Listen to this Post
A New Apple Era Begins With Its Biggest Gamble Yet
Apple is approaching a September launch unlike any other in recent memory. On September 9, 2026, the company will hold its major iPhone event under the tagline “Surprise and shine,” just days after John Ternus officially takes over as Apple’s chief executive from Tim Cook. The timing alone makes the event historic, but the product expected to headline it could be even more consequential: Apple’s long-rumored first foldable iPhone.
The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific Time at Apple Park’s Steve Jobs Theater, with Apple confirming that it will be streamed online. While the company has not officially revealed every product it plans to introduce, industry reporting strongly points toward new iPhone 18 Pro models and Apple’s first foldable iPhone, reportedly known internally or in the rumor mill as the iPhone Ultra.
This is therefore much more than another annual iPhone refresh. It could become the symbolic beginning of the Ternus era.
John Ternus has spent years overseeing Apple’s hardware engineering organization. Now he inherits a company that remains enormously profitable and influential, but also faces mounting pressure to demonstrate that it can compete more aggressively in artificial intelligence while continuing to reinvent the devices that define its ecosystem.
The September keynote could give Ternus his first opportunity to answer a fundamental question: Can Apple still surprise the world?
The September 9 Event Has Become a Leadership Test
Apple officially confirmed the September 9 event on August 26, describing it simply as a special Apple Event and using the phrase “Surprise and shine.” The company did not explicitly mention a foldable iPhone in its invitation, leaving the most important details to speculation until the keynote itself.
Yet the timing is difficult to ignore.
Ternus becomes Apple CEO on September 1, meaning the September 9 event will arrive only eight days into his tenure. Apple has already confirmed that he will succeed Tim Cook, who will become executive chairman of the company’s board.
That makes the event unusually symbolic. Cook spent roughly 15 years as CEO, transforming Apple into an enormous global technology and services company while overseeing the Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple silicon transition, Vision Pro and numerous other product categories.
Ternus will now have to demonstrate that Apple can enter its next chapter without losing the discipline and operational strength established during Cook’s leadership.
The Foldable iPhone Could Be Apple’s Boldest Hardware Move in Years
The most important rumored product is the foldable iPhone.
Unlike conventional iPhones, the expected device would open into a much larger display, potentially creating something closer to a small tablet while still fitting into a pocket when closed. Reports suggest a book-style design and a display of roughly 5.5 inches when folded and around 7.6 inches when opened.
If those specifications prove accurate, Apple would finally be entering a category that Samsung has been developing for years.
That distinction matters.
Apple would not be inventing the foldable smartphone. Instead, it would be attempting to redefine what consumers expect from one.
Apple Is Late to Foldables — But That May Be an Advantage
Samsung has spent years educating consumers about foldable phones, experimenting with hinges, displays, software interfaces and multitasking.
That means Apple can enter the market after many of the industry’s early mistakes have already been exposed.
The company can study what consumers disliked about earlier foldables, identify which features actually matter and then build its own version around Apple’s familiar priorities: industrial design, software integration, battery efficiency, ecosystem connectivity and premium materials.
That strategy could be more important than simply having a screen that folds.
Apple’s challenge will be convincing customers that the foldable form factor is not merely an expensive novelty.
Samsung May Actually Benefit From Apple Entering the Market
Interestingly, Samsung executives have indicated that greater visibility for foldables could help the entire category.
That makes commercial sense.
Foldables remain a relatively small part of the global smartphone market compared with traditional slab-style phones. Apple entering the category would suddenly expose hundreds of millions of loyal iPhone users to the concept.
A successful Apple foldable could therefore increase awareness of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip products as well.
In other words,
The Price Could Be the Biggest Shock
The biggest obstacle may not be technology.
It may be the price.
Foldable phones are generally more expensive than conventional flagship smartphones because of their specialized displays, hinges, engineering requirements and complex manufacturing.
Some current estimates place
That creates an unusual situation.
Apple may be preparing to introduce its most technologically ambitious iPhone at exactly the moment when the components required to build smartphones are becoming more expensive.
The Memory Crisis Is Becoming Apple’s Hidden Problem
Behind the excitement surrounding the foldable iPhone is a less glamorous but extremely important issue: memory.
