Apple is entering a new chapter today. The company is set to host its annual September product event at Apple Park, but this year’s showcase carries a different weight. For the first time in years, Tim Cook will not be Apple’s CEO when the company unveils its newest iPhone generation.
Instead, the spotlight belongs to John Ternus, who became Apple CEO on September 1 after Cook transitioned to executive chairman.
Apple has branded today’s event “Surprise and shine,” with the presentation scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific Time.
And there is plenty for Apple watchers to pay attention to.
The foldable iPhone finally arrives?
The biggest expected announcement is Apple’s long-rumored entry into the foldable smartphone market.Reports suggest Apple could unveil a premium foldable iPhone that opens like a small tablet or passport-style device.
The product has been referred to as the iPhone Ultra in previous reports, while a newer report from The Verge says it could be called iPhone Duo.
The rumored starting price is around $2,000, putting the device firmly in Apple’s premium territory. That price may sound extreme, but Apple isn’t entering an empty market.
Samsung, Google, Motorola and other manufacturers have already spent years developing foldable phones. Apple’s strategy appears to be familiar: arrive later, refine the technology and attempt to turn an existing niche into a mainstream category.
The question is whether Apple can make foldables feel less like an experimental gadget and more like the next evolution of the iPhone
iPhone 18 Pro takes the stage
Apple is also expected to introduce the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The standard iPhone 18 is reportedly being pushed to a later launch window, allowing Apple to focus today’s event on its premium devices and the potential foldable flagship.
That would make the foldable iPhone the natural centerpiece of today’s presentation.
But the biggest challenge isn’t hardware
Behind all the shiny hardware sits a much bigger problem for Apple: AI.
Apple has spent the past year under increasing pressure to demonstrate that it can compete with companies such as Google and OpenAI in generative AI. Siri is therefore expected to be one of the most important parts of Apple’s broader AI strategy. Reuters reports that Apple has been working on a major Siri overhaul, with the company seeking to make its assistant more capable while maintaining its privacy-focused approach.
For Ternus, this could be just as important as the hardware announcements.
A beautiful foldable iPhone can generate headlines.
A genuinely useful AI ecosystem could shape Apple’s next decade.
The Ternus era officially begins
Today’s event is ultimately about more than new devices.
It is John Ternus’ first major opportunity to show consumers, developers and investors what Apple looks like after Tim Cook.
Cook leaves behind an extraordinary legacy built around operational execution, global scale and turning the iPhone into one of the world’s most powerful consumer businesses.
Ternus inherits all of that.
But he also inherits a difficult question:
What comes after the iPhone?
The smartphone market is mature. AI is changing how people interact with technology. Foldable devices are opening a new hardware category. And Apple’s competitors are moving quickly.
Ternus therefore has to protect Apple’s enormous existing business while preparing the company for a world where the smartphone may no longer be the primary gateway to computing.
That makes today’s presentation unusually important.
Apple is betting on its next chapter
The foldable iPhone, if officially unveiled, could become Apple’s biggest new hardware category since the company entered the smartwatch market.
The new iPhone Pro models will keep the existing machine running.
And Apple’s AI strategy could determine whether that machine remains competitive over the next decade.
But above everything else, today’s event is an introduction.
Not just to new products, but to Apple’s next CEO.
John Ternus now has the stage.
And the technology world is watching to see what he does with it.
The Tim Cook era built Apple’s empire. Today, the Ternus era gets its first real test.