Apple debuts foldable iPhone as Ternus opens his first event

Key Points

1. Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone, its most significant device in a decade
2. John Ternus led his first product event a week after becoming Apple's third CEO since 1997
3. Memory chip costs have quintupled, pushing Pro model prices up $100

The latest:

Apple opened its most consequential product event in years on Wednesday, unveiling its first foldable iPhone, a near-tablet device that folds into a pocket and runs more than one app at once. Introducing it was John Ternus, who took over as chief executive last week. The company also confirmed higher prices across its lineup.

Details:

• The device: The foldable is an almost tablet-like device that fits comfortably in a pocket and lets users run more than one app at a time. Apple has positioned it as its most significant product in a decade, and research firm IDC estimates it could start at $2,200.
• The new CEO: Ternus became Apple’s third chief executive since Steve Jobs returned in 1997. He has run hardware engineering since 2021 and led the team that built the foldable, the same group that put Apple’s own chips into Mac computers.
• His remarks: Addressing hundreds of assembled media, Ternus said the company had been imagining quite a lot and told 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 row.
• The pricing: Apple said the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will each cost $100 more than last year’s models, at $1,199 and $1,299. That is a smaller increase than some had feared and suggests Apple may absorb a hit to its profit margins.
• Why prices rose: The cost of memory and storage chips inside the smartphone has quintupled since last fall, prompting the increases across the lineup. Spread over a contract or installment plan, consumers might absorb it — or pause after strong iPhone 17 sales.
• The Pro models: Apple emphasized on-device AI powered by its upgraded A20 chip, which it said runs faster and dissipates heat more effectively. It also showed a variable camera aperture that opens and closes automatically with available light, comparable to a human pupil widening in the dark.
• Missing from the lineup: The base model iPhone and the second-generation iPhone Air are not expected until next year. Customers wanting the newest iPhone will have to buy a Pro model, a potentially deliberate push toward higher-priced devices.
• The rest of the slate: Beyond the foldable and Pro phones, Apple is expected to release new Apple Watch and Mac models, updated AirPods and a new Apple TV box. Apple’s stock was down more than 1% Wednesday afternoon.
• The category: Foldables are not new — Samsung released its first Galaxy Fold in 2019, and some rivals sell tri-fold devices with two hinges. But shipments fell 15% in the first half of the year, according to IDC, which expects Apple to capture 44% of foldable revenue in 2026.
• The engineering test: The main technical question is the crease. On Android foldables, the fold line in the display is often visible and degrades the experience; expectations are that Apple’s version will be effectively invisible.

Between the lines:

The timing of the handover looks deliberate. Ternus gets his first rollout paired with the biggest update to Apple’s most important product, letting the company signal renewed innovation after a persistent criticism of the Cook era — that Apple shipped too few genuinely new products. The foldable was developed under Cook, but it is Ternus who introduces it.

What’s next

Watch the foldable’s announced starting price against IDC’s $2,200 estimate, whether Apple’s margins hold through the December quarter, and the arrival of the base iPhone and second-generation iPhone Air next year.