Apple's New Boss Rolls Out the 'Duo'

Apple's new boss used his first big moment to literally unfold a new era for the iPhone. John Ternus, who took over as CEO on Sept. 1, headlined Apple's product showcase Wednesday by revealing the iPhone Duo, a foldable model whose open screen is 80% larger than the current Pro and half again as big as the Max, Deadline reports. The pre-taped event focused heavily on entertainment and gaming, highlighting Netflix's work to fine-tune its app for the Duo. Ternus introduced iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPod updates before unveiling the Duo, saying, in a nod to Columbo, "actually there is one more thing," the AP reports.

The Duo, Ternus said, has the "largest display ever on an iPhone, yet fits into your pocket," Ternus said. He said the phone, which allows users to split the screen to use two apps at once, "will redefine the experience of using a foldable phone." Ternus also addressed Apple's slower, privacy-focused march into artificial intelligence. The company's "Apple Intelligence" system, he said, runs on devices when possible and shifts to what he called "private cloud compute" only when needed, "ensuring that nobody—not even Apple—can access what's yours. It's personal intelligence that's actually personal."

He cast the iPhone as the core of a broader, AI-infused ecosystem spanning Siri, Apple Watch health features, and AirPods with live translation, and positioned the upcoming iPhone 18 as the next step in combining on-device data with those new AI tools.

• The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max will be available Sept. 18 and will start at $1,199 and $1,299. The Duo, available Oct. 23, will start at $1,999. 9to5Mac has extensive details of the new products.
• "The foldable launch is straight out of Apple's playbook: Wait for the product to work out its kinks and for the market to offer glimpses of viability, then enter and shape the category," said Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee, per the AP. "The difference is that foldables still represent a minuscule share of the smartphone market. The test of Apple's ambition will be whether it can expand that niche into a meaningful new segment."