The global semiconductor industry is experiencing severe pressure on DRAM and NAND supplies as artificial intelligence infrastructure consumes enormous amounts of memory and storage.
J.P. Morgan Global Research estimates that DRAM prices could rise more than 400% from the beginning of 2024 through the end of 2026, with consumer electronics potentially absorbing substantial portions of those higher costs.
Apple is not immune.
The company has already acknowledged significant supply constraints, while reports indicate that Apple and its manufacturing partners have been working aggressively to secure enough memory for upcoming devices.
AI Is Indirectly Making the Next iPhone More Expensive
There is an important irony here.
Artificial intelligence is supposed to make devices smarter and more capable, but the infrastructure required to develop and operate AI is simultaneously competing with consumer electronics manufacturers for semiconductor resources.
Massive AI data centers require enormous quantities of memory.
Cloud providers and AI companies are willing to pay premium prices for certain memory technologies, encouraging manufacturers to prioritize those products.
Smartphones consequently find themselves competing for semiconductor capacity against one of the fastest-growing technology industries in history.
This is one reason the next iPhone could become more expensive even if Apple does not dramatically increase its profit margin per device.
Apple Has Already Been Raising Prices Elsewhere
The memory crunch is not simply a theoretical threat.
Apple has already raised prices on some Mac and iPad products amid increasing memory and storage costs, while the company has warned investors about supply constraints affecting its hardware business.
That makes expectations of higher iPhone prices more credible.
The exact increase remains uncertain, but industry analysts have discussed the possibility of substantially higher costs.
TechInsights has previously estimated that Apple could need to add hundreds of dollars to certain iPhone models to preserve margins if memory costs continue rising.
A $1,500 iPhone May No Longer Sound Impossible
The idea of a $1,500 mainstream premium iPhone once sounded extreme.
The economics of 2026 are changing that conversation.
A combination of expensive memory, advanced processors, increasingly sophisticated cameras, high-end displays and supply-chain pressure could push flagship pricing upward.
The foldable iPhone would sit at the top of this hierarchy.
If Apple prices it around or above $2,000, it would not simply be another iPhone. It would become a luxury technology product competing with premium foldables and potentially with small tablets and laptops for consumers’ money.
The Foldable iPhone Could Increase Apple’s Average Selling Price
From
The iPhone remains the
A successful foldable could allow Apple to capture customers who want something more advanced than a traditional smartphone and are willing to pay considerably more for it.
Instead of attempting to sell hundreds of millions of foldables immediately, Apple could use the product as a premium halo device.
That would create a new price tier above the Pro Max.
And once consumers become accustomed to seeing a $2,000 iPhone, even $1,500 conventional models could gradually feel less shocking.
The AI Question Will Be Just as Important as the Hardware
But Ternus cannot walk onto the stage and talk only about hinges and displays.
Apple’s larger strategic problem is artificial intelligence.
The company has faced criticism for moving more cautiously than rivals in generative AI, while competitors have aggressively integrated AI assistants, reasoning models, search experiences and developer tools into their ecosystems.
Apple has a unique advantage: it controls the hardware, operating system, silicon and services surrounding hundreds of millions of devices.
The problem is turning that advantage into a compelling AI experience.
Ternus Has a Hardware Background — And That Matters
Ternus is not coming from an AI research laboratory.
His background is deeply rooted in hardware engineering and product development.
That could influence
Rather than trying to compete purely by building the biggest cloud-based AI model, Apple could focus on AI that lives inside its devices.
That could mean smarter personal assistants, more powerful on-device processing, contextual automation, better cameras, smarter notifications, improved health features and AI capabilities that understand what users are doing without constantly sending personal information to remote servers.
Apple Could Turn Hardware Into Its AI Advantage
Apple’s biggest AI opportunity may therefore be something competitors cannot easily reproduce.
It owns the entire stack.
Apple designs its chips.
Apple designs its operating systems.
Apple controls the iPhone.
Apple controls the App Store.
Apple builds services around those devices.
That vertical integration gives Ternus an opportunity to position AI as a hardware feature rather than merely a software service.
The foldable iPhone could become an important demonstration platform for that strategy.
A Larger Screen Could Make AI More Useful
A foldable iPhone would create additional space for AI-driven multitasking.
