Apple does work on an iPhone Ultra (and this is why)

For years there have been rumors that Apple is working on an iPhone Ultra, which may replace the Pro Max and that now seems more likely than ever.

The term Ultra from Apple

Apple introduced the name Ultra in 2022 with the M1 Ultra chip. The name was soon seen as a wrong name, because it was above the M1 Max chip. After all, Max stands for a maximum of – the greatest possible amount of something.

A few months later the Apple Watch Ultra was released. A robust, high-end smartwatch that stands out above the regular Apple Watch. The following year, the company added a little extra with the M2 Ultra chip for its most powerful Macs and the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

This week Apple has decided to also use the name for the renewed CarPlay: CarPlay Ultra. The company also associates the name CarPlay Ultra directly with Aston Martin, which is located in the highest segment of the automotive sector.

An iPhone Ultra

According to Mark Gurman van Bloomberg, Apple has also been about to drop the name iPhone Pro in favor of the name iPhone Ultra since 2022. In September of that year he said: “If you have an iPhone 13, I would wait 12 months for the iPhone 15. Then we will see larger changes, including a possible rebranding of the Pro Max as the ultra.”

There is still no ultra. But that might change now. In a few months there will be the release of a new member of the iPhone family, the iPhone 17 Air. It would be logical if Apple used this opportunity to bring the naming of the entire line-up closer to the naming of the MacBook and the iPad. It could then look like this:

• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17 Plus Air
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max Ultra

Whether this will actually be, of course, remains to be seen. We see it as a logical step for Apple.