Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone at its flagship fall product event on Wednesday, putting new Chief Executive John Ternus on stage for the company’s biggest hardware launch in years and marking the first leadership change at the keynote since Tim Cook became CEO 15 years ago.
Taking a page from Steve Jobs’ presentation playbook, Ternus saved “one more thing” for the end of the event before introducing the iPhone Duo, a foldable device that opens from a passport-like form factor into a larger, iPad-style display.
The launch gives Ternus, a longtime Apple hardware executive who previously led the company’s hardware organization, an early opportunity to establish his leadership with consumers and investors. It also places him at the center of Apple’s effort to persuade customers to pay higher prices for upgrades as the smartphone market becomes more mature.
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Ternus took over from Cook at the start of September, making the event his first major public product presentation as CEO. His decision to highlight the foldable iPhone as the keynote’s climactic announcement also gives Apple a new flagship product category with which to distinguish its premium lineup.
The iPhone Duo represents Apple’s most significant change to the iPhone’s physical design since Jobs introduced the original model in 2007. When folded, the device functions as a conventional smartphone, while opening it transforms the display into a substantially larger screen.
Ternus used the launch to draw a contrast with existing foldable phones, arguing that competing products have often failed to integrate the two halves of the device into a cohesive experience.
“Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones stuck together,” he said.
Apple is charging a substantial premium for its first entry into the category. The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, with pre-orders beginning October 16 and the device scheduled to launch October 23.
The price puts the Duo well above Apple’s conventional flagship iPhones and turns the foldable into a product aimed squarely at the premium end of the smartphone market. Its success will therefore depend not only on consumer interest in foldable designs but also on whether customers see the larger display and new form factor as worth paying hundreds of dollars more.
Apple says the Duo uses two batteries and can deliver up to 44 hours of usability when customers use only the outer display, while video playback on the inner screens can reach up to 31 hours. The company is also offering a small kickstand and a protective case designed to shield the edges of the folded device.
The foldable launch came alongside a broader increase in Apple’s hardware prices. The company raised the starting price of its high-end iPhone Pro models by $100, with the iPhone 18 Pro starting at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299.
Apple has attributed recent price increases across its hardware lineup to the difficult memory-supply environment. MacBooks and iPads have also become more expensive in recent months, increasing the cost pressure facing consumers across Apple’s ecosystem.
The combination of a $1,999 foldable and higher prices for the mainstream Pro lineup gives Apple more room to increase average selling prices, but it also raises the stakes for its upgrade strategy. Consumers who are already holding onto smartphones for longer may be less willing to absorb another price increase unless the new hardware offers a sufficiently meaningful improvement.
Apple’s revamped financing and subscription approach could help address that problem. The company recently overhauled its device subscription program and renamed it Apple Upgrade, allowing customers to access a new iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad or MacBook through monthly payments rather than paying the full cost upfront. The program is powered by buy-now-pay-later provider Klarna.
That model becomes relevant with a foldable phone approaching the $2,000 mark. Spreading the cost over monthly payments could make the Duo more accessible to customers who would otherwise reject its upfront price, while allowing Apple to preserve the premium headline price.
The company also introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max with new colors and upgraded computing technology aimed at improving photography and AI features, including the next generation of Siri.
One of the biggest camera upgrades is a variable-aperture system, which Apple said uses six laser-cut blades to control how much light enters the camera. Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of iPhone marketing, described it as the company’s most advanced camera system.
Apple also unveiled new Apple Watch models, including the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, with an increased emphasis on health and fitness. A new sensor system takes background heart-rate readings every five seconds throughout the day, including while the wearer is moving.
The company introduced AirPods 5 with a redesigned acoustic architecture and computational audio while retaining the open-ear fit of the standard AirPods. The new models start at $129 with a standard charging case and $149 with wireless charging. Apple is also adding a swipe-based volume control on the side of the earbuds.
The event included a detailed look at iOS 27, with the software update scheduled to launch September 14.
But the foldable iPhone remains the most consequential announcement of the event. Apple is entering a category that competitors have spent years developing, meaning it will need to persuade consumers that waiting for Apple was worthwhile.
The launch also gives Ternus an opportunity to establish a different era for Apple. Cook spent more than a decade building on the foundation created by Jobs, expanding the iPhone ecosystem and turning services and wearables into major businesses. Ternus inherits a company with a massive installed base but faces the harder task of creating new reasons for customers to upgrade.
The iPhone Duo could become one of those reasons if Apple succeeds in making foldable technology feel sufficiently different from the conventional smartphone. Its $1,999 price, however, means Apple is simultaneously testing the limits of what consumers are prepared to pay.