Imagine opening the device and having an assistant summarize a document while another application displays the original content.
Imagine using the expanded display to plan a trip, compare products, analyze information or work with several applications simultaneously.
A larger screen does not automatically make AI better, but it gives Apple more room to demonstrate what AI can actually do.
This could make the foldable form factor particularly attractive if Apple connects the hardware redesign with meaningful software changes.
Deep Analysis
The Real Product Is the Beginning of the Ternus Era
The September event should be viewed as a leadership event disguised as a product launch.
Apple’s products matter enormously, but the person presenting them matters almost as much this year.
Ternus will inherit one of the most successful technology companies ever built.
His challenge is not to repair a broken company.
His challenge is to convince the world that Apple can continue producing category-defining products after years of incremental evolution.
Apple Needs a New Narrative
For much of the Cook era,
The company refined existing categories, expanded services and created an extraordinarily efficient global ecosystem.
But
Generative AI changed expectations.
Foldable smartphones changed expectations.
Spatial computing changed expectations.
Apple now needs a narrative that explains where it intends to lead next.
A foldable iPhone could provide the hardware symbol for that narrative.
The Foldable Could Be Apple’s “Next Decade” Product
The original iPhone changed the
The iPhone X represented another major design shift.
A foldable iPhone would be another attempt to create a new generation of smartphone hardware.
It does not need to sell as many units as the standard iPhone to become strategically important.
Its purpose could be to establish
Apple’s Greatest Advantage Is Its Ecosystem
The strongest argument for an Apple foldable is not the hinge.
It is the ecosystem.
An iPhone owner already has access to iCloud, AirPods, Apple Watch, Apple Pay, Messages, FaceTime, Apple Music, Apple TV and thousands of applications.
A foldable Apple device would immediately inherit that ecosystem.
Samsung and other Android manufacturers have had years to perfect foldable hardware, but Apple can offer something fundamentally different: a foldable phone that behaves like an extension of an ecosystem people already trust.
The Biggest Risk Is Cannibalization
Apple must also be careful.
If the foldable is too attractive, it could pull customers away from the Pro Max.
That may sound like a good problem, but Apple has to justify the engineering and supply-chain costs of creating a new product category.
The company needs incremental demand, not merely customers switching from one expensive iPhone to another.
This is why pricing, software features and positioning will be critical.
The $2,000 Psychological Barrier
Crossing $2,000 would represent a major psychological threshold.
Consumers do not think about prices only mathematically.
They compare them with alternatives.
At $2,000, a foldable iPhone competes against premium Samsung foldables, laptops, tablets and even multiple conventional smartphones.
Apple will therefore need to make the device feel like several products in one.
The larger screen and multitasking capabilities may become essential to that argument.
Scarcity Could Make the Foldable More Desirable
Apple has historically benefited from controlled availability around major launches.
If memory shortages limit production of the foldable, scarcity could initially make the device feel even more exclusive.
That is beneficial for a luxury product.
However, scarcity can quickly become frustrating if customers cannot purchase the device after committing to it.
Apple’s reputation for polished launches means consumers will expect the company to manage supply better than smaller competitors.
Supply Chain Execution Will Be Ternus’ First Hidden Test
This is where
The public will see a keynote.
Behind the scenes, Apple will be coordinating displays, hinges, memory, processors, batteries, cameras, packaging, manufacturing lines and global distribution.
A spectacular announcement followed by months of shortages would weaken the momentum.
A successful launch with strong availability would send the opposite message.
It would demonstrate that Ternus understands not only how to design ambitious hardware, but also how to manufacture it at Apple’s enormous scale.
Samsung’s Head Start Cannot Be Ignored
Samsung still has the advantage of experience.
Its foldable phones have gone through multiple generations.
Apple’s first generation will inevitably be compared with Samsung’s mature products.
Reviewers will examine thickness, weight, hinge durability, crease visibility, battery life, multitasking, cameras and software.
Apple will therefore be entering a market where consumers already know what good foldable hardware looks like.
Apple Could Still Win the Software Battle
Hardware specifications tell only part of the story.
Apple’s real opportunity is software.
A foldable iPhone could introduce a completely different version of iOS designed around a variable display size.
That could become
If developers can easily adapt applications to the folded and unfolded states, the device could feel dramatically more useful than a conventional smartphone.
