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John Ternus just made his first big call as Apple's new CEO, betting the entire AI future on one device. Whether that concentration becomes the company's greatest strength or its most dangerous vulnerability depends on what happens over the next…

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At $315.34, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) is a Hold, because the new CEO’s decision to double down on the iPhone is working right now but leaves the stock priced for with little margin for error heading into an unproven AI cycle. The question posed by this week’s keynote is whether that concentration is a feature or a bug.

Apple’s new chief executive John Ternus officially took the CEO role on September 1 and used his first launch event on Wednesday to unveil a foldable iPhone Duo priced at $1,999, alongside refreshed hardware and messaging that placed the phone squarely at the center of the AI strategy.

That framing arrives with real numbers behind it. iPhone generated $54.25 billion in fiscal Q3 2026, still roughly half of the $109.42 billion total. The device is both the growth engine and the concentration risk investors are being asked to underwrite.

Why the iPhone Bet Could Pay Off The bull case starts with a product cycle that keeps outrunning expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% year over year, Mac grew 29%, and Services hit a June-quarter record of $30.7 billion. Tim Cook told analysts “the iPhone and the Mac are both doing remarkably better than we thought they would do.”

Capital return remains enormous. Apple authorized a new $100 billion buyback and repurchased $90.71 billion of stock in FY25. The board also lifted the dividend 4%. On the AI front, Ternus is inheriting a reimagined Siri and pricing power that Deepwater’s Gene Munster estimates could add only $3 to $5 per month for upgraders even with a 15% price hike.

Why the Rich Multiple Looks Dangerous Bears see a stock trading at a P/E of 41 with a forward P/E of 33, well above Apple’s historical 25 to 30 range. Fiscal Q3’s headline EPS of $2.02 included an 11 cent tariff-refund benefit, and management warned that supply constraints will increase significantly next quarter across iPhone, Mac, and iPad.

Memory costs are the other worry. Cook called it a “100-year flood on the memory pricing” and confirmed Apple reluctantly raised prices. Forward EPS estimates for FY27 have drifted from $9.68 sixty days ago to $9.57, with 23 downward revisions against 6 upward in the trailing 30 days. On top of that, OpenAI has reportedly poached 400 Apple employees, a talent drain during a critical AI transition.

Why Patience Beats Conviction Right Now The Hold case rests on a stock priced for both sides to be partially right. The fundamentals are excellent: ROE of 171.4%, operating margin of 32.0%, and an installed base above 2.5 billion active devices. But the valuation already reflects that quality, leaving little cushion if Siri AI underwhelms or if supply constraints crimp the December quarter.

Ternus is essentially untested at the CEO level, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman framed the transition as an Andy Jassy style handoff, with Cook expected to remain involved through 2028 or 2029. Investors get a runway to judge execution before repricing the stock either direction.

What the Numbers Actually Show Apple currently trades at $315.34 against a mean analyst target of $323.86, implying roughly 2.7% upside. That target is a snapshot of consensus, not a promise. Coverage is deep, with 6 Strong Buy, 19 Buy, 14 Hold, 3 Sell, and 2 Strong Sell ratings across 44 analysts.

Shares are up 16.31% year to date and 35.06% over one year, comfortably ahead of the S&P 500’s 11.81% YTD and 17.24% one-year gains. Composite sentiment sits at a neutral 47.4, softening 13.25 points over the past week.

Verdict: Hold Until Ternus Proves the AI Thesis At $315.34, Apple is a Hold. Here is why.

The setup is genuinely balanced. A stock trading at 41 times earnings with only 2.7% upside to consensus does not offer a comfortable margin of safety, but the underlying business is compounding at rates that justify a premium. Selling here means betting against a company gaining share globally per IDC and posting double-digit growth in every geographic segment.

The buy trigger is clear: evidence that Siri AI drives a measurable iPhone upgrade wave through the holiday quarter and into fiscal 2027, or that memory costs stabilize and margin guidance for the December quarter beats the 47% to 48% already telegraphed. Either would validate paying up for the platform.

The sell trigger is equally identifiable: a botched Siri rollout, a demand air pocket after the iPhone 17 and foldable launch, or a Greater China relapse that erases the recent rebound. Any of those would puncture the premium multiple quickly.

Owning Apple through this transition costs almost nothing given the buyback backstop and Services annuity, while acting prematurely in either direction sacrifices information the next two earnings prints will provide.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Daily Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd TSMC reported August revenue of NT$514.8 billion, about $16.35 billion. Revenue jumped 53.3% from a year earlier and 10.1% from July. That is a monthly record. The company has now posted four straight months of revenue growth.

TSMC controls 72.5% of the global foundry market. Advanced 5-, 4-, and 3-nanometer capacity remained fully booked during the second quarter as AI server processors continued to consume leading-edge chip capacity. The company said during its second-quarter earnings call that demand tied to artificial intelligence remained extremely strong. The August numbers confirmed it.

What to Watch The Producer Price Index is the first test. The 10-year yield at 4.86% and crude above $100 Brent are already in the trade. A hot PPI that sends the 10-year through its recent highs keeps pressure on growth stocks and makes Thursday’s early futures recovery harder to hold. A softer print gives buyers their best chance to end the three-day losing streak. An in-line number may settle very little with the Consumer Price Index less than 24 hours away.

Apple has the product catalyst. TSMC has the revenue confirmation. The technology bid is real but it does not control the broader market if yields keep climbing. Friday’s Consumer Price Index is still waiting behind today’s report.

The S&P 500 bias stays to the downside with the trend down and a pattern of lower tops and lower bottoms since the August all-time high. The 50-day moving average held Wednesday. Sellers have to break it to extend the move. A hold there could produce a counter-trend bounce into the pivot at 7,696.625 but the trend does not change until 7,766.50 is taken out.

Apple’s trend is up and the stock is expected to open on the strong side of the 50-day at $316.47. The bias is bullish early in the session. A failure to hold the early gains and the move over the moving average weakens that read, with a retest of $309.16 to $300.80 the next risk.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.

Apple's fall event just wrapped, and options traders are already pricing in a swing that dwarfs the stock's typical post-event move. Whether that energy breaks toward a bull case or a bear case depends on one catalyst nobody is talking…

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) staged its fall product event on September 9, 2026, and the stock is already positioning for the next leg.

Options desks have been priced for outsized movement, with one Halftime Report contributor noting that zero-day-to-expiry contracts implied a swing of more than 1.5% by the closing bell, roughly three times the typical move. Our proprietary model sees that repricing extending well beyond the event window.

Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Apple is $362.61, implying 15.07% upside from the $315.34 close. We rate shares a buy with high conviction.

24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $315.34 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $362.61 Upside 15.07% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% What the Setup Looks Like Heading Into the Event Apple has been a momentum name in 2026. Shares are up 16.31% year to date and 35.06% over the trailing year, though the stock cooled off 2.96% in the week leading into the launch. The 52-week range of $225.82 to $344.27 shows how far sentiment has traveled since last fall.

Fundamentals underpin the run: Q3 FY2026 revenue reached $109.42B, up 16.36% YoY, with EPS of $2.02 marking a ninth straight beat. iPhone revenue climbed 22% and Mac jumped 29%. CEO Tim Cook flagged supply constraints as a demand story, saying Apple is dealing with “an incredibly strong iPhone and Mac product cycle.“

Why Bulls See a Breakout to $378 Our bull case lands at $378.37, or roughly 20% upside. The driver is a Siri AI-led upgrade cycle layered on an already record installed base of 2.5B+ active devices. Cook called Siri AI “a completely reimagined version of Siri that is profoundly capable, deeply personal, and integrated seamlessly across our platforms” and floated iCloud Plus tiering as a monetization path.

Services already run at a $30.74B quarterly clip, and pricing power is visible: Apple reluctantly raised prices on parts of the Mac and iPad line without derailing demand. September guidance of 9% to 11% revenue growth may prove conservative if supply loosens.

What Could Go Wrong Our bear case pulls the stock to $312.63, essentially flat. Memory inflation is the biggest immediate drag; Cook described the environment as “a 100-year flood on the memory pricing with exponential increases in memory prices.” September gross margin is guided to 47% to 48%, below the Q3 print.

Regulatory friction could delay Siri AI in the EU and China, and insider activity is currently characterized as selling. Bulls would counter that Apple returned $33 billion to shareholders last quarter and is reinvesting tariff refunds domestically, which supports the multiple even if margins compress.

How Apple Compares to Microsoft and Alphabet Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the cleanest AI-platform comparison because both companies monetize AI through subscription layers on installed bases.

