(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
A lot of us here at Tom's Guide are rather excited to see the launch of the foldable iPhone Ultra later this year, since it's going to break all new ground for Apple's smartphones. But it sounds like we may have to wait a little longer for the phone to actually arrive, with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicting that launch may follow the same pattern as the iPhone X.For those that don't remember the launch of the 10th anniversary iPhone, let me remind you. The iPhone X was announced at Apple's September 2017 event, alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. But Apple didn't release them all at the same time, with the iPhone 8 series arriving on September 22 and the iPhone X releasing on November 3.In the case of the iPhone X, Kuo notes that the delayed release was due to the fact "iPhone X inventory had not reached the level required for a September launch." The iPhone Ultra will likely be in a similar situation, especially since Kuo predicts Apple will ship between 0.5 and 1 million units in Q3 2026. That's pretty low compared to the 7-8 million total units the analyst predicts Apple will produce, presumably for the next 12 months. It's also less than 10% of the reported ten million units Nikkei Asia said last week Apple was preparing to ship.With all that in mind, Kuo believes the iPhone Ultra may not be available for pre-order until Q4 — and certainly won't be released in Q3.iPhone Ultra wait times
