Kalley Huang
CUPERTINO (CALIFORNIA): Apple introduced a foldable iPhone on Wednesday, making the most significant change in 19 years to the company’s most important product.
During a 75-minute recorded presentation at its headquarters here, Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, a foldable smartphone with a bendable display that opens and closes like a book. When folded, the phone has a smaller screen on the front similar in size to a passport. When it’s open, consumers will be able to use two apps at the same time across a larger display. The phone will start at $1,999 and will be available Oct. 23.
“Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” said John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO. The new Apple phone, he added, “will redesign the experience of using a foldable phone.”
Foldable smartphones have been commercially available since 2018, but the category has not yet made inroads with consumers. Last year, consumer electronics companies shipped nearly 20 million foldable phones — or less than 2% of all smartphone shipments — according to Counterpoint Research, which tracks smartphone markets.
Apple’s product event Wednesday was Ternus’ first since taking over leadership of the company. He was the company’s head of hardware engineering before succeeding Tim Cook as CEO last week. In the recorded presentation, Ternus emphasised Apple’s work on artificial intelligence and described iPhones as the ideal device to be a “personal intelligent hub.”
Over the nearly two decades since it debuted in 2007, the iPhone has become Apple’s biggest business, now accounting for half — or more than $200 billion — of its annual revenue. That business has continued to grow, even as the iPhone has faced criticism for improving only incrementally.
The foldable iPhone is “part of experimentation around how to continue to grow” the iPhone business, said Gene Munster, a managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, an investment firm.
With the iPhone Duo, Apple is establishing a new high end for its lineup of phones and trying to prove that it can still create innovative products. The phone’s exterior is made of glass, while its inner screen is made of a custom polymer that feels like plastic. Its software adapts to how the phone is folded, contracting to the smaller display on the front and expanding to the larger one on the inside. Its controls are on the side of the phone, rather than on the bottom.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s head of marketing, called the iPhone Duo “the most transformational iPhone experience since the original.”
The iPhone Duo is hitting the market in a difficult environment for consumer electronics, though its price tag is a bit less than analysts expected. The artificial intelligence boom has created a global shortage in memory chips, making the component more expensive for devices such as phones, computers and video game consoles.
In June, Apple increased the prices of Macs and iPads. In July, the company said it expected to pay even more for memory in the current quarter. On Wednesday, Apple also quietly increased the prices for older models of the iPhone. The iPhone 17 now starts at $899, $100 higher than when it was released last September. And the base models of the iPhone 16, 17e and Air all cost $100 more.
The iPhone Duo’s $1,999 price “looks like a bold move by Apple, even if it means sacrificing some margin,” said Liz Lee, an associate director at Counterpoint, in a statement. “It’ll leave consumers eager and waiting early on, especially if supply is much tighter than expected.”
The iPhone Duo could add significantly to the market for foldable smartphones, but it would remain a slice of the market overall. Next year, Apple is expected to ship more than 12 million foldables — 5% of all iPhone shipments — according to Counterpoint.
On Wednesday, Apple also updated traditional models of the iPhone. The iPhone 18 Pro will have a new chip, the A20 Pro, that allows it to run Apple’s most advanced AI models. Apple extended the phone’s battery life, so it can play videos for 36 hours on the iPhone 18 Pro and for 48 hours on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. The phone also has a new system of cameras, including one that can change how much light it lets in.
Both models will be $100 more expensive than their predecessors. The iPhone 18 Pro will start at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299.
Apple also positioned its smartwatches as AI devices, preparing to compete with a device that OpenAI has been working on.
It introduced a feature that allows the watch and its digital assistant Siri to summarise daily activities and conversations for a wearer. The company emphasised privacy when announcing the feature and said it wouldn’t record, store or be able to access audio. In addition, it introduced AI features that recognise sounds such as sirens and doorbells and tell a wearer what was said in conversation 15 seconds ago.
The company also took steps to catch up to wearable devices from competitors such as Garmin, smart ring maker Oura and health tracker Whoop. The Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 will measure a wearer’s heart rate more frequently and tell a wearer how ready they are for activity. The new watches will start at the same price as their predecessors, $399 for the Series 12 and $799 for the Ultra 4.
Apple has updated its AirPods, too. The AirPods 5 will offer noise cancellation, play more detailed sound and fit more ear shapes. A more advanced version will allow a wearer to change the volume by swiping on the stem of the earbud and to wirelessly charge the earbuds. The AirPods’ price will also stay the same, starting at $129.