Microsoft trades at a P/E of 27 with an operating margin of 46.8%, versus Apple at a P/E of 41 and a 32% operating margin. Microsoft’s Azure just surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, which sets a bar Apple has not matched in AI infrastructure.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is the valuation counterpoint. Alphabet trades at a P/E of just 15 with net margins of 32.8%, richer profitability at a much cheaper multiple.

Google Cloud grew 82% in Q2 2026, far faster than any Apple segment. The AI buildout behind that growth runs on power, cooling, and networking suppliers most investors overlook, and we profiled seven of them in a free report on AI infrastructure names beyond the chipmakers.

Company P/E Operating Margin Apple 41 32.0% Microsoft 27 46.8% Alphabet 15 32.0% Apple is the most expensive of the three, which makes our 24/7 Wall St. price target look constructive rather than aggressive. It requires only multiple maintenance.

Apple Price Prediction 2026 to 2030 My verdict: Buy, target $362.61, confidence 90%. The tipping factor is the Siri AI upgrade catalyst arriving into a record installed base with pricing power intact.

I’d be a buyer if the September quarter delivers on the 9% to 11% revenue guide with gross margin at the high end. I’d stay on the sidelines if memory inflation compresses the December-quarter margin below 46%.

Looking further ahead, here is where our model projects Apple could trade, assuming current growth trajectories hold.

Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $330.74 2027 $365.10 2028 $402.80 2029 $443.46 2030 $471.58 These projections assume Apple continues executing on Siri AI monetization and Services growth. Significant upside or downside could come from a foldable iPhone launch or a sustained memory-cost shock.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Apple this week unveiled an iPhone that unfolds like a book to expand its screen size and closes up to fit in your pocket. It’s the biggest physical change to the iPhone’s design in nearly two decades.

But even though they’ve been around for years, foldable phones aren’t particularly popular. They’re expensive, awkward and not as durable as regular smartphones. So why did Apple build one?

The simple answer is that the novel design of today’s foldable phones could help re-establish the high end of the phone market. They are meant to stand out in a sea of standard-issue, if-you’ve-seen-one-you’ve-seen-them-all smartphones.

The quintessential rectangular smartphones have gotten so good over the years that the most expensive models priced upward of $1,000 have become nearly indistinguishable from their cheaper counterparts. (Carrying a phone with three camera lenses versus two probably won’t impress people at parties.)

Foldable phones, on the other hand, are attention getters. And for their price, they’d better be: Apple’s iPhone Duo will cost $1,999 when it arrives in October to compete with Samsung’s $1,900 Galaxy foldable.

Samsung billboards in Midtown Manhattan. — Lexi Parra/The New York Times
“Whenever something is exclusive, limited and luxurious, automatically consumer psychology wants it,” said Nabila Popal, a director at IDC, a market research firm. “It’s like handbags. Why is someone buying a Chanel versus that? It’s not because of the leathers. It’s to show that they have a Chanel and they can afford it.”

Apple and its competitors are following a path that television makers took about a decade ago. When high-definition TVs became commoditized, anyone could buy a bright TV with a large, sharp screen for as little as $500. To find more ways to increase profits, companies like Panasonic, LG and Sony experimented with quirky new designs, like TVs with curved displays and the ability to play movies in 3-D, and charged $3,000 for them.

A TV display at the LG booth during the CES tech show in Las Vegas in January. — John Locher/Associated Press
Those TV concepts turned out to be flops. But in later years, TV makers found success with a different type of high-end television featuring OLED technology, or organic LED, which had more accurate colors for making movies look better and cost upward of $1,000.

Apple’s foldable handset is arriving at a moment when people will need extra persuading to upgrade to a new phone. The costs of most consumer goods, and especially electronics, have skyrocketed.

In response to an industrywide memory chip shortage driven by the artificial intelligence boom, Apple increased prices this year for many of its popular products, including Macs and iPads, by as much as 29 percent. Apple’s new iPhone 18 Pro phones will cost $1,199, a $100 increase from last year’s model. The chip shortage has also forced companies to raise the prices of video game consoles and phones.

Foldable phones, which account for less than 2 percent of the handset market, may be the only part of the phone industry that will grow this year. IDC said it expected the chip-shortage-induced price increases to contribute to a 17 percent drop in worldwide smartphone sales this year — the steepest annual decline in history. However, sales of foldable phones could grow 12 percent to 22.9 million because of the iPhone Duo’s arrival, the research firm said.

When opened, the iPhone Duo has a 7.6-inch inner screen; when it's closed, there’s a 5.4-inch outer screen that people use as a normal rectangular phone. — Jason Henry for The New York Times
Still, a foldable phone could be a tough sell even for a company as influential as Apple. Consumers have generally avoided buying foldable phones not only because of their cost but also because of their trade-offs. Their bendable screens are less durable than normal phone displays, which are protected with hard glass. Folded up, they can feel bulkier and heavier in a pocket.

Dan Frommer, a writer for The New Consumer, a tech research publication, said he had long been skeptical about the usefulness of foldable phones because so much online content, including the vertical videos on TikTok and Instagram, was produced for the small rectangular screens of normal smartphones.

“They’ve been used that way for 19 years now,” Mr. Frommer said. “What would you actually want a square, big screen for?”

Apple’s iPhone Duo appears to be addressing some of the shortcomings of previous foldable phones. The device’s name refers to two screens. Closed up, it has a 5.4-inch outer screen that people use as a normal rectangular phone; it opens up to reveal a 7.6-inch inner screen. The larger inner display shows pictures in the same aspect ratio as traditional phone screens. Apple also said the phone’s foldable inner screen was composed of a tougher material than competitors’.

The iPhone Duo appears to be addressing some of the shortcomings of previous foldable phones. — Jason Henry for The New York Times
In my tests, when opened, the iPhone Duo was extremely thin, measuring two-tenths of an inch. I liked that a Netflix video took up the full screen instead of showing black bars on the sides, which has been the case with other foldables. Closed up, the phone felt dainty and was about the size of a passport. It also felt less chunky in my pocket than other foldables I’ve tested, such as the $1,900 Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The more compact and lightweight, the better.

The inner screen has a matte texture to reduce glare. Still, I occasionally noticed the crease in the center where the screen folds. I didn’t mind it, but that might bother nit-pickers.

Apple also had to leave out some components to make a phone this thin — the iPhone Duo lacks the advanced camera system featured in the $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro phones. It also doesn’t have a face scanner for unlocking the device, relying instead on a fingerprint sensor on the side of the phone.

Though Mr. Frommer predicted that the Apple foldable wouldn’t be the right fit for him, he admitted he couldn’t resist trying one out in a store.

“When Apple makes something, there’s an allure to it to encourage people to at least check it out,” he said.

While ChatGPT’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) assessed that the lineup of new iPhone products – including the highly anticipated iPhone Duo – will prove a bullish catalyst for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock, it still fell short of forecasting a breakout to new highs.

OpenAI’s flagship model focused on the blue-chip technology giant’s traditional resilience recently demonstrated despite the wider smartphone market contraction, and the generally strong demand for new products. It also highlighted that the iPhone Duo represents a genuinely new and interesting product, but underlined that Apple did not pioneer such devices.

Still, ChatGPT also explained that foldable smartphones are unlikely to see blockbuster sales in their own right and, though it concluded that the focus on ‘Pro’ devices indicates the company is doubling down on its strengths, the high price point all but prevents impressive order numbers.

ChatGPT outlines bullish and bearish factors for Apple stock ahead of the iPhone Duo launch. Source: Finbold & ChatGPT Ultimately, after weighing the bullish and bearish factors, as well as the positive developments already priced in, the AI determined that the launch will have a moderately upward effect. Thus, ChatGPT set its Apple stock price target for the October 23, 2026, launch of iPhone Duo at $335: 6.23% above the latest close at $315.34.

ChatGPT sets Apple stock price for the iPhone Duo launch on October 23, 2026. Source: Finbold & ChatGPT 2026 Apple stock price performance Meanwhile, though the year featured multiple reversals for AAPL shares and the equity failed to retain the July highs above $340, 2026 has been a strong year for the blue-chip technology giant.

Indeed, after closing at PRICE on January 2 and falling below $250 both in January and March, Apple stock started climbing shortly before the summer and has, in the grand scheme of things, retained the uptrend by the September 9 close.

Specifically, AAPL shares were, at Wednesday’s $315.34 close, 16.36% in the green year-to-date (YTD).

Apple stock price YTD chart. Source: Google Still, the equity’s performance in the Thursday pre-market – hours after the iPhone Duo and the rest of the lineup were showcased – indicates that ChatGPT’s conservative assessment might be more accurate than Apple investors might like.

