Apple's new boss starts with big gamble on £1,999 first folding iPhone

ByKali Hays, Technology reporter and Lily Jamali, North America Technology correspondent.

Key points

• In the US, rates start at $1, 999, but can go up to $3, 200.
• "The real fight is China, where Huawei owns nearly 80% of foldables." remarked Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for data and analytics, devices at IDC EMEA.
• After the likes of South Korea's Samsung and China's Huawei, apple is entering the foldable phone market comparatively late.
• Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies who attended the Wednesday presentation, remarked the spotlight on Ternus produced it feel "almost like he was a product himself."
• John Ternus, who took over from long-time chief executive Tim Cook this month, unveiled the iPhone Duo.

Notably, the new boss of Apple has marked his first public appearance by launching the company's most expensive iPhone – a foldable handheld that costs at least £1, 999.

John Ternus, who took over from long-time chief executive Tim Cook this month, unveiled the iPhone Duo. It is the first major design change to the iPhone for almost two decades.

Ternus informed an audience at Apple's California headquarters: "Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together." Apple's model, he maintained "redefine the experience of using a foldable phone".

In the US, rates start at $1, 999, but can go up to $3, 200. It has taken eight years to develop, something Ternus was directly involved in after spending plenty of years as a top executive inside Apple's hardware division.

When unfolded, it looks like a small iPad and a wider iPhone when it is folded.

Ternus remarked: "It's entirely new and meanwhile remarkably familiar. A similar size to your passport, it feels familiar to hold and comfortable to employ with one hand."

But the product is facing established competitors. "The real fight is China, where Huawei owns nearly 80% of foldables." remarked Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for data and analytics, devices at IDC EMEA.

Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology research firm FDM CCS Insight, remarked it was probable Ternus's promotion was timed specifically "to coincide with what will be arguably one of the biggest iPhone launches for many years". "Nothing happens by accident at Apple, " Wood continued.

Altering the design of the iPhone may address some criticism that Apple has yet to land a major product hit or truly exciting innovation since the first iPhone came out in 2007.

"The foldable risks becoming a premium-priced ornament in the portfolio, imparting badge value but not meaningful growth, " remarked Dipanjan Chatterjee, an analyst at Forrester.

Previously, the highest starting cost of the newest iPhone was $900 (£664). Apple additionally disclosed on Wednesday the new iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. It in the US start at $1, 199 (£855) and $1, 299 (£959) respectively.

Chatterjee remarked the foldable iPhone could go the way of Apple's Vision Pro headset. It the business priced at $3, 699 (£2, 729) and has not been a hit with buyers. While not as popular as the iPhone, is purchased by millions of individuals each year, or, he remarked, it could be the company's next Apple Watch which.

Meanwhile, the way individuals have become accustomed to the way the iPhone operates is another potential hurdle to Apple seeing sizeable sales of the new design.

"Foldables are interesting devices", Milanesi observed. "A lot of people are intrigued by it, but the software and the learning curve that you have from moving from a traditional phone to a foldable is real."

According to Wood, the current market for foldable smartphones from the likes of Samsung and Huawei produce up only 2% of smartphone sales. Even with Apple's version probable driving interest and demand, sales are only anticipated to reach 4% of the total market in the next decade, according to data and analytics firm FDM CCM Insight.

In practice, the iPhone has been Apple's top-selling product and accounts for more than half of the company's sales each year.

In recent quarters, the firm has boasted that the iPhone is more in-demand than ever, with the most recent version of the device becoming its most successful product launch.

Notably, the firm additionally made public more concerning the coming relaunch of its audio and chat assistant Siri. It it now calls Siri AI.

Starting with the iPhone 18, the bot will now be able to go throughout information on a person's phone, like messages and emails, to find information, answer queries and take action on a person's behalf.

Some Siri AI features will additionally be available on the new Apple Watch, including the ability to take notes of conversations and transcribe them, should a wearer enable that feature.

Ternus referred to new AI-enabled capabilities on the iPhone as an "intelligent personal hub", and admitted that Apple would be making employ of "the most private details of your daily life."

He insisted that all of it will remain private, with the AI features often running "on device", meaning not through third-party firms. And when a third-party is required for a function, Ternus remarked it will remain private in a remote server, or cloud.

"Others see that data as something to collect and store", Ternus remarked. "Here, not even Apple can access what's yours."

For now, apple' s new boss starts with big gamble on £1, 999 first folding iPhone remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.