Apple is expected to launch its first foldable screen iPhone this year. However, there are uncertainties about when it will be released and what Apple will name it.

For me, iPhone Fold is the clearest way to refer to the foldable iPhone without an official name. However, this name seems to have the lowest chance of actually being used.

iPhone Fold, which means foldable

John Gruber from Daring Fireball criticizes the name Fold because "this name is so stupid that it is the name used for Samsung's foldables." I smiled at that.

"You name a device not for what it does, but for what it evokes," he wrote this week. "A good name conveys not just function, but a feeling."

Fair enough, but iPod touch immediately comes to mind.

It was the touchscreen iPod, just tainted with the common abbreviation iTouch.

iPhone Fold is not a very bold name, but I think it fits the format used by iPod touch. It is the foldable screen iPhone.

Last September, I joked in the 9to5Mac Slack that Apple should name the foldable screen model iPhone fold (with a small f, like the small t in iPod touch) so that it could be distinguished from the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

In a different era, we could have encountered iFold. For the record, I know that this is a bad idea.

iPhone Duo, which means two-screened

My slight objection to iPhone Fold is that it has been used by Samsung since 2019.

In the same Slack conversation last fall, I reached for iPhone Duo as a sensible alternative solution. A two-screened iPhone (and it might cost as much as two iPhones).

Last month, my colleague Ryan Christoffel supported iPhone Duo, and this week Gruber also reached the same name.

I, Zac, love that Duo could be a three-letter name like Air, Pro, Max, and Neo.

iPhone Ultra, which means foldable?

iPhone Ultra gives an impression of being expensive, bulky, powerful, and durable. It works for Apple Watch Ultra, but it feels like a different product from the foldable iPhone.

It’s a fun situation for iPhone Ultra to have a chance for a pre-announcement name.

Don't call it iPhone Fold; that is the name used for Samsung's foldables. So let them call it iPhone Ultra, you know, like Samsung's non-foldable Galaxy Ultra.

Putting Samsung aside (because really, who cares when the product exists?), I think iPhone Fold has some advantages.

The name is not ambiguous, and people already want an iPhone Fold. It has brand value even before the product exists.

iPhone Folio, a more stylish foldable phone

Using the momentum of Fold, iPhone Folio is a similar but slightly more stylish approach. Apple loves the term "Folio" for iPad accessories, and the foldable iPhone will evoke many iPad similarities.

If the expected dimensions were like iPhone Air and not passport-style, I would have loved iPhone Air Duo. Then we could finally have an iPhone Air 2 Duo, reminiscent of the Intel Core 2 Duo processor in my first Mac.

For now, we are faced with the interchangeable use of iPhone Fold and iPhone Ultra.

It's a confusing time for foldable iPhone rumors. iPhone Duo may stand out, but it doesn't feel inevitable. And iPhone Folio, if it's a good enough name for the iPhone X case from Apple, why not?

Whatever name Apple gives to the foldable iPhone, it won't take long for the real name to settle in. In the meantime, it's fun to discuss.

What do you think? Fold, Ultra, Duo, Folio, or something else? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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