Apple hasn’t introduced a genuinely new iPhone form factor since the original iPhone X redefined the design in 2017. Today, that changes — and it’s happening under a CEO who has never run an Apple product launch before. John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook on September 1, 2026, is expected to unveil Apple’s first foldable iPhone at the company’s “Surprise and Shine” event, live from the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.
A New CEO’s First Real Test
Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and spent years leading its hardware engineering division before stepping into the CEO role. Today’s event is his first major public moment in the job, and according to Fortune’s coverage of the event, it’s widely seen as one of Apple’s most closely watched launches in years — not just because of the hardware, but because investors are watching for signs of how Ternus intends to lead differently than Cook did.
The Foldable: What’s Actually Expected
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, whose Apple reporting has a strong track record, says the foldable will follow a book-style design similar to Samsung’s, and is expected to carry a price starting around $2,000 — well above the $1,199 starting price of the current top-tier iPhone Pro Max 17. For comparison, CBS News notes that Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at $1,899, with its higher-end Z Fold 8 Ultra at $2,099 — meaning Apple’s foldable would land squarely inside the price range Samsung has already established, rather than undercutting it.
Why Apple Waited This Long
Samsung has sold foldable phones since 2019, and other Android manufacturers followed within a couple of years. Apple’s decision to wait nearly seven years reflects its historical pattern of skipping a device category until the underlying technology — crease-resistant displays, hinge durability, battery layout — meets its own quality bar, rather than rushing a first-generation product to market. Whether that patience pays off now depends heavily on whether Apple’s foldable display can avoid the visible crease and durability complaints that dogged early Samsung foldables.
It’s Not Just About the Foldable
Alongside the foldable, Apple is expected to introduce updated iPhone 18 Pro models with a new A-series processor and camera improvements, including a wider variable aperture for better lighting control, plus updates to the Apple Watch and AirPods lineups. One notable strategy shift: some reports suggest Apple may delay the standard (non-Pro) iPhone 18 to early 2027, launching it alongside an iPhone 18e and a second-generation iPhone Air instead of on the usual fall schedule. If that holds, it would be a real change to Apple’s decades-old release rhythm, worth watching if you’re deciding whether a refurbished iPhone is worth buying right now rather than waiting on new hardware — a staggered release schedule changes when older models actually become the best refurbished value.
Where the Event Fits in Apple’s Calendar
Apple has held its fall hardware event in this same September window for well over a decade, typically timed so new devices reach store shelves within a week or two of the keynote. That pattern gives today’s announcements unusually fast real-world consequences — pricing, trade-in values, and carrier promotions for existing iPhones typically shift within days of a keynote like this one, not weeks later.
The Supply Chain Reality Behind a First-Generation Foldable
First-generation hardware categories almost always launch supply-constrained, and multiple analysts have already flagged this as a risk for Apple’s foldable specifically. A folding display, a more complex hinge assembly, and a battery split across two panels are all harder to manufacture at scale than a standard flat-screen iPhone, which is part of why Apple reportedly spent years validating the design before committing to today’s launch rather than rushing an earlier version to market.
The Business Pressure Behind This Launch
Apple has real headwinds going into today’s event. iPhone sales growth has been slowing, and roughly 158 million Americans already own an iPhone — more than half of U.S. adults — meaning most of Apple’s remaining growth has to come from convincing existing owners to upgrade to something meaningfully different, not from new customers. That’s a harder sell during a period when many households are watching spending closely on everyday costs. A genuinely new form factor, rather than another annual camera-and-chip refresh, is Apple’s most direct answer to that slowdown.
The AI Question Apple Still Hasn’t Fully Answered
Apple has faced consistent criticism for lagging behind Google and Samsung on visible, consumer-facing AI features. Today’s event is also expected to include enhanced Siri capabilities as part of the iPhone 18 Pro announcement — a chance for Apple to show it’s not sitting out the AI race entirely, even if its approach so far has been slower and more conservative than competitors’. How convincingly Ternus addresses this in his first keynote is arguably as important to watch as the foldable hardware itself.