So far, the equity climbed only 1.12% relative to the most recent close and is changing hands at $318.88 at press time on September 10.

Featured image via Shutterstock

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Samsung launched a publicity campaign for its foldable phones, touting its hardware advantage and its early entry into the segment as it seeks to fend off a ​major challenge from Apple.

Apple (AAPL.O) unveiled on Wednesday the Duo, a folding $1,999 iPhone aimed at shaking ‌up a category long dominated by Samsung and Chinese companies such as Huawei, whose devices have struggled to move beyond a niche audience.

Apple adopted the passport-shaped design that Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) unveiled less than two months ago with the Galaxy Z Fold ​8, priced at $1,899 and powered by Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Gemini artificial intelligence.

"Apple's pricing was one of ​the most impressive parts. Keeping the iPhone Duo just under the $2,000 mark, at $1,999, ⁠and only about $100 above the Galaxy Z Fold 8 looks like a pretty bold move by ​Apple," said Liz Lee, an associate director at market research firm Counterpoint.

"We expect that Apple will really ​change the competitive landscape in foldables, and Samsung will see the most visible share pressure. But Samsung also has scale, years of experience and strong global distribution," she said.

Counterpoint expects Apple to hold a 25% market share, catching ​up with Samsung, which is expected to capture a 38% share this year.

Samsung put up billboard ​advertisements in major cities including Seoul, Tokyo and London, with slogans such as "Welcome to Foldables" and "The World's Lightest ‌Fold," highlighting ⁠the thin and light design of its devices.

The company also detailed its long-running efforts to reduce the weight of its foldable phones in a post on its website on Wednesday.

Responding to Apple's launch on Wednesday, Samsung launched a flurry of sarcastic posts on X, mocking what it portrayed as a ​lack of meaningful innovation through ​taunts such as "reheating ⁠our leftovers" and "So far, so same”.

Apple's new CEO John Ternus criticised existing foldables as being "like two phones awkwardly stuck together."

Samsung launched the first mass-market foldable ​phones in 2019, after initial setbacks as reviewers reported broken screens and ​other display issues, ⁠forcing a delayed rollout.

Since then, the Korean company has launched eight generations of foldable phones, as it faces growing competition from Chinese rivals like Huawei.

Apple is leveraging the supply chain Samsung has built for ⁠foldable phones, ​including foldable screens made by Samsung's own unit, Samsung ​Display.

"Apple is good at getting its timing right and entering the market when a product reaches a certain level of maturity," ​said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight.

Samsung Electronics stock fell on Thursday after Apple finally entered a smartphone category Samsung has spent seven years developing.

Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, on Wednesday, putting Apple directly against Samsung’s Galaxy Fold line.

Samsung shares fell 1.5% to 265,500 won, while the wider KOSPI was under pressure as Brent crude held above $100 and Middle East tensions weighed on Asian markets.

Samsung launched the original Galaxy Fold in 2019 and has since spent years improving durability, hinges, creases, battery life and form factor.

That experience is producing results. Samsung executive Dave Das told Fortune that sales of the company’s latest foldables are up about 30% by volume from a year earlier.

Its passport-style Galaxy Z Fold 8 accounts for roughly 40% of foldable sales, while the higher-end Fold Ultra 8 represents another 40%.

But Apple did not have to endure those early years of experimentation.

Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee told India Today that Apple’s entry was “straight out of Apple’s playbook”: wait for a product to work through its problems, then enter once the market shows signs of viability and reshape the category.

That is the uncomfortable part of Samsung’s first-mover advantage, as seven years of iteration may have solved many problems Apple once had reason to avoid.

Foldables are still small, accounting for about 2% of global smartphone shipments, which means Apple does not need enormous volumes to shift market share quickly.

IDC expects Apple to sell about 10 million Duo units in its first 12 months and generate roughly $27 billion in revenue. That would give Apple an estimated 44% share of the segment’s value.

The market intelligence body forecasted that Apple will capture nearly one-third of the foldable market in 2026 and 40% in 2027.

IDC research associate Kiranjeet Kaur told Malay Mail that Apple’s foldable is “very likely to shift the competitive dynamics” in China and globally.

Apple already has hundreds of millions of iPhone users who previously had to leave iOS to get a foldable.

Samsung can therefore keep growing unit sales and still lose a disproportionate share of the premium value pool.

Apple’s arrival is not automatically bearish for Samsung.

The iPhone Duo could validate foldables for a larger audience, encourage developers to optimise apps for bigger folding displays and turn a niche form factor into a mainstream premium category.

CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood said that Apple should bring “fresh attention” to foldables and increase acceptance of the designs despite high prices and evolving use cases.

Samsung also retains important advantages. It offers multiple foldable designs and price points, while Apple’s Duo starts at $1,999.

The company has years of consumer data and a mature supply chain behind its devices.

Samsung’s foldable business could keep expanding while Apple captures more of the category’s most profitable customers and establishes the pricing benchmark.

The first meaningful test comes when iPhone Duo pre-orders open on October 16, followed by sales on October 23.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Discusses Vision for Intelligent Personal Hub and AI Integration in Everyday Experiences Prepared Remarks Transcript

Samsung is hoping to capitalize on renewed interest in foldable phones, luring customers just as Apple enters the market.

Globally, the share of iOS users switching to Samsung's latest Galaxy Z Fold8 series, launched in July, was 1.6 times that of the previous-generation Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7, a Samsung Electronics spokesperson told CNBC. Samsung pioneered the category with its first Galaxy Fold in 2019.

Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone at a Wednesday launch event, marking one of its first major product introductions under new CEO John Ternus. 

In the U.S., 30% of Galaxy Z Flip8 buyers switched from competing smartphone brands, with most of those customers buying a foldable phone for the first time, the company said. It added that Galaxy Z Fold8 shoppers were particularly drawn to its thin and light design and inner display for multitasking and viewing content, while Fold8 Ultra shoppers favored its expansive screen and additional working space without the need for a separate tablet.

Samsung has also been trying to make it easier for iPhone users to move between the two ecosystems.

The South Korean tech giant recently upgraded its Smart Switch feature, allowing iPhone users to transfer data to a Galaxy device wirelessly by simply scanning a QR code, without installing the Smart Switch app on their iPhone.

Samsung is projected to lead the global foldable smartphone market with a 32% share this year, but the competitive landscape is set to shift, with Apple expected to capture a 25% share as it enters the segment and Huawei remaining a strong player in China, according to data released by Counterpoint Research in July.

Apple has unveiled its first foldable iPhone at the company's annual launch event in California.

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Apple on Wednesday unveiled its new iPhone 18 and its first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. But amid all the attention on Apple’s newest and most expensive devices, there’s another change: Apple is raising the price of its existing iPhone models by $100.

Starting today, customers will notice a price hike for existing models on Apple’s online store, including starting prices for iPhone 16 at $799, iPhone 17e at $699, iPhone 17 at $899, and iPhone Air at $1,099. 

The price increases are even steeper in some international markets. In India, for example, prices have reportedly risen by around 20.5%. The company also discontinued the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The strategy is an unusual one for Apple. Traditionally, the arrival of a new generation of iPhones means older models become cheaper.

However, the price hike wasn’t entirely unexpected. Speculation had been building that Apple could raise prices as it introduced its next-generation iPhones. One of the biggest pressures is a global shortage of memory and storage chips. Demand for those components has surged as AI companies and cloud providers build out increasingly massive data centers.

In a June interview with The Wall Street Journal, former Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that rising component costs could eventually force the company to rethink its pricing strategy. He said Apple could no longer fully absorb the rising costs of memory and storage chips.

About a week after those comments, the company raised prices across its Mac and iPad lineups.

Other reasons Apple may consider increasing iPhone prices are to remain competitive with rising prices from rivals like Samsung and Google. Additionally, Apple might feel that its new Upgrade program, which allows customers to spread the cost of an iPhone through manageable monthly payments, could cushion the impact of a price hike, making it less noticeable to consumers.

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Lauren covers media, streaming, apps and platforms at TechCrunch.

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Apple (AAPL) generated a lot of buzz after announcing its new iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 models, and AirPods 5, while the U.S. Treasury's announcement of $6 billion in longer-term debt wasn't enough to win over equity investors. Marley Kayden offers a glimpse into her final takeaways to close Wednesday's trading session.

Apple CEO John Ternus wants you to know that the iPhone isn’t going anywhere.

Ternus threw his weight behind the venerable device on Wednesday during his first keynote as CEO, placing it firmly at the center of Apple’s product strategy for the AI era.

“There’s no product in the world better designed to be your intelligent personal hub than iPhone,” he said. 

This contrasts with the approach taken by former CEO Tim Cook, who tried time and again to convince Wall Street that Apple was more than just the iPhone.

