Apple is set to unveil its first foldable iPhone this afternoon at an event inside Apple Park, a launch that carries unusual symbolic weight: it is the first keynote presented by John Ternus, who became the company's chief executive on September 1 after Tim Cook moved into the newly created role of executive chairman.
The event, titled "Surprise and shine," begins at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Outlets that track Apple's supply chain, including 9to5Mac and MacRumors, expect Apple to introduce a book-style foldable device, widely rumored to carry the iPhone Ultra name, alongside the annual refresh of its Pro-tier handsets.
A Late Entry to Foldables
The foldable is expected to pair a roughly 5.5-inch outer display with a 7.6-to-7.8-inch inner screen, wrapped in a titanium frame designed to minimize the crease that has dogged folding phones since Samsung introduced the category in 2019. Early accounts cited by TechRepublic describe a dual-lens rear camera without a telephoto lens, Touch ID rather than Face ID for unlocking, and a starting price above $1,999 — which would make it Apple's most expensive iPhone yet.
Apple arrives seven years after Samsung's first Galaxy Fold and well behind Huawei, Honor and other Chinese manufacturers that have already iterated through several generations of folding hardware. Global foldable shipments remain a small slice of the overall smartphone market, but the category has grown faster than conventional handsets for several years running, driven largely by demand in China. Apple's entry, at a materially higher price than existing Samsung and Huawei foldables, will test whether the company can pull the format toward the mainstream buyers who generate most of its revenue, rather than the early adopters who have driven the category so far.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are also due for updates, including a variable-aperture main camera and a new C2 cellular modem, though the standard iPhone 18 is reportedly being held back for a spring release — a departure from Apple's usual single-cycle launch pattern.
Ternus's Debut
The bigger story for investors may be who is presenting. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001 and spent more than a decade running hardware engineering across the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro lines, takes the keynote stage for the first time as chief executive. Cook, who led Apple for fifteen years and oversaw its growth from roughly $350 billion to $4 trillion in market value, described the succession in April's official transition announcement: "John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor."
I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple's mission forward.
John Ternus, Apple CEO
Cook remains on Apple's board as executive chairman, a role in which he is expected to focus on government relations and long-term strategy while ceding day-to-day operations and product messaging to Ternus. Today's event is the clearest early signal of how Ternus, an engineer by training who has rarely spoken at Apple's marquee keynotes, will handle the company's most-watched public appearances.
Apple is also expected to refresh its HomePod line around the Gemini-powered version of Siri that debuted at its developers conference in June, part of a multi-year deal under which Apple licenses Google's Gemini models to run a rebuilt voice assistant, and to introduce camera-equipped AirPods aimed at hands-free "visual intelligence" features.
Apple shares have traded largely flat in the run-up to the event, with investors reserving judgment until pricing and initial sales estimates for the foldable are known. The device is expected to ship within weeks of today's announcement, giving Apple a narrow window to capture holiday-quarter demand before rivals unveil their own year-end foldable refreshes.