The App Ecosystem Could Determine the Winner
Foldable phones require developers to think differently.
A large screen needs different layouts.
Multitasking requires new interaction models.
Apple has the advantage of controlling iOS and its developer ecosystem, but it must encourage developers to take the new format seriously.
If applications simply stretch awkwardly across the larger display, the foldable could feel like an expensive gimmick.
If applications intelligently transform, the device could feel revolutionary.
AI Could Become the Missing Piece
This is where
A foldable iPhone with powerful on-device AI could become more than a phone with a bigger screen.
It could become a personal computing device.
The larger display could provide space for AI-generated summaries, contextual assistants, document analysis, creative tools and productivity workflows.
Apple does not need to invent every AI capability itself.
It needs to integrate AI into the operating system more naturally than competitors.
Privacy Could Be Apple’s Differentiator
Apple has consistently emphasized privacy.
That philosophy could become more valuable as AI becomes increasingly personal.
An assistant that knows where users are, what they are reading, who they are communicating with and what they are planning becomes extremely powerful.
It also becomes extremely sensitive.
Apple can attempt to differentiate its AI strategy by emphasizing on-device processing, privacy controls and transparent permission systems.
If successful, this could make
The Market Could Be Bigger Than Foldables
The most important consequence of the foldable iPhone may not be foldable sales.
It could change smartphone design itself.
If Apple succeeds, competitors will respond.
Android manufacturers may accelerate new form factors.
Developers may prioritize large-screen mobile interfaces.
Accessory makers will build around foldable devices.
Consumers may begin to expect smartphones to transform into tablets.
Apple could therefore influence the market even beyond the number of foldable iPhones it sells.
Investors Will Watch More Than the Product
Wall Street will be watching Ternus as closely as the hardware.
Investors will want evidence that Apple can create new growth engines.
The foldable iPhone could provide a new premium revenue stream.
AI could create another.
Services could continue expanding.
The combination could support
Ternus Must Avoid Trying to Be Steve Jobs
One of the biggest mistakes would be attempting to imitate Apple’s past.
Ternus is not Steve Jobs.
He does not need to be.
He also does not need to become another Tim Cook.
His advantage is his own technical background.
If he can communicate a clear vision around hardware, AI and product integration, he may create an Apple identity that is distinctly his own.
The September Keynote Could Become a Defining Apple Moment
Apple has produced many memorable product launches.
But some keynotes become more important because of what they represent.
September 9 could become one of those moments.
It could mark the end of the Cook era, the beginning of the Ternus era and Apple’s entry into a new smartphone category simultaneously.
That is an extraordinary amount of pressure for one presentation.
The “Surprise and Shine” Tagline May Be More Appropriate Than It Looks
Apple’s tagline may simply be marketing.
But it also perfectly captures the challenge facing the company.
Apple needs to surprise consumers again.
It needs to demonstrate that the iPhone can still evolve.
And it needs to shine in artificial intelligence without abandoning its traditional strengths.
Whether the phrase proves meaningful or not, the expectations surrounding the event are already enormous.
What Undercode Say:
- This Is Bigger Than an iPhone Launch
The September event should not be judged solely by whether the foldable iPhone looks impressive. It is the opening statement of a new Apple leadership era.
2. Ternus Has a Rare Opportunity
Few incoming CEOs receive their first major spotlight while introducing a completely new hardware category. Ternus has that opportunity almost immediately.
3. The Foldable Is a Strategic Experiment
Apple does not need foldables to replace traditional iPhones. It needs them to prove that the company can still create new premium categories.
4. Price Will Decide the Public Reaction
A technologically impressive device can still fail to become mainstream if its price becomes disconnected from consumer expectations.
5. Apple May Intentionally Keep It Premium
A high price could be part of the strategy rather than merely a consequence of production costs. Apple can position the foldable as its ultimate iPhone.
6. The Memory Crisis Changes Everything
The global memory shortage means Apple is launching an ambitious product at an unusually difficult moment for hardware economics.
7. AI Is Quietly Behind the Story
The foldable iPhone is the visible headline, but Apple’s larger strategic problem remains artificial intelligence.