Ternus’ pitch is also a rebuttal to pundits who have recently cast doubt on the iPhone. “The smartphone’s days are numbered,” said one headline. “The Tim Cook era is coming to a close with an existential challenge for Apple: figuring out what comes after the iPhone,” said another article.

But it’s not just about the hardware. Ternus has put the iPhone at the center of his “intelligent personal assistant” strategy, a vision that could define the company for years to come. Steve Jobs did something similar in 2001 with the Mac, less than 10 months before he announced the iPod.

At the time, many observers thought the PC’s days were numbered. At a Macworld New York keynote, Jobs called out bearish quotes from industry wonks like Walt Mossberg and the leaders of Compaq and Gateway. 

“This is what everyone else is telling us. That our PC is waning if not the hole being dug,” Jobs said at the time, pointing at a tombstone for the “Beloved PC” on the screen behind him. “We don’t think the PC is dying at all. We don’t think the PC is moving away from the center at all. We think it’s evolving, just like it has since it was invented.”

“We think the PC is on the threshold of entering its third great age,” Jobs added, a prediction driven by the proliferation of digital devices at the time, including camcorders, digital cameras, and DVD players.

The Mac would form the center of a “digital hub” that would connect these disparate devices and, in Jobs’ words, “add value” to all of them.

Later that year, Jobs pulled the iPod out of his pocket, a device seemingly developed to answer the question, “Why do you still need a PC?” The device turned out to be an enormous hit, driving Apple’s profits quarter after quarter and ultimately helping lead to the development of the iPhone.

Today, with the iPhone on the cusp of its 20th anniversary, Ternus is facing a version of the same question Jobs took on in 2001. We don’t know if Ternus is quietly sitting on an iPod-like product, one that will secure the iPhone’s position a Apple’s hub for years to come. But he is firmly rebutting the idea that the iPhone is past its prime.

“If you were designing the ideal version of this hub from scratch, how would you do it?” Ternus asked, before listing the ingredients: a powerful processor, high-resolution cameras, persistent networking, and on-device AI.

It helps that the iPhone is one of the most powerful personal computing devices around, giving it an edge in the compute-hungry AI era. Its portability and adaptability make it, for many people, the only computing device they need. Even among those who own laptops and iPads, the iPhone is often the one device they can’t live without. Plenty of people leave home without their laptops. Almost no one leaves without their phones.

That combination of power and portability has given Apple a privileged position in the AI world. Other companies have attempted to unseat the iPhone with all manner of wearable devices, but none have succeeded.

Instead of sidelining the iPhone in favor of the next flashy thing, Ternus is leaning into it instead. In a way, he’s bringing Apple around to what the rest of us already know: The iPhone is pretty great, and maybe we don’t need to replace it with something else. Yet.

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Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor.

De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. He received his PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA degree in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College.

You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing [email protected].

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Apple's new CEO, John Ternus, hosted his first annual product launch event. Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images Everyone's talking about Apple's new foldable phone, but that's only one of the new gadgets the iPhone maker unveiled on Wednesday.

At its annual product launch, Apple revealed a slew of novel products and features, from watch technology that tells users how old they really are to a version of Siri that listens to all your conversations.

Despite the new offerings, Apple's stock price fell about 2% near the end of the launch presentation before recovering late Wednesday afternoon. The company also revealed it was raising the prices of its iPhones by $100 across the board, a move Apple says is due to the ongoing memory shortage.

Here's a list of some of Apple's new stuff.

The iPhone Duo

Apple announced the new iPhone Duo foldable at its launch event. Apple In its most anticipated announcement, Apple launched a new foldable iPhone — its first foray into foldable technology.

The iPhone Duo starts out as a 5.4-inch phone with a screen, and once opened up like a book, it becomes a 7.6-inch device that resembles an iPad. The device starts at $1,999. Pre-orders begin October 16, with availability beginning October 23.

John Ternus, Apple's CEO, said during the launch that other foldables feel too much "like two phones awkwardly stuck together." The company instead wanted a larger display, one that Ternus said feels "as natural and intuitive as an iPad."

Samsung, which first launched a foldable phone in 2019, shared its thoughts on Apple's shiny new product in a post on X. "Let us know when you're done reheating our leftovers," it wrote.

iPhone 18

Apple announced the new iPhone 18 Pro, which comes in new colors like Burgundy. Apple Apple's new iPhone 18 model offers better battery life, camera capabilities, and performance than its predecessor, the company said. It comes in four colors: black, silver, glacier, and burgundy.

Available in two models, the Pro and Pro Max, the devices can be preordered on September 12, with availability beginning September 18.

In addition to camera upgrades, the new phone has improved graphics rendering and a more robust "dynamic island," the small, black, cylindrical segment near the top of the phone's display.

The Pro version starts at $1,199, or buyers can pay installments of $49.95 a month. The Pro Max starts at $1,299, or $54.12 a month for 24 months. The devices come with storage capacities of 256 gigabytes, 512 gigabytes, 1 terabyte, or 2 terabytes.

Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4

The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have new features that improve health data tracking. Apple Apple unveiled two new smartwatch models on Wednesday: The Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4, the latter geared more for athletic wear.

Both models come equipped with "the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable," Apple said. Each device measures a user's heart rate every five seconds.

The company said other metrics, like heart rate variability, are also measured more accurately.

"Recovery HRV is best for identifying daily signals of stress and recovery, while overall HRV is best for insights into a user's broader health, including cardiovascular health," Apple said.

AirPods 5

Apple announced the new AirPods 5, which have high-quality noise canceling. Apple Apple's fifth-generation AirPods are getting a Pro-style upgrade: higher-quality active noise cancellation.

AirPods 5, which start at $129, can block up to 50% more external noise than the prior noise-canceling model, the company said. They also add hands-free Siri AI and live translation. A $149 version adds a wireless charging case, longer battery life, and on-stem volume sliders.

They launch on September 18 with preorders now available.

How old are you… really?

Apple announced a new health-tracking feature called Health Age. Apple Apple's new Watch-based monitor is meant to answer that question with a new feature coming to the Health app, called Health Age.

Sumbul Ahmad Desai, the company's vice president of health and fitness, said it's a "simple way to discover how key health metrics align with your actual age."

The feature uses Apple Watch data to show how certain health metrics — like sleep patterns and blood composition — track against a user's actual age. It's part of Apple's broader push to turn the Watch from a step counter into a more persistent health companion.

Siri AI release date

Apple announced Siri AI, the revamped assistant for the age of artificial intelligence. Bloomberg/Getty Images Siri AI, the revamped assistant Apple announced in June, starts rolling out in beta on September 14, initially in English.

Apple says it draws on a user's personal context and answers broader questions. For example, it's now capable of finding a dinner reservation buried in an email or remembering a song a friend recommended in a text.

It will work on Apple Watches dating back to the 2023 Series 9 when paired with a compatible iPhone.

Always listening…

The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 will use AI to listen to your environment. That opens some thorny privacy questions. Apple Apple is turning the Apple Watch into an AI-powered set of ears.

The coming Audio Intelligence suite uses the Watch's microphone, the S11 chip, and Apple Intelligence models on a paired iPhone to help users catch sounds and conversations they might otherwise miss.

Apple says it will help hard-of-hearing users identify nearby alerts, transcribe conversations up to 15 seconds back, identify songs playing from a nearby speaker, or script notes from an important meeting.

"Apple Watch is always on your wrist," Ron Huang, Apple's vice president of sensing and connectivity, said. "It's the perfect device to stay aware of the sounds around you, and keep track of your conversations."

Apple says the features do not create or store audio recordings and that they do not identify speakers. Still, the rollout comes right as consumer tech companies face increasingly thorny questions about AI, privacy, and surveillance.

iPhone 18 will have an improved camera with variable aperture

The cameras on the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max feature variable-aperture blades to control how much light reaches the lens. Apple The cameras in both versions of the iPhone 18 have variable-aperture blades that automatically adjust to different lighting conditions. Adjustments in aperture change the amount of light that reaches a camera's lens.

Apple said its new aperture system uses "six laser-cut blades, each thinner than a human hair."

"We've optimized for the best balance of light gathering and depth of field, and the aperture can narrow for more depth of field, which means crisper detail further back in the scene for better group shots," Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of worldwide Apple Watch product marketing, said during the launch.

Read next

Truman Dickerson You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.

Truman Dickerson is the Weekend News Fellow at Business Insider, based in New York City. He covers trending tech and business news. He previously reported for The Boston Globe's Express Desk. He graduated from Boston University, where he served as editor in chief of The Daily Free Press, BU's student-run newspaper.Contact him at [email protected]

Ben Shimkus You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.

Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at [email protected] or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41. 

Apple Apple Watch

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple® today announced iPhone® 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, delivering the most advanced pro camera system in an iPhone, and huge leaps in battery life and performance. The new 48MP Fusion Main camera, now with variable aperture, brings creative control that wasn't possible before, and new Pro controls let users customize their experience in the Camera app. Both models feature a smaller and even more useful Dynamic Island®, as well as A20 Pro and a next-generation vapor chamber that together deliver the highest sustained performance in iPhone history. iPhone 18 Pro Max also delivers the largest increase in battery life ever on iPhone, thanks to advancements in Apple silicon and a larger battery.1 Featuring iOS 27 with Apple Intelligence™2 and Siri® AI,3 iPhone 18 Pro models bring powerful AI capabilities together with personal context to become an intelligent personal hub with privacy and security at its core.

Get a jump start on the US trading day with Vonnie Quinn and Bailey Lipschultz on "Bloomberg Open Interest." Scott Bessent turns up the heat on global markets, from the yen to Treasuries.

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple® today introduced Apple Watch® Series 12, engineered with advanced health sensors and all-new Apple silicon to deliver the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,1 and advanced health and fitness features.

powered by

AAPL buy on iPhone upgrade cycle

Buy AAPL. The iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max launch includes real hardware upgrades (A20 Pro on 2nm, larger vapor chamber, better battery) plus a major software hook (new Siri that can take actions across 300,000+ apps). Even with a $100 price increase, Apple is signaling stronger differentiation, which should stabilize upgrade demand and support margins as the new Siri becomes a platform feature.

Key Risk: iPhone 18 Pro demand underwhelms and the $100 price hike turns into weaker upgrades, forcing Apple to discount or cut guidance.

AirPods 5 margin expansion

Buy AAPL (or add via AAPL call spreads). AirPods 5 at $129 adds active noise cancellation to Apple’s entry tier, expanding the addressable market and pulling more buyers into the Apple ecosystem. Longer battery plus ANC should lift attach rates and reduce churn versus cheaper competitors, supporting Services growth over time.

Key Risk: AirPods 5 sales disappoint because competitors match ANC at lower prices, keeping Apple’s unit growth flat.

Apple unveiled its latest iPhone lineup, an updated Siri model, new AirPods and Apple Watch models at its annual product event, with investors showing a muted reaction to the announcements.

Apple shares AAPL were down 1.53% at the time of writing, despite the company introducing several hardware and software updates.

The event was also the first iPhone launch under new CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook earlier this month.

Apple opened the event with a video featuring different scenes described as “shot on iPhone.” Cook then appeared briefly before handing the spotlight to Ternus, marking the leadership transition at the company.

The iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro lineup comes in four color options: Deep Black, Silver, Glacier Blue and Burgundy.

The iPhone 18 Pro models are powered by Apple’s new A20 Pro chip, which is built using a 2nm process.

The iPhone 18 Pro has a next-generation vapor chamber with three times the surface area of the system used in the iPhone 17 Pro.

Apple said the iPhone 18 Pro offers up to 24 hours of battery life, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max can deliver up to 30 hours on a single charge.

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 with 256GB of storage, while the Pro Max starts at $1,299.

Apple is also offering a 2TB storage option. The starting prices represent a $100 increase from the corresponding iPhone 17 Pro models.

The company noticeably didn't announce the normal iPhone models.

Apple also unveiled an improved version of Siri, addressing one of the areas where the company has faced pressure to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities.

The company described the updated Siri as an “entirely new version” capable of taking actions within apps that users already use, including third-party applications.

Apple said the new Siri AI works with more than 300,000 apps. The company is positioning the ability to perform actions across applications as a key improvement to its voice assistant.

The company also announced an iOS 27 feature called “iPhone Handoff,” which will allow customers to use a single phone number across multiple devices.

Apple introduced AirPods 5 as part of its latest product lineup. The new AirPods offer longer battery life and active noise cancellation, a feature that was previously unavailable on Apple’s least expensive AirPods.

The AirPods 5 are priced at $129, while a version with wireless charging will cost $149.

Apple also announced the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, expanding its latest hardware lineup beyond the iPhone and AirPods.

The announcements come as Apple begins a new phase under Ternus, with investors assessing whether the latest hardware and software updates can support the company’s product strategy.

Apple unveiled its first-ever foldable iPhone – and a new head honcho, to boot – at a splashy event Wednesday.

CEO John Ternus unveiled the new device, dubbed the iPhone Duo, in his first keynote address since replacing Tim Cook at Apple’s helm on Sept. 1 — that, as the tech giant looked to reassure Wall Street that it hasn’t lost its ability to wow consumers with new innovations.

The new device will start at $1,999 — slightly lower than analysts had expected — with Apple taking preorders starting Oct. 16. Availability begins Oct. 23, the company said.

Apple CEO John Ternus taking the stage to announce new products in Cupertino, Calif. on on Sept. 9, 2026. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu The priciest version of the Duo, with two terabytes of memory, starts at an eye-watering $3,199.

The device snaps open and shut with a hinge mechanism and has screens on both sides. People can have two apps displayed at the same time when the phone is fully open — and it’s 80% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro’s screen in that mode. When it’s shut, it’s similar in size to a passport, Apple noted.

Speaking at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., HQ, Ternus said that while conventional foldable phones feel like “two phones awkwardly stuck together,” the Duo is designed to work seamlessly as users swap from a traditional display to the wider iPad-like screen.

Apple unveiled its first foldable cellphone called the “iPhone Duo.” Apple Apple shares were down about 2% immediately after the event. The Duo announcement was widely anticipated and was likely already priced in to the company’s stock.

“Wall Street should love the economics if Duo succeeds,” said Mark Vena, CEO and principal analyst at SmartTech Research.

“Apple just created a credible path to push the ceiling on iPhone average selling prices dramatically higher without abandoning its traditional iPhone business.”

The announcement could reinvigorate a smartphone lineup that some critics said had grown stagnant, according to tech analyst Paolo Pescatore, the founder of PP Foresight.

“Significantly, Apple has created a new premium growth opportunity, opened up another revenue stream and injected fresh momentum into the iPhone business,” he said. “The foldable should sell in the millions and give the wider category and developer community a major boost.”

The iPhone Duo is 80% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro when unfolded. Apple The Duo’s launch marks the first major test for Ternus, who took over as CEO after serving for years as Apple’s hardware chief. Cook, attended the spectacle, has shifted to a role as executive chairman, though he is expected to remain heavily involved at Apple for the next few years.

Apple said earlier this year that an industrywide chip shortage has forced it to raise prices on MacBooks and iPads, with some items rising by as much as $500. The company has described its supply chain woes as an “unprecedented challenge.”

The new iPhone duo folds at a hinge mechanism down the middle. Apple Ahead of the reveal event, analysts at KeyBanc highlighted Apple’s pricing challenge for the Duo – noting that the company faced a dilemma of either hiking prices to offset production costs at the expense of sales volume, or limiting hikes and inviting questions on Wall Street about its gross margins.

Another challenge for Apple comes from the AI race, in which the tech giant has been seen as lagging the competition.

Apple said Wednesday its upgraded smartphone line was designed to serve as the perfect vehicle for the company’s AI, called Apple Intelligence.

Apple also confirmed the release of its long-delayed AI makeover of its Siri voice assistant — an offshoot of Apple Intelligence — which is launching in beta this month ahead of a wider release.

Analysts have warned that Siri needs a strong showing to reassure Wall Street about Apple’s AI strategy.

The Duo is Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever when unfolded. Apple The event opened with details about Apple’s refreshed iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models, which feature an upgraded A20 computer chip, improved battery life and faster phone charging.  

An example of the iPhone Duo being used to take a selfie. Apple The iPhone 18 models come in new glacier and burgundy colors alongside more traditional options. The iPhone 18 Pro is priced at $1,199 – or $100 more expensive than last year’s version – while the Pro Max costs $1,299.

Wednesday event marked Ternus’ first keynote address at the company’s CEO. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu Other new products unveiled at the event include the AirPods 5, the latest iteration of Apple’s earbuds, which feature upgraded durability. The base model costs $129 and the higher-end model costs $149. The Apple Watch also got a refresh with Series 12 and Ultra 4 models.

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The company’s stock was down more than 4% over the last five days ahead of the event – a sign that Wall Street had muted expectations despite hype around the foldable iPhone.

