[DigitalToday intern reporter Seung-a Yoo (유승아)] Apple shares, which had fallen after a price hike announcement, rebounded 5 percent.

On July 2 (local time), IT outlet NineToFiveMac reported that investors are paying more attention to the possibility of expanding foldable iPhones than to price hikes driven by rising component costs.

Apple raised prices sharply for several products, including Macs and iPads, last week. It cited higher component costs, and the shares fell once afterward. Ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, the shares turned higher.

The market sees a supply-chain outlook released the previous day as having lifted investor sentiment. It said Apple asked partners to increase production of the foldable iPhone Ultra. Apple was reported to have raised its production target to about 10 million units from 7 million to 8 million units.

The product is not expected to account for a large share of overall iPhone sales. Still, it carries meaning in terms of a premium strategy. Market research and consulting firm International Data Corp (IDC) projected the model’s average selling price at about $2,500 (about 3.9 million won), which is read as a strong signal supporting Apple’s premium strategy. Expectations were reflected that expanding high-priced products could help defend performance even if price increases create a short-term burden.

IDC said Apple is expected to post total iPhone sales of about 240 million units in 2026. Of those, 70 million to 75 million units are expected to be the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The foldable iPhone Ultra would be only part of the total, but its high average selling price is read as a factor that boosts expectations for profitability.

The launch schedule is also a variable for investment decisions. Apple is not expected to immediately replace the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air with the iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2. The launch timing for these standard models was reported to be spring 2027. This has led to observations that Apple will put more weight in its next lineup on adjusting the upper-tier products and expanding new form factors than on replacing standard models.

Market attention is currently focused on hardware rather than price. A projection of increased output of the foldable iPhone Ultra is cited first as the most direct reason for the share rebound just before the holiday.

Apple has not fully eased the market shock from the price hikes. Still, the rebound shows that its premium new-product strategy is recapturing investor attention, separate from the burden of component costs. The foldable iPhone Ultra’s actual production plan and the timing of a reshuffle of the iPhone lineup are expected to be key variables for the share trend.