8. Ternus Can Connect Hardware and AI
His engineering background gives him a natural opportunity to make AI feel like part of Apple’s devices rather than a separate software experiment.
9. Apple’s Silicon Is a Major Advantage
Apple controls its own chip architecture and operating systems, giving it an unusually strong foundation for integrating AI into consumer hardware.
- The Foldable Could Be an AI Showcase
A larger screen gives Apple more room to demonstrate AI-powered productivity, multitasking and contextual assistance.
11. Samsung Has Already Built the Market
Apple’s competitors have done years of consumer education. Apple can now enter a category where the basic concept is already understood.
- Apple Still Has to Prove Its Hardware
Being late means Apple cannot simply claim that foldables are innovative. Reviewers will compare the first Apple foldable directly with mature competitors.
- Software May Matter More Than the Hinge
The best hinge in the world will not save a foldable whose operating system feels like ordinary iOS stretched across a bigger screen.
14. Developers Are Critical
Apple needs developers to embrace the new screen format. Without optimized applications, the larger display could become an expensive novelty.
15. Ecosystem Integration Is
AirPods, Apple Watch, iCloud and other Apple services can make the foldable immediately useful to existing customers.
- The Product Could Increase Average Selling Prices
Even limited foldable sales could push
17. The $2,000 iPhone Is Symbolically Important
Whether the exact price reaches $2,000 or not, the possibility demonstrates how far premium smartphone pricing has moved.
18. Apple Must Protect the Pro Max
The foldable cannot simply become an expensive replacement for Apple’s existing premium iPhones. It needs to attract new spending.
19. Scarcity Could Help and Hurt
Limited supply can create exclusivity, but excessive shortages can frustrate customers and damage launch momentum.
20. Supply Chain Management Will Be Crucial
Ternus’ engineering experience could become valuable behind the scenes as Apple manages unprecedented component complexity.
21. Memory Is Now a Strategic Resource
DRAM and NAND are no longer invisible commodity components. AI infrastructure has made memory a major strategic bottleneck.
22. AI Is Creating Hardware Inflation
The AI boom is affecting consumer electronics indirectly by competing for the same semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
23. Apple Has Purchasing Power
Apple can negotiate better than smaller manufacturers, but the current shortage is so significant that even Apple’s scale cannot eliminate the problem.
24. Premium Products Can Absorb Higher Costs
Apple’s strongest defense is its customer base. Consumers buying premium iPhones are generally less price-sensitive than budget smartphone buyers.
- The Foldable Could Become a Luxury Product
Apple may not initially target mass-market adoption. It could instead build the foldable as the company’s highest-end technological showcase.
26. AI Could Justify the Premium
If Apple combines the foldable display with genuinely useful AI capabilities, customers may perceive the device as a new computing category rather than an expensive phone.
27. Privacy Could Become a Competitive Weapon
Apple’s approach to personal AI could differentiate it if consumers become increasingly concerned about where their personal data is processed.
- The Company Needs More Than a New Form Factor
A foldable alone will not solve
29. Ternus Needs His Own Identity
The new CEO should not attempt to recreate Apple’s past. His strongest opportunity is to build around his engineering expertise and the technologies emerging now.
30. Cook’s Legacy Creates a High Bar
Ternus inherits a company that is financially powerful and operationally disciplined. That means expectations will be extremely high.
31. The First Keynote Will Shape Perception
Investors and consumers will watch how Ternus communicates. Confidence, clarity and a coherent product story could be nearly as important as the specifications.
32. Apple Needs Another “Wow” Moment
The company does not need constant revolutionary products, but it does need occasional moments that remind consumers why Apple remains culturally important.
- Foldables Could Become the Next Smartphone Standard
If Apple succeeds, the category could expand dramatically. Apple’s influence could bring foldables from niche technology to mainstream consumer electronics.
34. Samsung May Be Forced to Respond
A successful Apple foldable would increase competitive pressure on Samsung, Google and other Android manufacturers to improve their own designs.
35. The Entire Industry Could Benefit
Apple’s entry could increase consumer awareness and accelerate the development of foldable components, software and applications.
36. The Risk of Incrementalism Remains
If
37. AI and Hardware Must Arrive Together
The strongest version of
- September 9 Is a Test of Execution
Apple’s ability to deliver the product at scale will reveal whether its supply chain can support the company’s next generation of ambitious hardware.