The device marked Apple’s most high-profile product launch since the debut of its “Vision Pro” virtual reality headset in 2024, which has failed to excite consumers due to a lack of dedicated apps and an eye-watering $3,500 price tag.

iPhone Duo features a breakthrough foldable design that’s beautiful, versatile, and durable, opening up possibilities that feel entirely new yet remarkably familiar

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apple® today introduced iPhone® Duo, the first foldable iPhone. Opened, it is the thinnest iPhone ever, with a 7.6-inch inner display that provides a large canvas for viewing content, gaming, and multitasking, and a special nano-texture finish that minimizes glare for an unparalleled viewing experience. Closed, the 5.4-inch outer display delivers 90 percent of the screen area of iPhone 18 Pro in a compact, pocketable design.1 Both displays share the same aspect ratio, so content scales proportionally, ensuring visual continuity. iPhone Duo is built to last with an innovative hardware design and a precision hinge that offers a smooth, satisfying feel with every use. Powered by the new A20 Pro, iPhone Duo features an advanced thermal management system with a custom-designed vapor chamber and a dual-battery architecture, delivering pro performance and impressive all-day battery life. The advanced camera system takes stunning photos and videos, with the folding design unlocking fun new ways to use the camera that aren’t possible on any other iPhone. iOS 27 is reimagined, remaining familiar and intuitive while adapting to the versatile ways users can interact with iPhone Duo. And with Apple Intelligence™2 and Siri® AI,3 iPhone Duo brings powerful AI capabilities together with a user’s personal context.

iPhone Duo is available in two refined colors: star white and night sky. Pre-orders begin Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23.

“iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original. With an entirely new design and intuitive experiences, it shows what’s possible when hardware and software are engineered together and redefines what it means to use a foldable phone,” said John Ternus, Apple’s CEO. “With the largest display ever on iPhone that still fits easily in your pocket, combined with the power of A20 Pro, iPhone Duo helps you stay more immersed and productive wherever you go, whether you’re enjoying content, multitasking across apps, or gaming.”

Two Displays, One Breakthrough Design

iPhone Duo delivers Apple’s largest iPhone display in an entirely new design. Closed, iPhone Duo is comfortable to use one-handed and fits easily in a pocket, with a 5.4-inch outer Super Retina XDR® display that provides 90 percent of the screen area of iPhone 18 Pro. Opened, the 7.6-inch inner Super Retina XDR display is 50 percent larger than iPhone 18 Pro Max, offering an immersive canvas for everything users do. A premium nano-texture finish reduces glare and reflections, creating a matte surface that minimizes crease visibility and feels great to touch. Beneath the inner display, a new FaceTime camera stays hidden when not in use to keep the screen uninterrupted. Both displays share the same aspect ratio, designed for how people use their iPhone, so the experience feels continuous whether iPhone Duo is open or closed. The displays also feature ProMotion®, Always On, and 3000 nits of peak outdoor brightness. Later this year, iPhone Duo will support Apple Pencil® with USB-C, allowing users to take notes, sketch, or mark up documents on either display.

Touch ID® is integrated into the side button for easy, secure, and consistent authentication whether iPhone Duo is open or closed, and users can unlock iPhone Duo using their Apple Watch®. The design also features Camera Control to quickly launch the camera, including the brand-new Siri Camera mode, which lets Siri see what the user sees to answer questions and take action.

Designed for Durability

iPhone Duo is built to last and feels exceptionally solid with every use. It’s crafted from grade 5 titanium for incredible strength, with an enclosure that has an elegant mirror-polished finish and a 3D-printed hinge cover with a contrasting micro-blasted finish. Ceramic Shield® protects the back of iPhone Duo, and Ceramic Shield 2 on the front has 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation. iPhone Duo is also splash-, water-, and dust-resistant with an IP68 rating.4 The hinge is engineered from more than 100 components to precisely control opening and closing and support the center of the display, delivering a smooth, satisfying feel. Internally, support ribs reinforce the structure for added stiffness, while antenna splits with ceramic fiber inserts enhance the frame’s rigidity.

The inner display is designed to withstand the wear of everyday use. A scratch-resistant coating and a nano-textured cover layer — made from a custom polymer with up to 40 percent higher stiffness than other materials used in the industry — protect the surface. High-strength glass sits above and below the folding display panel, with custom adhesives that allow the layers to glide past one another like the pages of a book, relieving bend stress, and a titanium plate at the bottom further enhances durability.

An Advanced Camera System with New Experiences

iPhone Duo delivers an advanced camera system that brings all-new experiences made possible by its breakthrough design. With the new 48MP Fusion Main camera, users can shoot sharp photos at up to 48MP resolution with zero shutter lag, capture in the 24MP default for incredible image quality at a file size perfect for sharing, and get closer to the subject with an integrated optical-quality 2x Telephoto. The 48MP Fusion Main camera also benefits from a new computational image pipeline for sharp details, and excels in low light thanks to a large sensor, fast aperture, and sensor-shift optical image stabilization.

The 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera — the same as on iPhone 18 Pro models — captures wider fields of view and enables macro photography, while the Center Stage® front camera can automatically take photos and videos in any orientation, so users don’t have to rotate iPhone for landscape selfies. Upgraded Photographic Styles with new texture and grain controls let users further dial in their desired appearance and have more creative control over their photos.5 Under the inner display, a new FaceTime® camera helps users connect with friends and family whether iPhone Duo is held open or propped on a surface for hands-free calls.

The foldable design with dual displays unlocks camera experiences that are not possible on any other iPhone.

With Smart Take, users no longer miss out on being in the photo because they are behind the shutter or racing to beat a timer. On-device AI models running on A20 Pro analyze the scene in real time and automatically capture photos when subjects are posing. Users can take a selfie with the higher-resolution rear cameras and preview their shot on the outer display. Duo Preview shows the live preview on the outer display, helping subjects pose, check their framing, and guide the shot. Kid Cue plays animations from Peanuts on the outer display to grab the attention of children so they look at the camera. Duo FaceTime lets people who are with the user join a video call on the outer display, so everyone can share the moment without crowding around one screen. iPhone Duo supports 4K120 fps recording in Dolby Vision on the 48MP Fusion Main camera, unlocking gorgeous slow-motion effects by adjusting the playback speed. Users can now apply Cinematic effects after capture at up to 60 fps, and Audio Mix introduces new algorithms that deliver higher-quality voices and can now isolate music. Time-lapse supports 4K in Dolby Vision HDR, and users can prop iPhone Duo up without needing a tripod to easily capture longer-duration videos.

A Reimagined Yet Familiar iOS Experience

iOS 27 is tailored for iPhone Duo, delivering a familiar and intuitive experience that introduces new ways to interact with iPhone. Lock Screen controls, the Dock on the Home Screen, and app navigation and controls now appear on the side to maximize vertical space for content. When iPhone Duo is open, the display shows two Home Screen pages with Today View — a vertically scrolling list of customizable widgets — on the left. The status bar includes a circular, flexible system that nestles into the corner of the screen, showing relevant information like Wi-Fi, cellular strength, battery, and more. The Dynamic Island® is also redesigned to fit vertically on the side of the outer and inner displays, and expands to show Live Activities® and alerts. iOS seamlessly adapts to the new ways to use iPhone Duo — content reacts as it folds, reorients when turned to the side, and switches to the appropriate display when flipped over.

Apple apps are optimized for iPhone Duo, and developers can easily adapt their apps using the new and updated APIs in the latest SDKs, and upcoming support for iPhone Duo in Device Hub in Xcode®. Third-party apps, including Netflix, Zoom, and Slack, are already taking advantage of the folding design to deliver immersive experiences that make the most of the larger display and new ways to use iPhone Duo.

The expansive display supercharges productivity, letting users do more at once with new multitasking capabilities. Split View allows users to open two apps side by side on iPhone for the first time. Users can also quickly swap between apps; open two windows of the same app, like Safari; easily have a conversation with Siri AI while looking at content on the other side of the screen; and save pairs of apps to come back to later.

StandBy gets a major upgrade on iPhone Duo. Set iPhone Duo down and it enters StandBy on either the outer or inner display — even when it’s not charging — turning the device into a photo frame, hub for widgets, clock, and more. New Calendar and Weather faces join existing Clock and Modular faces, while the Photos face is updated to display Shared Albums. Every face now offers deeper customization, with new colors, fonts, and complications to choose from.

The Next Generation of Apple Intelligence and an All-New Siri

iPhone Duo gives users access to Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri that is rolling out in beta with iOS 27. Powered by Apple Intelligence, Siri is profoundly more personal, capable, and conversational, and becomes even more useful on the large inner display. Powerful AI capabilities paired with personal context make iPhone Duo an intelligent personal hub with privacy and security at its core.

