Apple Set to Unveil First Foldable iPhone at Ternus's First Event

Apple is expected to reveal its first foldable iPhone today at a Cupertino event that doubles as new CEO John Ternus's debut keynote.

Apple is holding its annual iPhone event today at its Cupertino headquarters under the tagline "Surprise and shine," and the headlining announcement is expected to be the company's first foldable phone, according to CNN. The event is the first major product launch for John Ternus, who took over as CEO from Tim Cook on September 1.

The Guardian notes this would be the most significant change to the iPhone since its 2007 introduction: a device that folds open and shut like a passport to double its screen size. Samsung, Motorola and Google have all shipped foldables since the late 2010s, but Apple has famously waited. Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee told the AP the launch is "straight out of Apple's playbook" — enter once a market shows viability — while warning that the real test is whether Apple can expand a still-minuscule foldable niche into a meaningful segment.

Yahoo Tech's roundup says MacRumors reports a titanium and aluminum shell, a liquid metal hinge and vapor chamber cooling, with a battery rumored around 4,800–5,000 mAh. Yahoo also reports Apple has told suppliers to prepare to produce 10 million foldables this year, per Nikkei.

Pricing is the big question mark. The Guardian reports Apple is expected to price the foldable north of $2,000, above the $1,899 Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Yahoo Tech says Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects it to "cross the $2,000 threshold," and notes the industry-wide memory shortage — dubbed "RAMageddon" — has already pushed Apple to raise iPad and Mac prices, with Tim Cook telling the Wall Street Journal the situation is "unsustainable." CNN reports Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts near $2,000, and that foldables could entice high-paying customers away from rivals.

Beyond hardware, the keynote is Ternus's first chance to lay out his vision for Apple. CNN notes analysts expect him to signal a push into new AI-powered gadgets given his hardware engineering background, quoting a Bank of America note that he "could cement Apple's device dominance in an AI enabled era" as the company plays catch-up on AI. Forrester's Chatterjee told the AP that Cook's execution set a high bar, and Ternus must position Apple to disrupt itself before smartphones lose their place as consumers' primary connection to the world.

Yahoo Tech reports Apple may shake up its release cadence, with the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and foldable expected September 9 but the foldable possibly getting a later pre-order date due to limited early production, while the base iPhone 18 and 18e could slip to early 2027. Analytics Insight reports the device may be called the iPhone Duo, could reach sales as early as October, and quotes IDC analyst Nabila Popal calling it potentially the "Birkin" of smartphones in China. Gurman says Apple's bigger product wave — a 20th-anniversary iPhone and next-gen foldable — arrives in 2027.