Apple reveals first foldable iPhone at new CEO’s debut keynote

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Apple used its September event, styled 'Surprise and Shine', to unveil the first foldable model in its iPhone range, marking a symbolic debut for John Ternus, who took over as chief executive from Tim Cook on 1 September. The gathering was widely billed beforehand as a pivotal moment for the company, with Ternus himself having described the launch internally as one that would prove 'phenomenal'. Rather than sticking to Apple's usual pattern of a single new lineup, the presentation instead centred on a folding handset alongside the top-tier iPhone 18 Pro models, with the more affordable standard iPhone 18 reportedly held back until a later date.

The new device, named the iPhone Duo rather than the 'iPhone Ultra' many had expected, adopts a book-style folding design that opens out into a tablet-like screen measuring 7.6 inches, the largest display Apple has fitted to a phone, while a 5.4-inch panel sits on the outer cover. Both screens use ProMotion refresh technology, always-on capability and brightness reaching up to 3,000 nits. Apple's hardware chief, Johny Srouji, said engineers had developed a bespoke nano-texture display material intended to look and feel 'perceptually flat', paired with new adhesives designed to let the internal layers move smoothly against one another so the crease along the fold resists deepening with repeated use. The handset is built around a titanium frame reinforced with ceramic fibre, protected by toughened Ceramic Shield glass, and carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Open, it measures 5.2mm thick and folds down to 11.3mm, weighing roughly 254 grams, and comes in two finishes, star white and a dark navy called night sky.

On the technical side, the Duo carries two rear cameras, both built around 48-megapixel sensors, with its ultra-wide lens shared with the iPhone 18 Pro, though it forgoes the Pro range's variable aperture and manual controls while still gaining the same Photographic Styles editing tools. A feature unique to the folding form factor lets users take FaceTime calls using either the inner or outer screen. Apple has priced the device from $1,999 for 256GB of storage, rising to a 2TB option, positioning it above Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 but below its Ultra variant, and like the iPhone Air, it will ship without a physical SIM tray anywhere in the world. Pre-orders open on 16 October, with sales beginning a week later on 23 October, roughly a month after the Pro models reach shelves.

Beyond the foldable, Apple also refreshed its Apple Watch range with the Series 13 and Ultra 4, alongside updated AirPods, and confirmed that its new devices arrive alongside a substantially overhauled Siri, rebuilt using Google's Gemini technology and woven into iOS 27 and its counterpart updates across the Watch, iPad and Mac. The redesigned assistant launches in English only when the software reaches the public on 14 September, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish support following in October; it remains unavailable in China and has no confirmed timeline for the European Union. Coverage of the event varied in focus: pre-show previews concentrated on the leadership handover and speculated about possible price rises linked to memory-chip shortages, along with the chance that Apple TV or smart-home hardware might also feature. Post-event reports instead emphasised the finished product, with more technical outlets weighing the Duo's engineering and pricing against rival foldables from Samsung and Oppo, while others highlighted the software side, the naming change from the rumoured 'Ultra' branding, and the unusual decision to delay the standard iPhone 18 towards a spring announcement alongside an iPhone Air 2 and iPhone 18e.

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