Apple is expected to introduce its first foldable smartphone at its Sept. 9 product event, potentially testing whether Americans will pay more than $2,000 for a device many now keep for four years or longer.

Would you pay $2,000 — perhaps $2,500 — for a smartphone?

Apple may soon find out how many Americans will.

Apple has scheduled its annual fall product event for Sept. 9 and is expected to introduce its iPhone 18 Pro lineup and potentially its first foldable smartphone.

The rumored foldable device, sometimes referred to in industry reports as the iPhone Ultra, could open like a book into a small tablet-sized screen. Reports suggest it could cost between $2,000 and $2,500.

That would make it substantially more expensive than many laptop computers — and could provide an important test of just how much consumers are willing to spend to remain on the leading edge of smartphone technology.

Michigan By The Numbers: Smartphones Are Essential

For many Michigan households, a smartphone isn’t a luxury. It’s their primary connection to the digital world.

1 in 11 Michigan households relies on a smartphone as its only computing device.

1 in 8 Michigan households relies solely on cellular data accessed through smartphones or other mobile devices, rather than fixed home broadband.

4.03 years — The average age of an iPhone traded in nationally during the second quarter of 2026, the first time the average has exceeded four years.

$2,000+ — The potential price being reported for Apple’s expected first foldable smartphone.

$781 — What Americans interested in an Apple foldable said, on average, they would be willing to pay.

75% — Share of U.S. adults surveyed who said they aren’t interested in buying a foldable Apple device.

BOTTOM LINE: Apple may be preparing to test the upper limits of smartphone pricing just as consumers are keeping their existing phones longer — and as smartphones have become essential computing and internet-access devices for many Michigan households.

Americans Are Keeping Their Phones Longer

Apple could be introducing its most expensive iPhone ever at a time when Americans are stretching the life of their existing devices.

New data released by Assurant shows the average age of an iPhone traded in during the second quarter of 2026 reached 4.03 years — exceeding four years for the first time.

Consumers received approximately $1.43 billion from smartphone trade-in programs during the quarter, up 7 percent from a year earlier.

The numbers suggest Americans increasingly are asking a simple question before upgrading:

Do I really need a new phone?

For Apple, Samsung, Google and wireless carriers, that’s an increasingly important question.

Extending the average replacement cycle from two or three years to four years means manufacturers have fewer opportunities to sell another $800, $1,200 or $2,000 device to the same customer.

Three Out Of Four Americans Aren’t Interested

Apple may face another obstacle with foldable phones: Most consumers apparently don’t want one.

A CNET/YouGov survey of 2,605 U.S. adults found 75 percent aren’t interested in buying a foldable Apple device.

Even consumers who are interested aren’t prepared to pay anything close to the rumored price.

Those respondents said they would spend an average of approximately $781 for a foldable iPhone.

That’s less than half the potential $2,000-plus price.

The resistance crosses generations.

Among Baby Boomers, 83 percent said they weren’t interested in a foldable Apple phone. Among Generation X, 77 percent said no.

Even younger consumers weren’t overwhelmingly sold. Some 69 percent of Generation Z respondents and 68 percent of millennials said they weren’t interested.

Gen Z consumers willing to consider one said they would spend an average $919. Millennials averaged $859, Generation X $690 and Baby Boomers just $572.

Has The Smartphone Become Too Expensive?

The bigger issue may extend beyond whether consumers want a phone that folds.

It is whether Americans are reaching their limit on smartphone prices.

The CNET/YouGov survey found 41 percent of respondents said anticipated price increases are causing them to reconsider upgrading their phones.

Another 9 percent said they would upgrade only if a trade-in or carrier promotion absorbed enough of the cost, while 22 percent said they don’t plan to upgrade regardless of what Apple introduces.

That creates an interesting challenge for the technology industry.

Manufacturers have spent years adding better cameras, faster processors, larger screens and increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence features.

But improvements between generations have become less dramatic for many everyday users.

A four-year-old smartphone can still make calls, send email, browse the web, take photographs, stream video, conduct banking transactions and run most popular applications.

If consumers increasingly believe their existing phones are “good enough,” manufacturers have to provide a compelling reason to replace them.

A folding screen could be Apple’s answer.

Apple Is Betting On Foldables

Apple would not be inventing the foldable smartphone.

Samsung, Google and Motorola already sell them, and Samsung introduced its first Galaxy Fold in 2019.

But Apple brings something few competitors can match: an enormous installed base of iPhone owners already tied into Apple’s ecosystem of applications, watches, computers, cloud storage and other services.

Apple doesn’t need most of those consumers to purchase a $2,000 foldable.

If even a relatively small percentage of Apple’s customer base wants the newest and most technologically advanced iPhone, a premium foldable could generate billions of dollars in sales.

It also could breathe new life into a mature smartphone market in which consumers increasingly see fewer reasons to replace perfectly functional devices.

The $2,000 Question

That’s what could make Apple’s Sept. 9 event particularly interesting.

The company isn’t simply expected to introduce another generation of smartphones.

It may be testing the upper limit of what consumers are willing to pay for one.

Americans are holding onto their phones longer. Michigan households increasingly depend on smartphones as essential computing and internet-access devices. And polling shows consumers interested in an Apple foldable are willing to spend far less than its rumored price.

Apple has repeatedly demonstrated an extraordinary ability to convince consumers that premium technology is worth a premium price.

A $2,000-plus foldable iPhone could put that ability to one of its toughest tests yet.

Would you pay $2,000 for one?