- Ternus Has More Than One Problem to Solve
He must simultaneously address AI competitiveness, hardware innovation, pricing pressure, supply constraints and investor expectations.
- The Real Question Is Whether Apple Can Surprise Again
The most important question on September 9 will not be how thin the foldable is or how many cameras it has. It will be whether Apple can make consumers feel that the future has arrived again.
✅ Confirmed: Apple has officially announced a September 9, 2026 event carrying the “Surprise and shine” tagline, and Apple says the presentation will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.
✅ Confirmed: John Ternus is scheduled to become Apple CEO on September 1, 2026, succeeding Tim Cook, who will become executive chairman.
❌ Not officially confirmed: Apple has not publicly confirmed that its September 9 event will include a foldable iPhone, its final name, specifications or price. Those details remain based on reports and expectations rather than Apple’s official announcement.
Prediction
(+1) Apple will use the foldable iPhone to establish Ternus as a hardware-focused CEO. Even if the device is expensive and initially limited in availability, its strategic importance could be enormous.
(+1) The foldable iPhone will probably strengthen the overall foldable market. Apple’s enormous installed base could introduce millions of consumers to the category who previously ignored foldable phones.
(+1) Premium iPhone prices are likely to continue rising. The memory shortage creates a legitimate cost challenge, and Apple has already raised prices on other hardware while warning about supply constraints.
(+1) AI will increasingly become part of Apple’s hardware strategy. Ternus has the opportunity to connect Apple’s custom silicon, operating systems and device design into a more coherent AI platform.
(-1) The foldable could remain a niche luxury product for several years. A price near or above $2,000 would dramatically limit its addressable market.
(-1) Supply shortages could overshadow the launch. Apple may generate enormous demand only to encounter inventory constraints caused by the global memory crunch.
(+1) If Apple gets the software right, the foldable could become the company’s most important new iPhone category in years. The combination of a larger display, iOS, AI and Apple’s ecosystem could give the device a purpose beyond simply folding.
The Bigger Picture: Apple Is Betting on Its Ability to Reinvent the iPhone
Apple’s September 9 event arrives at a rare intersection of technology, economics and leadership.
The company is changing CEOs.
It is entering a new hardware category.
It is trying to accelerate its AI strategy.
It is confronting a severe memory shortage.
And it may be preparing to sell an iPhone at a price that would have seemed extraordinary only a few years ago.
That combination makes this event fundamentally different from a normal annual iPhone announcement.
The foldable iPhone, if officially unveiled, will be judged not only as a product but as a statement about Apple’s future.
For Ternus, the pressure is immense.
He is not simply presenting another generation of smartphones.
He is stepping onto the world’s biggest technology stage at the beginning of a new chapter and asking consumers, developers and investors to believe that Apple still has the ability to surprise them.
The answer will depend on much more than a folding screen.
It will depend on whether Apple can combine hardware innovation, artificial intelligence, software design, supply-chain execution and its legendary ecosystem into something that feels genuinely new.
If it succeeds, September 9 could become the moment when the Ternus era truly begins.
And if the “Surprise and shine” promise is more than marketing, Apple may finally have the kind of surprise that its increasingly predictable product cycle has been missing.
▶️ Related Video (82% Match):
🕵️📝Let’s dive deep and fact‑check.
🎓 Live Courses & Certifications:
Join Undercode Academy for Verified Certifications
🚀 Request a Custom Project:
Secure, high-velocity infrastructure and disruptive technological engineering. Contact our engineering team for high-tier development and proprietary systems:
[email protected]
💎 Smart Architecture | 🛡️ Secure by Design | ⭐ Trusted by Thousands
References:
Reported By: edition.cnn.com
Extra Source Hub (Possible Sources for article):
https://www.digitaltrends.com
Wikipedia
OpenAi & Undercode AI
Image Source:
Unsplash
Undercode AI DI v2
🔐JOIN OUR CYBER WORLD [ CVE News • HackMonitor • UndercodeNews ]
📢 Follow UndercodeNews & Stay Tuned:
𝕏 formerly Twitter 🐦 | @ Threads | 🔗 Linkedin | 🦋BlueSky | 🐘Mastodon | 📺Youtube
