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Apple unveiled its long-awaited first folding handset, the iPhone Duo, at a Cupertino product event on Wednesday that also marked the public debut of John Ternus as the company's chief executive. Taking over the keynote duties long associated with Tim Cook and, before him, Steve Jobs, Ternus opened the so-called "Surprise and Shine" showcase with a self-deprecating video sketch before addressing staff and press directly, telling the audience it was "an extraordinary privilege" to represent Apple's teams. Coverage of the event focused as much on the changing of the guard at the top of the $4.5 trillion company as on the hardware itself, with commentators noting Ternus's understated, low-key manner after 25 years inside Apple's hardware division contrasted with the theatrical stage presence long associated with Jobs.

The centrepiece announcement, held back until the traditional "one more thing" moment roughly an hour into proceedings, was the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable device. It closes into a passport-like shape rather than the squarer form used by some rival foldables, opening out to a 7.6-inch inner display alongside a 5.4-inch outer screen, both said to share the same aspect ratio. Apple described the device as its thinnest iPhone yet, built around a titanium frame reinforced with ceramic fibres, a multi-layer folding glass panel and a nanotexture coating intended to cut glare and minimise the visible crease that has dogged earlier folding phones from other manufacturers. It runs on the new A20 Pro chip and Apple's own C2 modem, has a 48-megapixel camera, and is said to offer up to 31 hours of video playback on its inner screen or 44 hours using the outer display alone. The iPhone Duo will go on sale on 23 October in two finishes, starting at $1,999, a price broadly in line with rival folding phones from Samsung and Google.

Alongside the foldable, Apple concentrated its standard smartphone updates on two Pro-tier models, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, skipping a standard iPhone 18 this cycle. Both feature a redesigned 48-megapixel main camera with variable aperture, new manual camera controls, the A20 chip, and an expanded Dynamic Island capable of displaying multiple live activities at once. Apple said the phones run its most capable on-device AI system yet, with an upgraded Siri able to work across some 300,000 apps. Pricing starts at $1,199 for the Pro and $1,299 for the Pro Max, which also gains a new 2TB storage tier; both launch on 18 September in four finishes. The event additionally brought updates to the AirPods and Apple Watch ranges, including active noise cancellation arriving on the entry-level AirPods for the first time.

Reporters who tried the iPhone Duo after the announcement described a smooth, water-resistant hinge, a matte inner display that coped well with glare, and a fold so tight it was difficult to feel by touch, alongside software touches such as a gradual screen transition when opening or closing the device and support for a laptop-style mode with apps such as Netflix, Zoom and Slack already adapted for the larger canvas. The launch caps roughly a decade of speculation about an Apple foldable, during which Samsung and other Android manufacturers built up a considerable head start in the category; one analyst suggested the symbolism of Ternus, rather than Cook, introducing the device was itself notable, framing it as the start of a new product era under fresh leadership rather than simply a belated response to competitors.

Where outlets differ

The Guardian centres its account on the leadership transition itself — Ternus's background, demeanour, dress and the symbolic weight of a new CEO unveiling Apple's first foldable — treating the phone's specifications as secondary to the corporate narrative, and includes an analyst's comment on what the moment signals for Apple's direction.

The Verge's hands-on report is the most device-focused, dwelling on tactile impressions such as the screen finish, hinge feel, crease visibility and the animated open/close transition, rather than on pricing, chip specifications or the corporate context.

The Verge's roundup piece is the most comprehensive on hard specifications and pricing across the whole product line-up (Duo, iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max, AirPods, Watch), giving exact prices, colours and release dates that the other accounts either omit or mention only partially.

The fourth source dwells most on design philosophy and engineering detail — Apple's stated rationale for the passport-shaped aspect ratio, its criticism of square-format foldables, and explicit comparisons with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the wider foldable market — which the other reports touch on more briefly or not at all.

• www.theguardian.com
• www.theverge.com
• www.theverge.com
• arstechnica.com