Yesterday, the most radical change to the iPhone's appearance in its nearly 20-year history was announced.
Just in his second week as Apple's CEO, John Ternus announced the most radical change to the iPhone's appearance in its nearly 20-year history, writes the BBC.
On Wednesday, Ternus, who succeeded Tim Cook as head of Apple, appeared at the company's traditional new product presentation in front of a giant image of the first-ever foldable iPhone.
The book-like device, named Duo, is also the largest iPhone in history. And since this phone will cost between $1999 and $3199 in the US, it is also the most expensive.
Ternus stated that the Duo's design is "iPad-inspired" but described the features of this foldable phone as "fluid and completely intuitive."
Apple specialists have been working on the foldable iPhone for several years.
When unfolded, the Duo resembles a small iPad. When folded, it looks like a wide iPhone.
During the presentation, Ternus said that Apple aimed to avoid replicating the design of other foldable phones already on the market. According to him, competitors' products "look like two phones folded together, making a wider screen feel significantly smaller."
Is the New CEO also a product?
The Duo, Ternus continued, is "the result of a series of outstanding innovations that we hope will redefine the foldable phone experience."
Notably, Ternus was directly involved in the development of the new device, having led Apple's hardware development division for many years.
According to Ben Wood from CCS Insight, Ternus was likely specifically appointed as CEO "at a time when one of the most significant iPhone launches in years was planned."
"Nothing at Apple happens by accident," Wood adds.
Creative Strategies expert Carolina Milanesi, who attended the presentation, believes that Ternus was at the center of events, and "it practically created the feeling that he was also one of the products."
The iPhone design change could be a response to critics who said that since the first Apple phone appeared in 2007, the company had not created a single truly revolutionary and popular new product.
Why is this a risk?
"This foldable phone risks becoming another expensive embellishment in their portfolio, providing prestige but not delivering significant growth," believes Dipanjan Chatterjee from the analytical company Forrester.
On Wednesday, Apple also unveiled the new iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, with prices in the US starting at $1199 and $1299 respectively.
Chatterjee says that the foldable iPhone could meet the same fate as Apple's Vision Pro — augmented reality glasses that the company sells for $3699 and which have not gained widespread popularity among users.
But this "foldable" could also become the new Apple Watch — a product bought by millions of people worldwide annually, even though it doesn't sell as successfully as the iPhone.
Another risk factor is users' familiarity with the basic operating principles of the iPhone, which could hinder high sales of "foldables."
"Foldable phones are quite distinctive devices," explains Milanesi. "Many people are interested in them in principle, but transitioning from a regular phone to a foldable one requires significant retraining, including in terms of software usage."
Wood notes that existing "foldables" from companies like Samsung and Huawei account for only 2% of all smartphone sales. Apple's new device is expected to boost interest and demand for them, but CCS Insight believes that such phones will "capture" only 4% of the market over the next decade.
The iPhone remains Apple's most popular product, accounting for over half of its annual sales. In recent quarters, Apple proudly noted that demand for its smartphones remains at an all-time high, and the presentation of the latest iPhone versions became its most successful new product launch.
New Siri with Artificial Intelligence
On Wednesday, Apple also talked about the upcoming relaunch of its voice and text assistant Siri, which will now be called Siri AI (meaning "Siri AI").
It will be installed on iPhone models starting with iPhone 18 and will have access to all information contained on the phone, including text messages and emails. This will allow the assistant to find information, answer questions, and perform various actions on behalf of the user.
Some Siri AI features will also be available on new Apple Watches. Among them, the assistant will be able to record conversations and transcribe them if this function is enabled.
Ternus called the new iPhone capabilities using artificial intelligence a "smart personal hub" and acknowledged that Apple would be able to consider "the most personal details of your daily life."
The CEO insists that all this information will remain untouched, as AI functions will often work "directly on the device," meaning without the involvement of other companies. If the correct operation requires the involvement of other companies, Ternus assures, the privacy of personal information will be maintained even when stored in the "cloud."
"Some suggest that such information can be collected and stored," Ternus said. "But here, even Apple will not be able to access what belongs only to you."
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