Il Nuovo Postiglione - New CEO unveils Apple's first foldable iPhone

The foldable is a crucial test for Apple, which has not launched a breakout hit since the AirPods 10 years ago.

Wednesday's event was the first under Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook on September 1.

Ternus, 51, joined Apple's product design team in 2001 and worked his way up to leading the engineering teams behind Apple's entire product lineup, including the iPhones that generate most of the company's revenue.

The Duo, roughly shaped like a passport when folded, essentially combines the portability of a smartphone with the larger display of a tablet, offering users a bigger screen without carrying a tablet-sized device.

The product has a full external display when closed, a larger internal display when open, and multiple camera lenses.

The Cupertino-based company said it had reduced the visible crease in the middle of the screen -- one of the main criticisms leveled at foldables.

It is priced starting at $1,999, slightly more than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8.

Apple also announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, priced at $1,199 and $1,299 respectively, or $100 more than the iPhone 17 lineup at launch last year.

They will come with an improved camera that allows users to adjust the lens aperture.

Notably, Apple did not announce a cheaper base version of its iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 18, which could indicate it will launch at a later date.

Customers in the United States will be able to pay for new phones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches in monthly installments through Apple Upgrade, a leasing program offered with the buy-now-pay-later giant Klarna.

For the newest lineup of iPhones, a lease through Apple Upgrade works out to around $50 a month and up.

In late June, the company raised the prices of its Macs and iPads, citing the impact of component shortages caused by the boom in AI, and then warned in July that smartphones would follow.

- Seven years later -

Chinese competitors released their latest foldable products ahead of the Duo's unveiling.

On Monday, Huawei unveiled its three-panel Mate XT 2, starting at 19,999 yuan ($2,800), and Xiaomi unveiled its 18 Fold, starting at 10,999 yuan ($1,540).

Samsung launched the industry's first mainstream foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, in 2019.

Foldable smartphones make up a tiny fraction of the market, at less than 2 percent of global shipments, but Apple is expected to capture about a third of demand with its entry, according to research firm IDC.

"Apple's foldable iPhone is very likely to shift the competitive dynamics both in China and global markets," IDC research associate Kiranjeet Kaur told AFP.

The foldable iPhone's release comes as demand for powerful chips amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has created a supply chain crunch, pushing prices higher across industries.

As a result, smartphone shipments will decline by more than 16 percent this year while the average cost jumps more than 27 percent, according to IDC.

Apple also announced updated versions of its entry-level AirPods and smart watches, the latter of which will have improved heart-rate sensors that can be paired with an updated Health app launching later this year.

Other rumored devices that did not get mentioned during Wednesday's event include an updated Apple TV box and HomePod mini speaker, as well as a smart home hub with a 7-inch screen, previously reported by Bloomberg.

E.Danieli--INP