Apple CEO John Ternus holds an iPhone Duo during Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event at the company’s Apple Park headquarters on September 9, 2026 in Cupertino, California. The event featured Apple product announcements and marked Apple CEO John Ternus’ first keynote address in his new role. Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images North America hide signature switch signature Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images North America Apple began a new era on Wednesday as its new CEO unveiled a passport-sized iPhone that folds up. The device, called the iPhone Duo, represents the most radical physical change to the iconic iPhone since Apple introduced the world to a minimalist glass slab nearly 20 years ago, ushering in the smartphone era. Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo can be opened and closed like a passport. Apple hide signature switch signature Apple The duo, likely years in the making, was no doubt timed to kick off CEO John Ternus’ tenure with an announcement about hardware and product design. Ternus replaced Tim Cook at the beginning of the month. While Cook has been praised for his business acumen (Apple’s market capitalization has grown nearly 13-fold during his decade and a half at the helm), critics say Apple’s gadgets haven’t had the same “wow” factor as under late visionary leader Steve Jobs, who introduced the first iPod, iPad and iPhone. Analysts say Ternus, a mechanical engineer by training, could bring some of that back because he spent much of his career at Apple working in product development. And nearly an hour into the livestream introducing updates to existing product lines like AirPods, Ternus echoed a trademark Jobs used before big announcements in product keynotes, saying, “But there’s actually more to it” before announcing the foldable iPhone. “iPhone Duo features an all-new design while maintaining everything you love and expect from iPhone. It delivers the largest display ever on an iPhone, yet fits easily in your pocket. It reflects an extremely complex design, yet is easy to use and enables new experiences,” he said. Foldable smartphones are not an entirely new concept. Apple’s competitors Samsung and Huawei have had products on the market since 2019, although early models were exhausted With durability problems. “One of the problems is that it’s a weird product category,” said Jason Snell, who writes about Apple on Apple’s website. Six colors. Foldable phone sales account for about 2% of all smartphone sales worldwide, he said. “The idea that you open it up and it becomes almost like an iPad is a pretty cool idea. Whether this will attract a large number of people is unclear,” he said. “Folding phones are a solid category, but they’re not huge. I think Apple will do a lot to popularize it, but even so, I think it’s a niche product and if this is the future of smartphones, it’s probably a long way off.” Following the market with more reliable and sophisticated products has been part of Apple’s secret sauce for decades. The first iPhone hit the market more than two decades after the first cell phones appeared. iPhone Duo opens like a book, with a 5.4-inch outer screen when folded and a 7.6-inch inner screen when unfolded. It will start at $1,999 — $700 more than the entry-level iPhone 18 Pro, which the company also announced on Wednesday. It will be available from October 23rd. Wednesday’s product launch came with a promise to unveil a beta version of Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 27, in October. It will include the long-awaited Artificial intelligence version of digital personal assistant Siri which will have access to users’ contacts, calendar, messages, email and applications. The company says the update will help make iPhone an “intelligent personal hub.” Apple has been criticized for accepting what many analysts believe slow approach artificial intelligence as it shook up the technology landscape. But Snell says the idea of ”intelligent personal hubs” is a bet on on-device AI rather than large, chatbot-style language models that require access to the cloud and data centers. “If you’re a phone maker, this is something you should do,” he said. “In the long term, will this level of power be necessary or will the chips in our phones be powerful enough?” Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at research and consulting firm Forrester, said Apple is betting that Siri “can become the invisible, intelligent layer that connects context, personalization and privacy across the entire ecosystem. Apple has spent years promising a smarter Siri. Now the count has come.” But there are risks. Philip Michaels, a freelance tech writer who follows Apple, said the biggest one is the market, which is under pressure from difficult macroeconomic conditions and rising component prices, especially memory chips. “Essentially, the problem for Apple will be the same as for many companies,” he said. “Prices are rising, wages remain unchanged, things are more expensive. Will people be convinced to buy a new phone, especially when the main driver will be the software features that will be available on current phones?” Cook will remain executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. Analysts expect him to remain heavily involved in Apple’s political affairs, especially when it comes to relations with China, where he has expanded Apple’s manufacturing presence, and the Trump White House. “I’m not sure Ternus has those skills and certainly doesn’t have that experience,” said David Pogue, a reporter for the newspaper. CBS Sunday morning and author of the book Apple: The First 50 Years. Note. Apple provides financial support to NPR. Post navigation Apple introduced the foldable iPhone Duo Does iPhone Duo have MagSafe? Everything you need to know.