Siri AI can draw on personal context understanding to help users find what they need in the moment across messages, emails, photos, and more; use onscreen awareness to take action related to the content on a user’s screen; and answer questions about virtually any topic. Users can write with Siri by simply describing what they need. The all-new Siri app also makes it easy to revisit past conversations or kick off new ones, with conversational history synced privately across products with iCloud®.

Additionally, Apple Intelligence makes apps smarter and more useful. Users can improve the composition of a photo after it’s been taken with Spatial Reframing, Extend, and upgraded Clean Up. Image Playground™ also now offers photorealistic imagery, and with upcoming support for the SynthID standard, users can identify images generated or edited with AI.6 In Safari®, Notify Me helps users monitor web pages for changes, like product restocks or price drops, to stay on top of updates. To protect users’ privacy, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute, which extends the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud.

Pro Performance with A20 Pro and Advanced Thermal Management

Powered by A20 Pro — the same chip in iPhone 18 Pro models — and paired with an advanced thermal management system, iPhone Duo delivers up to 35 percent better sustained performance than iPhone 17 Pro. A new chip package inspired by M-series Apple silicon connects A20 Pro directly to a custom vapor chamber, dissipating heat and powering multitasking, gaming, and complex AI workloads. A new display engine drives the inner and outer displays simultaneously and enables a fluid experience as users transition between them. The 6-core CPU is up to 20 percent faster than A19 Pro, delivering the fastest CPU in a smartphone; the 7-core GPU is up to 40 percent faster and more power efficient; and the new Dual 16-core Neural Engine offers 2x the compute power to run on-device AI models. A20 Pro also delivers 50 percent more unified memory bandwidth and is built on the latest 2-nanometer process technology.

Impressive All-Day Battery Life

iPhone Duo is designed with one high-energy battery on each side to maximize capacity while efficiently using internal space. A combination of Apple silicon and energy rebalancing algorithms allows the batteries to operate seamlessly as one, so users get up to 31 hours of video playback when using the inner display, up to 44 hours of video playback when using the outer display, and up to 24 hours of usage per charge when both displays are used equally.7 Users can also enjoy fast charging — iPhone Duo can charge up to 50 percent in around 20 minutes or wirelessly charge up to 50 percent in around 30 minutes with a MagSafe® or Qi2 charger.8

Powerful Wireless Capabilities

iPhone Duo features an eSIM-only design worldwide that saves internal space to maximize battery capacity.9 eSIM offers greater flexibility, better security, and seamless connectivity compared to traditional physical SIM cards, and as an industry standard, it is supported by over 500 carriers around the world, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and more. iOS 27 also introduces iPhone Handoff, which allows users with supported carriers to easily switch back and forth between two iPhone models with the same phone number.10

N1, an Apple-designed wireless networking chip, enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, while C2, Apple’s next-generation cellular modem system, brings AI-powered improvements to cellular quality and reliability, and now supports mmWave in the U.S.

Beautiful New Accessories

To complement iPhone Duo, Apple is introducing beautiful new accessories. The iPhone Duo Folio — available in navy blue and taupe — features an integrated kickstand that supports a wide range of angles for reading, viewing content, or FaceTime, and folds away neatly when not in use. The iPhone Duo Case — available in sand and navy blue — is thin and light, with a protective two-part design that wraps around both sides of the device. Both cases are compatible with MagSafe, Qi2 25W, and Qi-certified chargers. With built-in magnets that align perfectly with iPhone Duo, they offer a magical attach experience and fast wireless charging.

iPhone Duo and the Environment

iPhone Duo was built with the environment in mind and drives progress toward Apple’s ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by 2030. It is made with 35 percent recycled content overall,11 including 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery and 100 percent recycled titanium in the 3D-printed hinge cover. iPhone Duo is manufactured with 60 percent renewable energy, like wind and solar, across the supply chain, and meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and safe chemistry. Like all Apple products, its paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based12 and can be easily recycled at home.

Pricing and Availability

iPhone Duo is available in star white and night sky, and starts at $1,999 (U.S.), or $83.29 (U.S.) per month for 24 months, in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB storage capacities.13 Apple Upgrade, a leasing program provided by Klarna and available in the U.S., gives eligible customers monthly payment options for iPhone Duo, with 12- and 24-month leasing terms starting as low as $57.99 (U.S.) per month for 24 months. For more information, visit apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade.14 Customers in more than 70 countries and regions, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Türkiye, the UAE, the UK, the U.S., and Vietnam, will be able to pre-order iPhone Duo beginning at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, October 16, with availability beginning Friday, October 23. iPhone Duo will be available in 28 other countries and regions beginning Friday, October 30. The iPhone Duo Case will be available for $79 (U.S.) in navy blue and sand, and the iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand will be available for $129 (U.S.) in navy blue and taupe. iPhone Duo Case and iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand will be available to order beginning Friday, October 16. iPhone Duo will be available with iOS 27.1. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com. Apple Intelligence will be available with iOS 27 on Monday September 14, for users with an Apple Intelligence-enabled device set to a supported language. Apple Intelligence is available with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see apple.com/apple-intelligence. Siri AI is rolling out with iOS 27 as a beta on Monday, September 14, for users with a supported device set to English, with support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish coming in October. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. When outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, Apple’s groundbreaking satellite features help iPhone Duo users stay connected and get assistance when it matters most. Apple is extending free access to satellite features for an additional year for existing iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 users who have activated their device in a country that supports Apple’s satellite features prior to midnight PT on September 9. For satellite feature availability, visit support.apple.com/en-us/105097. AppleCare® delivers exceptional service and support, with flexible options for Apple users. Customers can choose AppleCare+® to cover their new iPhone, or, in available markets, AppleCare One℠ to protect multiple products in one simple plan. Both plans include coverage for accidents like drops and spills, theft and loss protection on eligible products, battery replacement service, and priority support from Apple Experts. In the U.S., customers can also choose AppleCare One Family, which extends that same coverage to every eligible device across an Apple Family Sharing group for one fixed monthly price. For more information, visit apple.com/applecare. iCloud+® plans start at just $0.99 (U.S.) per month, providing additional storage to keep photos, videos, files, and more safe in the cloud and accessible across devices. iCloud+ also gives access to premium features such as event creation in the Apple Invites™ app, as well as Private Relay, Hide My Email, custom email domains, and HomeKit® Secure Video. With Family Sharing, users can share their subscription with five other family members at no extra cost. For more information and feature availability, visit apple.com/icloud and apple.com/ios/feature-availability. New and qualified returning subscribers who purchase iPhone Duo can unlock three months of Apple One® for free. Apple One bundles up to six Apple services — including Apple TV®, Apple Music®, up to 2TB of iCloud+ storage, and more — into one convenient plan across multiple Apple devices. This offer is available in select countries and regions with an eligible new iPhone, iPad, or Mac beginning September 17. Service availability varies by region. Learn more about Apple One at apple.com/apple-one. Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.

