IT·Science News

Apple’s first foldable, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, headlines new CEO John Ternus’s first launch

Apple unveiled its first foldable phone, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, on Wednesday 9 September at an event in Cupertino led for the first time by its new chief executive, John Ternus, Al Jazeera reports, citing AP and Reuters. Shaped like a passport, the Duo opens into a 7.6-inch-wide screen and is Apple’s thinnest phone when open. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max start at $1,199 and $1,299, go on sale on 18 September, and the Duo follows on 23 October.

“It’s entirely new and at the same time remarkably familiar.” — John Ternus, via Al Jazeera

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — the new boss: a 25-year Apple veteran in a maroon sweater and jeans, introduced by a video with Tim Cook’s voice, who pulled the Duo from his back pocket after “one more thing” and said it “will redefine the experience of using a foldable phone”. Analyst Bob O’Donnell called the moment “hugely symbolic”.
• Al Jazeera — the business case: the biggest change to the iPhone since the home button went in 2017, a pitch aimed at work apps such as Zoom and Slack, and an iPhone business worth $209.6bn, just over half of Apple’s sales. Forrester’s Dipanjan Chatterjee said foldables are still “a minuscule share” of the market.

What we don't know yet: whether Apple can turn foldables from a niche into a big category. Samsung, Motorola and Google have sold foldables for years, and Ternus used the event to pitch on-device Apple Intelligence as a privacy advantage over rivals.