New foldable iPhone Duo devices on display during Apple's event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California
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Apple Inc. unveiled the company’s first foldable smartphone during a wide-ranging event Wednesday, betting that a new category can energize growth for its biggest-selling lineup. The device, called the iPhone Duo, will improve on rivals’ foldable models, which Chief Executive Officer John Ternus compared to two phones glued together. When unfolded, the Duo provides the largest display ever on an iPhone, at 7.6 inches, he said. There’s also a 5.4-inch outer screen, and the phone can use the iPad’s Apple Pencil stylus.The device will sit at the top of Apple’s iPhone lineup, with a cost that starts at $1,999. Preorders will begin Oct. 16 in more than 70 countries and regions, ahead of the device becoming available on Oct. 23.With the product expansion, Apple aims to show it can refine a category pioneered by Samsung Electronics Co. and other smartphone makers. The Duo is designed to have a sturdier feel, with less of a crease in the middle of the screen when unfolded. The software interface is also meant to capitalize on the design. The foldable phone represents the largest design change to the product in its history. Still, the launch was widely anticipated, and investors gave a tepid response to the announcement. The shares fell 1.4% to $311.92 as of 2:11 p.m. in New York. Earlier in the event, which was livestreamed from the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, Apple introduced new versions of the iPhone Pro, AirPods and its smartwatches.The Pro devices sport the speedier A20 chip and offer the longest battery life in iPhone history, the company said. And new versions of its lower-end earbuds, the AirPods 5, offer noise cancellation.As part of the rollout, Apple increased the price of the Pro models by $100. The iPhone 18 Pro will be $1,199, while the Pro Max will cost $1,299. The AirPods 5, meanwhile, will continue to start at $129. Preorders begin on Sept. 12, with the products going on sale Sept. 18.“We made massive advances in the most important areas,” Ternus said during the presentation. That includes artificial intelligence, performance, battery life and camera features, he said.The presentation serves as a debut for Ternus, who took the helm on Sept. 1. Longtime CEO Tim Cook is remaining at Apple as executive chairman.“I couldn’t be more proud of the teams across Apple who made today possible,” Ternus said.Apple updated its watch lineup with Series 12 and Ultra 4 models. The company touted the devices’ new more powerful chips and expanded audio capabilities. A feature called Live Rewind, for instance, will let users go back in time 15 seconds to get a readout of what was just said.The iPhone 18 Pro comes in a new burgundy color, in addition to black, silver and a bluish “glacier” hue. And a next-generation vapor chamber helps manage heat.Battery life will be 45 hours for the Pro Max model — the larger version — and 36 hours for the Pro, Apple said. The tech giant is also including faster wired charging, which will allow for six hours of video playback after a five-minute charge.A new entry-level iPhone 18 wasn’t introduced at the event. Apple is switching its schedule in order to debut that model in the spring, alongside a lower-budget iPhone 18e and the slim iPhone Air 2.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com©2026 Bloomberg L.P.More Like ThisPublished on September 10, 2026