The display has rounded corners that follow a beautiful curved design, and these corners are within a standard rectangle. When measured as a standard rectangular shape, the inner display screen is 7.58 inches diagonally, and the outer display screen is 5.36 inches diagonally. The actual viewable area is smaller. Apple Intelligence is available with Siri settings and device language set to Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is rolling out in beta with iOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, intelligent photo editing tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to Apple Intelligence terms and conditions. Learn more at apple.com/apple-intelligence. Siri AI is not available for users under 13. Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Features that rely on Siri AI will also not be available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Apple is working hard to find a path forward that preserves its users’ privacy and security. iPhone Duo is splash-, water-, and dust-resistant. It was tested under controlled laboratory conditions and has a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 (maximum depth of 6 meters for up to 30 minutes). Splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions. Resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear. Do not attempt to charge a wet iPhone; refer to the user guide for cleaning and drying instructions. Liquid damage is not covered under warranty. The new texture and grain controls will be available in iOS 27 on iPhone models that support the latest generation of Photographic Styles. See supported models. SynthID will be available in a software update later this year and will be included for most edited images, depending on the edits applied. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2026 using preproduction iPhone Duo units and software, subscribed to LTE and 5G carrier networks, using a representative usage profile. Typical use is based on the median usage values across iPhone users and reflects a combination of passive and active use of a variety of applications, including but not limited to messaging, photos, music, social media, video streaming, games, web browsing, and navigation. iPhone Duo typical use based on equal usage between inner and outer displays. Battery life varies by use, configuration, cellular network, signal strength, and other factors; actual results may vary based on usage. Testing conducted by Apple in July 2026 using preproduction iPhone Duo units and software, and either USB‑C Charge Cable or Apple MagSafe Chargers (1‑meter Model A3502 and 2‑meter Model A3503), both with Apple 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max (Model A3351). Wired fast charge supported with 60W-capable (or higher) USB-C cable and USB PD power adapters. Fast-charge testing conducted with drained iPhone Duo units in open configuration. Times measured from the appearance of the Apple logo as the unit started up. Charge time varies with adapter, settings, usage, and environmental factors; actual results will vary. The 60W-capable or higher adapter (available separately) must be paired with a USB-C charging cable, and the 35W or higher adapter must be paired with a MagSafe Charger (both available separately). Use of an eSIM requires a carrier that supports eSIM and a wireless service plan. See carrier for details. To learn more, visit apple.com/esim. iPhone Handoff will be available at launch with T-Mobile in the U.S. and with Telekom Germany in Germany. Product recycled or renewable content is the mass of certified recycled material relative to the overall mass of the device, not including packaging or in-box accessories. Breakdown of U.S. retail packaging by weight. Adhesives, inks, and coatings are excluded from calculations of plastic content and packaging weight. Financing is available to qualified customers, subject to credit approval and credit limit, and requires users to select Apple Card® Monthly Installments (ACMI) as their payment type at checkout at Apple. They’ll need to select AT&T, T‑Mobile, or Verizon as their carrier when they check out. An iPhone purchased with ACMI is always unlocked, so they can switch carriers at any time, subject to their carrier’s terms. Taxes and shipping on items purchased using ACMI are subject to their card’s variable APR, not the ACMI 0 percent APR. ACMI is not available for purchases made online at special storefronts. The last month’s payment for each product will be the product’s purchase price, less all other payments at the monthly payment amount. ACMI financing is subject to change at any time for any reason, including but not limited to installment term lengths and eligible products. See the Apple Card Customer Agreement for more information about ACMI. Apple Upgrade lease: This offer is for a consumer lease, not a purchase or loan. Lease provided by Klarna Inc. for a 12- or 24-month term. Your first monthly payment is due approximately 30 days after device is shipped or available for pickup. Lease approval is subject to eligibility and is based on creditworthiness. Monthly payments are based on the selected device and lease term. Advertised payment amount may not include a trade-in device’s estimated value. Typical monthly payments (excluding taxes and any trade-in credit) range from $82.99 to $132.81 (U.S.) for a 12-month lease and $57.99 to $92.81 (U.S.) for a 24-month lease. Requires selection of an eligible carrier. Closing your lease and returning your device terminates your lease. You may incur a substantial charge if you terminate your lease before the end of the lease term. Additional terms and conditions apply. See apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade for more information. NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple Newsroom (www.apple.com/newsroom), or email Apple’s Media Helpline at [email protected].

© 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, Apple Intelligence, Siri, Super Retina XDR, ProMotion, Apple Pencil, Touch ID, Apple Watch, Ceramic Shield, Center Stage, FaceTime, Dynamic Island, Live Activities, Xcode, iCloud, Image Playground, Safari, MagSafe, AppleCare, AppleCare+, AppleCare One, iCloud+, Apple Invites, HomeKit, Apple One, Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple Card are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

More News From Apple Inc.

Apple Inc AAPL officially entered the foldable market today, taking direct aim at rival designs.

Addressing attendees at the flagship Cupertino launch event, newly installed CEO John Ternus emphasized that modern smartphones require expansive visual space to keep up with user demands.

“For a device that plays such a central role in your life, a larger display would open up entirely new possibilities,” Ternus said. “We think the best way to achieve that is with a foldable design.”

Ternus confronted market criticism head-on, noting existing foldable hardware feels like “two phones awkwardly stuck together.”

Apple’s passport-sized foldable device named Duo features dual internal and external displays.

Apple stock was still in the red after the announcement of Duo.

For years, consumer electronics brands have struggled to eliminate display creases, structural bulk, and clumsy hinges in foldable smartphones.

Apple Inc’s newly unveiled foldable iPhone re-engineers this approach by utilizing a proprietary dynamic hinge mechanism and custom flexible glass, eliminating visible panel gaps.

Roughly the size of a standard passport when closed, the smartphone expands into an “ultra-thin,” continuous workspace.

During the launch event, Ternus showcased how the titan’s custom display architecture avoids the thick, disjointed feel of competing dual-screen handsets.

Powered by Apple’s next-gen silicon, the hardware delivers seamless fluid transitions between the external cover display and the inner tablet-like screen.

Rather than relying on brute force or raw mechanical joints, Apple focused on seamless integration between hardware engineering and custom iOS multitasking paradigms.

The external display offers quick “single-handed access for daily tasks,” while the expansive inner panel supports split-screen workflows, drag-and-drop workspace gestures, and professional application suites.

By engineering the battery cells, frame chassis, and display layers to distribute mass uniformly across the entire body, AAPL eliminated the top-heavy imbalance typical of rival foldable designs.

This structural alignment ensures the device feels unified and ergonomic, whether closed in a pocket or fully open in hands.

The phone is priced at $1,999, with pre-orders opening on October 16 and sales starting on October 23. 

Apple’s entry into the foldable category signals a major shift for the global smartphone market.

By focusing on structural durability, sleek passport-style proportions, and a completely flat inner presentation, the company aims to redefine consumer expectations for high-end mobile devices.

“We didn’t just want to make a folding phone; we wanted to perfect the experience,” Ternus told the audience during his keynote address.

Still, institutional investors aren’t convinced that a foldable iPhone would do much for AAPL stock – at least in the near-term.

In fact, Michael Khouw (Tidal Financial) and Wamsi Mohan’s (Bank of America Securities) pre-event prediction of the launch proving a “sell-the-news” event is proving correct as of writing.

For the longer-term though, Wall Street remains bullish on Apple with price targets going as high as $400.

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 in Cupertino, Calif., Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, a foldable smartphone with a bendable display that opens and closes like a book. When folded, it will be 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 on Oct. 23.

“Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” said John Ternus, Apple’s new chief executive. 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 percent of all smartphone shipments — according to Counterpoint Research, which tracks smartphone markets.

Apple’s product event on Wednesday was Mr. Ternus’s first since taking over leadership of the company. He was the company’s head of hardware engineering before succeeding Tim Cook as chief executive last week. In the recorded presentation, Mr. Ternus emphasized Apple’s work on artificial intelligence and described iPhones as the ideal device to be a “personal intelligent hub.”

Apple’s new chief executive, John Ternus, at Wednesday’s event. — Jason Henry for The New York Times
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. The business has continued to grow, even as the iPhone has faced criticism for improving only incrementally.

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 iPhone Duo is hitting the market in a difficult environment for consumer electronics. The artificial intelligence boom has created a global shortage in memory chips, making the component more expensive for devices like 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.

Since the iPhone debuted almost two decades ago, it has become the biggest piece of Apple’s business. — Jason Henry for The New York Times
The foldable iPhone is “part of experimentation around how to continue to grow iPhone” as a business, said Gene Munster, a managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, an investment firm. “They think about this holistically and how they can continue to turn the screws to get you to move higher” in the product lineup, he added.

The iPhone Duo could add significantly to the market for foldable smartphones, but it would remain a slice of the overall market for phones. Next year, Apple is expected to ship more than 12 million foldables — 5 percent 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 A.I. 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 unveils the iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable smartphone. Prices start at $1,999 and the phone will be available for preorder starting Oct. 16 in more than 70 countries and regions.

In Brief

Posted:

Image Credits:Apple Apple’s long-awaited foldable phone, the Duo, contains a number of surprises, including a critical hinge that was designed and built with the help of AI and 3D printing.

The new phone represents Apple’s first entry into the foldable phone genre — a category of devices that has seen significant consumer enthusiasm, but whose form factors haven’t always lived up to that enthusiasm. As you might expect from a product that, by design, undergoes twice as much wear as a traditional device, most foldables suffer significant degradation and don’t have the durability of other smartphones.

Apple claims that it has integrated innovative protections into the Duo’s design to keep the phone from falling prey to the typical wear and tear associated with foldables. That includes the hinge, according to Johny Srouji, the company’s chief hardware officer.

“During manufacturing, we use AI algorithms to precisely match each individual hinge with its best-fit housing to ensure perfect alignment, and a confocal laser progressively scans the topology of every single unit, and 3D prints up to 25 micro layers of a custom photopolymer to eliminate residual waviness,” Srouji said during Apple’s Surprise and Shine event on Wednesday.

Srouji also shared that Apple gave the foldable phone “a custom nano-texture finish that significantly reduces glare and reflections” as well as a multi-layer lamination strategy designed to increase the device’s durability. Of course, it remains to be seen whether those protections will be enough to keep the Duo in peak physical condition in the long run.

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