different price category from the iPhones we\u2019re used to buying.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, Australian pricing isn\u2019t directly comparable with UK or US pricing because of taxes, currency conversion and Apple\u2019s regional pricing structure. So I wouldn\u2019t take <strong>A$3,699<\/strong> and simply convert it into pounds and call that the UK price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, the numbers do line up rather neatly with previous reports suggesting that Apple\u2019s foldable could start <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/markets\/stocks\/article\/apples-first-foldable-iphone-may-cost-2000-110739523.html\">somewhere around the <strong>$2,000 mark<\/strong><\/a>, with some estimates going higher.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s what makes this leak particularly interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve been hearing about Apple\u2019s foldable iPhone for what feels like forever. For years it has existed in that strange category of Apple products that everyone seems convinced is coming, but which Apple itself refuses to acknowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now we\u2019re potentially just days away from seeing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The September 12 date is the really interesting part<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the claim is accurate, Vodafone Australia could begin accepting pre-orders on <strong>September 12<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s only three days after<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/uk\/apple-events\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/uk\/apple-events\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">Apple\u2019s September 9 event<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.30.59.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"572\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.30.59-1024x572.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.30.59-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.30.59-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.30.59-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2026-09-05-at-16.30.59.png 1462w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geeky-gadgets.com\/apple-september-9-event-announcement\/\">GeekyGadgets<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apple hasn\u2019t confirmed the existence of an iPhone Fold, let alone its price or availability, so this should absolutely be treated as a rumour for now. The original claim comes from a third party who says they confirmed the information with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vodafone.com.au\/?srsltid=AfmBOoodr7Tm2fk-WFzE7n9ip_th7kUx9EcNYluHj3npO6basbjaQzWm\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vodafone.com.au\/?srsltid=AfmBOoodr7Tm2fk-WFzE7n9ip_th7kUx9EcNYluHj3npO6basbjaQzWm\">Vodafone Australia<\/a>; but as of right now neither Apple nor Vodafone has publicly announced these details.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Apple really is preparing to unveil its first foldable iPhone next week, we\u2019re getting to the point where these little leaks are becoming much harder to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_0771-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23065\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_0771-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_0771-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_0771-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_0771-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_0771.jpeg 1206w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/4nC_YTAVmls?is=-_oVxJLTVcVF7u-p\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FrontPageTech<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/anxiousholly\/status\/2096261724282269916?s=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@anxiousholly<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And there is something quite amusing about the idea of Apple finally entering the foldable market\u2026 only to make the first model <strong><em>eye-wateringly<\/em> expensive<\/strong>, much like the category-defining <strong>Vision Pro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then again, perhaps that\u2019s exactly what we should have expected. Apple isn\u2019t going to introduce its first foldable as the cheap iPhone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s going to introduce it as <strong>the iPhone you really, <em>really<\/em> want<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And judging by that alleged <strong>A$3,699 starting price<\/strong>, Apple is going to make sure you know it &#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apple\u2019s first foldable iPhone is getting very close to becoming a reality, and the latest leak has given us something rather important: a potential price tag. And, well\u2026 you might want to sit down for this one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2786,174,16],"tags":[4,934,3501,3541,3567,2416,1598,3568,3569],"class_list":["post-23044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple-blog","category-blog","category-iphone","tag-apple","tag-apple-event","tag-iphone","tag-iphone-fold","tag-iphone-ultra","tag-pricing","tag-rumor","tag-sep-9","tag-vodafone-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23044"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23067,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23044\/revisions\/23067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arronhirst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}