Apple Unveils First Foldable iPhone at $1,999

Apple had reportedly tested folding prototypes since at least 2021. Ternus, who ran Apple's hardware division before his promotion, argued that rival foldables "feel like two phones stuck together" and said a series of innovations would "redefine the experience"; the crease across the Duo's inner screen is barely visible. Apple has said an industry-wide memory chip shortage forced it to raise MacBook and iPad prices, and analysts at KeyBanc argued before the event that the company faced a choice between protecting margins and protecting sales volume. Analysts split on the gamble. Ben Wood of the research firm CCS Insight observed that "nothing happens by accident at Apple", suggesting Ternus was installed to front a landmark launch. Dipanjan Chatterjee of Forrester warned that the device risks becoming "a premium-priced ornament", like the Vision Pro headset, which sold poorly at its own steep price.

The stakes are high: the iPhone generates more than half of Apple's annual revenue, and the previous top model started at $900. Foldables account for only about 2% of global smartphone sales, forecast to reach roughly 4% within a decade even with Apple competing. The announcement had been widely expected, and the shares slipped about 2% afterwards. Alongside the Duo, Apple revealed the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,199, the Pro Max at $1,299, fifth-generation AirPods from $129, and the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. It also confirmed the delayed overhaul of its voice assistant, now Siri AI, which Ternus said would handle users' most private information mostly on the device, with anything sent to the cloud kept private.