Apple kicked off its most consequential product event in years on Wednesday, where it debuted a truly new iPhone, a new chief executive, as well as higher prices. It hopes consumers will concentrate on the first two.
The headline is the first foldable iPhone, which will start at $1999. An almost tablet-like device, the new iPhone “Duo” will fit comfortably in a pocket and allows people to use more than one app at a time. It comes in two colors: star white and night sky.
Equally important was the man introducing it. John Ternus took over as Apple’s CEO last week, becoming Apple’s third CEO since 1997, when Steve Jobs returned. Hopes are high that the longtime hardware engineering executive can spark a new wave of innovation and the foldable iPhone is the most significant Apple device in a decade.
Ternus smiled broadly as he strode on stage at Apple’s headquarters to kick off the event.
“We’ve been imagining quite a lot,” he said to the hundreds of gathered media in the audience. “We think you’re going to like what you’re going to see.” Tim Cook and the rest of Apple’s executive team sat in the front as he spoke.
The bad news for consumers is that Apple is expected to jack up iPhone prices. The cost of memory and storage chips inside the smartphone has quintupled since last fall, prompting Apple to raise prices across its device lineup to protect its profit margins.
Spread out over the term of a cellphone contract, or new installment plan, consumers might bite the bullet for the latest devices. Or they could take a breather after blowout sales of last year’s iPhone 17 lineup.
The foldable and Pro model iPhones were the highlight, but Apple also released other devices, including new Apple Watch models, as well as updated AirPods.
The highlight of the foldable iPhone Duo is the larger internal screen, which enables iPhone users to have two apps open at the same time. They will be able to watch a video while texting at the same time, or look at an email inbox on the left with a message window on the right. The device also has an external display when it is folded and the audience at Apple Park oohed when Apple showed off how the Duo seamlessly shifts what’s on one screen to the other when folded and unfolded.
For its new Pro model phones, Apple emphasized the on-device AI capabilities powered by its upgraded A20 chip, which it said runs faster and dissipates heat more effectively. It also showed off a new variable aperture for the models’ camera, that opens and closes automatically depending on the amount of light in the scene, like a human pupil expanding in low light.
Apple said the price of iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will both jump $100, to $1199 and $1299, respectively, compared with last year’s 17 Pro. That is not as large a price jump as some feared, and suggests Apple could take a hit on its profit margins for the devices. The foldable iPhone, expected later in the presentation, could start at $2200, estimates research firm IDC.
Apple’s stock ticked down about 1% Wednesday afternoon.
Notably two devices aren’t expected to be on the menu: the base model iPhone, along with the second generation of the iPhone Air, which are expected next year. That means customers who want the latest model iPhone will have to pay up for the Pro models, potentially a clever strategy by Apple to push customers to more expensive models.
Foldable phones aren’t new. Samsung released its first Galaxy Fold in 2019. Some companies even have tri-fold phones that haven’t one but two hinges. But the category has stalled, with shipments of foldables falling 15% in the first half of the year, IDC says.
Apple’s entry will be a shot in the arm for the category, IDC says, capturing 44% of the revenue generated by all foldable sales in 2026 even though it launches with just over three months to go in the year.
The hope is that Apple’s foldable will be an advance over existing devices, particularly that its “crease” will be invisible. With Android foldables the crease where the display folds can be often noticeable, degrading the consumer experience .
As new CEO, Ternus will be the star of this year’s show. At last year’s event, while a mob of gadget reviewers rushed the displays of iPhone 17s, and swarmed Cook, Ternus stood to the side, chatting quietly with other Apple executives and almost entirely ignored.
Ternus has been head of hardware engineering for Apple since 2021, leading the team that built the foldable iPhone. That team also incorporated Apple’s highly rated chips in its Mac computers, one of its less appreciated but more consequential accomplishments of recent years.
It is no accident that Apple timed his transition so that, for his first product rollout, Ternus would introduce its biggest update to its most important product. One knock on Apple’s Cook era has been that the company didn’t release more innovative products. Though the foldable was developed on his watch, Apple is anxious to set a tone that a new innovative day has dawned at the company.
Write to Rolfe Winkler at Rolfe.Winkler@wsj.com
