annual fall product showcase, dubbed “Surprise and Shine”. Starting at US$1,999, the passport-shaped device opens to reveal a 7.6-inch display and will go on sale on October 23. Ternus led the presentation, introducing the Duo as Apple’s “one more thing” after the company unveiled updates to its conventional iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods. The launch brought Apple into a foldable market pioneered by Samsung and Huawei, with Samsung releasing its first Galaxy Fold in 2019. Before the event, Christine Russo, principal of a retail creative and consulting agency, told Inside Retail: “John Ternus is just seven days into his CEO position. The transition has been quiet and not with a lot of fanfare.” For Russo, the launch also revived a longstanding question about whether Apple can still produce category-defining hardware. “While revenue continues to grow, the root essence of Apple, under Steve Jobs, is attributed to hardware innovation, and many will be looking to see if those glory days will return under Ternus’s direction.” A late arrival with much to prove Ahead of the showcase, several other industry experts were optimistic about Ternus taking the reins, including Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData. “John Ternus has big shoes to fill, but he has been doing a good job so far. However, the challenge for Apple will be twofold,” Saunders said. First, he said, Apple will have to keep evolving its core products in a way that makes people willing to upgrade. The foldable iPhone could spark new demand, Saunders said, although its success would ultimately depend on the quality of the technology and the problems it solves. “In some ways, it seems like Apple is imitating others like Samsung – which is not really what the company should be about. The second challenge is to ensure that Apple has a toehold in emerging areas like smart glasses. On that front, I think we will see a lot more new hardware releases as Apple tries to place its bets on the next big thing,” said Saunders. Apple attempted to answer some of those questions at the event by positioning the Duo as a productivity device. Its larger display allows users to run multiple app windows simultaneously, while the phone also supports the Apple Pencil. Frankie Margotta, strategy director at consulting firm Triptk, was similarly hopeful about Apple’s new era under Ternus. “It’s too early to pass judgment on Ternus barely a week into his appointment, but I do think his selection signals that Apple’s board believes its next era requires renewed product and engineering leadership,” said Margotta. Margotta said Apple’s late entry into the foldable market could also work to its advantage. “The foldable phone is buzzworthy, but it also presents an interesting opportunity because Apple has had years to learn from the wins and challenges of brands like Samsung and Huawei. The broader smartphone market is contracting, so a foldable could unlock a meaningful new subcategory if Apple can make the use case clear. Right now, it’s still unclear whether consumers truly need a foldable, what behaviors it meaningfully improves and, if it does take off, what other devices it could make less necessary, including iPads and other mid-size screens.” The Duo will also be judged by how effectively it complements Apple’s existing products and services, from AirPods and iCloud to its updated AI-powered version of Siri. “Apple’s strength has always been its ability to make individual products feel simultaneously more valuable and less indispensable because of the ecosystem around them. That’s the bigger job for Ternus: continuing to push the products forward while making the entire Apple ecosystem feel more valuable and worth investing in,” said Margotta. Can Ternus restore Apple’s edge? Barney Stacher, CEO of consultancy Retail OCD, said Apple was entering the foldable market at an unusual point in its evolution. “Apple entering the foldable market is a little like the famously late guest arriving after dinner and immediately becoming the center of attention. Samsung and others have spent years testing the format, and taking the hits from consumers, while Apple waited to see whether consumers actually wanted one. Now Apple apparently believes the technology is ready, or at least ready for a US$1,900-plus price tag,” said Stacher. For Stacher, the question was not whether Apple could make a beautiful foldable phone; it was certainly capable of doing so. The real test was whether folding and unfolding fundamentally improved the experience or merely gave affluent Apple customers a new way to open their wallets. At its confirmed US$1,999 starting price, a clever hinge and a disappearing crease will not be sufficient. The iPhone Duo has to feel as though it replaces or combines multiple devices, rather than resembling an expensive solution desperately searching for a problem. Stacher also cautioned against treating the showcase as a complete expression of Ternus’s leadership. “Ternus has occupied the chair for barely a week, and tomorrow’s products were developed long before he took the reins. But this event will introduce his version of Apple to the public. Tim Cook perfected Apple as an operational and financial machine. Ternus now has to prove that the machine can still surprise and delight people.” Although the Duo predates Ternus’s elevation to CEO, his former responsibility for Apple’s hardware engineering makes it more closely associated with his leadership than a typical inherited product. Ternus’s larger challenge may be less about launching another premium device than restoring the sense that Apple defines the next consumer experience. Otherwise, it risks being seen as a company that arrives late, polishes someone else’s category and charges admission. “The foldable will generate attention, but Apple’s progress in AI, and whether Siri finally becomes genuinely useful, may tell us far more about the Ternus era than the phone with a hinge does,” concluded Stacher.