The Foldable iPhone and Price Increases: What Apple Announced at Its New Device Launch Event

Apple held its biggest product launch of the year. The main highlight was Apple's first foldable iPhone—the iPhone Duo—a tablet-like device the size of a passport that allows users to run multiple apps at the same time.

"The new smartphone has a larger screen, yet it still fits easily in your pocket," announced John Turnus, who took over as Apple's CEO last week, at the event.

The iPhone Duo is about the size of a passport. The device is equipped with cameras and features both an internal and external display; the external screen of the foldable smartphone is 90% the size of the iPhone 18 Pro’s screen, while the internal screen has a diagonal of 7.6 inches, said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s head of marketing, during the presentation.

The iPhone Duo will start at $1,999—within the price range anticipated by analysts and market participants. The smartphone will be available in two colors: white and dark blue (the “night sky” color).

Connectivity within the foldable device will be provided by Apple’s in-house second-generation modem, the C2. It is 50% faster than Apple’s previous modem, supports 5G Mobility Management technology in the U.S., and consumes 15% less power, the company said. This development will further reduce the iPhone maker’s dependence on Qualcomm, the leader in cellular modem manufacturing, notes CNBC. This suggests that Apple will most likely completely phase out Qualcomm chips in next year’s iPhone 19 lineup, analyst Ben Bajarin speculated on the TV channel.

Overall, Apple’s entry into the foldable device market will be a “breath of fresh air” for the category, according to research firm IDC, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. According to its forecasts, Apple is expected to capture 44% of total revenue from foldable smartphone sales in 2026, even though the company is launching its device just three months before the end of the year. According to IDC, Apple’s foldable smartphone is expected to be a breakthrough in the industry compared to existing similar devices—in particular, because the “fold” on the iPhone Duo (the screen’s fold) will be imperceptible—at least that’s how Apple’s foldable smartphone appeared during the presentation. With foldable Android smartphones, the crease at the screen’s fold is often noticeable, which detracts from the user experience, analysts note.

In addition to the iPhone Duo, the company also showcased the following at the event:

— Updated versions of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in new colors: blue (“glacier”) and burgundy. Apple cited extended battery life as one of their key advantages: the iPhone 18 Pro will be able to operate for 24 hours on a single charge, while the Pro Max will provide up to 30 hours of use.

— unveiled a new Siri with built-in artificial intelligence — a tool that, according to the company, “will be able to perform actions within apps on Apple devices, including third-party apps.”

— showcased improved smartphone cameras with mechanical shutters that can be adjusted to control the depth of field and focus.

— discussed the latest 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip for the iPhone, which will be used in future generations of smartphones. The processor is manufactured using a cutting-edge process technology from leading chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC). It is designed to optimize AI performance directly on the device. According to Apple, the chip runs up to 20% faster, and its neural accelerators ensure low latency when performing AI tasks. The A20 Pro’s bandwidth has also increased by 50%, which, as the company noted, is “the widest memory interface [Apple] has ever used in an iPhone.” According to company representatives, this was achieved by redesigning the processor so that the core logic silicon is located next to the memory chips.

— and also announced the release of the new AirPods 5 and an Apple Watch with a ceramic case. Apple plans to turn the latter into AI-powered devices through a new feature called Audio Intelligence—it will use the Apple Watch’s microphone to record conversations and allow users to review what was just said.

— However, the new budget iPhone 18 was not unveiled at the event, Bloomberg notes. Apple is adjusting its schedule to unveil this model in the spring, alongside the more affordable iPhone 18e and the slim iPhone Air 2, the agency reports.

Apple also announced price increases for its new flagship smartphones: Amid a global shortage of components, particularly memory chips, the starting price for the iPhone 18 Pro will be $1,199—$100 more than last year’s iPhone 17 Pro, according to CNBC. The iPhone 18 Pro Max will also start at $1,299—$100 more than the previous version. This isn’t as big a price jump as some analysts and market participants had feared, as they had speculated that rising component costs could cause Apple to incur losses on the sale of these devices, The Wall Street Journal reports. However, this price increase is not the first, CNBC notes. This past summer—due to a shortage of memory chips—the company had already raised prices on some Mac computers and iPads.

Another star of this year’s presentation was the company’s new CEO—John Turnus, who took the helm on September 1, according to the WSJ. Since 2021, he has led Apple’s hardware engineering division and, in particular, headed the team that developed the foldable iPhone. That same team had previously integrated Apple chips into Mac computers—one of the company’s least noticeable yet most significant achievements in recent years, the newspaper notes.

Now, in his first product launch announcement as CEO, Ternus has unveiled the most significant update to the company’s flagship product, according to the WSJ. The publication notes that Apple’s former CEO, Tim Cook, was often criticized for failing to deliver sufficiently innovative products under his leadership. And although the foldable smartphone was already in development under Cook, Apple is clearly seeking to signal that a new, innovative era has begun at the company, the publication notes.

Apple shares fell nearly 1% during trading on September 9 (they are up about 15% year-to-date). Qualcomm shares, on the other hand, rose more than 1%, while TSMC shares fell 1.2%. Nevertheless, Wall Street views the iPhone maker’s prospects positively: 28 analysts recommend buying Apple shares, 13 advise holding, and five recommend selling. The average target price—$334.01—implies a 5.6% increase in the company’s stock price relative to the last closing price.

This article is being updated

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor