Apple debuts passport-shaped foldable phone, called Duo

Apple debuts passport-shaped foldable phone, called Duo. Reuters Published September 9, 2026 Updated September 9, 2026 11: 35pm.

Key points

• Apple additionally introduced the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, positioning them as major health-focused upgrades.
• Executives additionally demonstrated off the iPhone 18 Pro and the 18 Pro Max handsets that are the latest versions of Apple's well-known line.
• While Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies have sold folding phones since 2019, the devices have remained a niche among tech enthusiasts.
• The iPhone 18 Pro will additionally include the new A20 Pro chip.
• The iPhone brought in $209.6 billion, or just over half of Apple's sales, in its most recent fiscal year.

Apple on Wednesday unveiled a foldable phone called Duo, introducing the biggest change in years in the company's flagship product.

Notably, the Duo is sized and shaped like a passport, with rounded edges. It opens into a horizontal, wide screen that can additionally be viewed vertically. There is a smaller single screen on the front when the phone is folded. When open, it is Apple's thinnest phone, the firm stated.

In practice, the folding phone event, the first with new Chief Executive Officer John Ternus at the helm, is the most noticeable overhaul of Apple's flagship product since it removed the physical home button from the iPhone X in 2017.

In practice, the iPhone brought in $209.6 billion, or just over half of Apple's sales, in its most recent fiscal year.

Former CEO Tim Cook handed over the leadership baton to Ternus with a video regarding how to start the presentation that concluded with a close-up of Cook. This person noted, "Not me. That's your guy, " pointing back toward Ternus.

Ternus touted the iPhone as a personal AI hub that focused on privacy, saying that others wanted to collect and store personal data. "Honestly, trust only goes so far when your data is no longer yours to control, " he remarked. "That's why Apple Intelligence runs on device whenever it can."

Apple's Lilian Rincon, who oversees AI products for the iPhone maker and was recruited from Google earlier this year, described an updated Siri assistant that will work with 300, 000 apps at release.

Executives additionally demonstrated off the iPhone 18 Pro and the 18 Pro Max handsets that are the latest versions of Apple's well-known line. It do not fold. Pricing for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max starts at $1, 199 and $1, 299, up $100 from the starting rates of the 17 Pro and Pro Max.

Apple additionally unveiled a feature aimed at addressing growing worries over AI-generated and manipulated images.

It introduced a new standard it calls "Apple Reference Image" to prove the authenticity of the images taken with the new iPhone 18 Pro cameras and remarked it will additionally backing the emerging SynthID standard for identifying images that have been created or edited with AI. The Apple Reference Image feature will not be available in the EU or China.

In practice, the iPhone 18 Pro will additionally include the new A20 Pro chip. It brings improvements to assist advanced AI models to run directly on iPhones.

"Apple Intelligence and Siri are front and centre. Apple is using its biggest strength, the sheer scale of its hardware base, to create AI an integral part of the everyday experience throughout devices, " PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore noted. Shares were down regarding one per cent during the Apple presentation.

For context, the firm additionally noted a new version of AirPods would start at $129 with noise cancellation, a first for its budget line of earbuds, and that a $149 version will be available with extra features such as wireless charging and on-stem volume control that will allow users to adjust the volume by swiping up or down on the stem.

Apple additionally introduced the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, positioning them as major health-focused upgrades. That includes a redesigned sensor system that collects heart rate more frequently than before and powers new features that gauge recovery and fitness.

Notably, the firm stated the watches employ new Apple silicon and improved sensors to deliver what it called the most accurate heart-rate tracking in a wearable.

Ternus previously served as Apple's hardware chief but has kept a low public profile aside from a handful of product introductions and sustainability initiatives.

It will fall to Ternus to persuade Apple's customers that they need a foldable device that analysts believe could cost more than $2, 000, a new high for a global brand that has defined mass luxury.

But even with a steep cost tag, analyst firms such as International Data Corporation expect Apple to sell every foldable iPhone it can produce and secure a 40pc share of the lucrative niche by the end of next year.

Wednesday's event is additionally anticipated to mark a major change in Apple's annual product schedule.

While analysts expect Apple to show off new watches, they anticipate the firm will hold off on updates to its more affordable iPhone models until next spring and instead focus only on the new folding device and its iPhone Pro and Pro Max lineup.

In practice, the move is aimed at smoothing out Apple's annual sales cycle. It typically demonstrates a substantial bump in revenue during the year-end holiday quarter for the US and Europe.

Taken together, the developments around apple debuts passport-shaped foldable phone, called Duo point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.