John Ternus has entered his second week as Apple's chief executive, and the company has revealed the first major change to the iPhone since it was released almost 20 years ago.
The report indicates that john Ternus has entered his second week as Apple’s chief executive, and the company has indicated the first major change to the iPhone since its release almost 20 years ago.
It further notes that ternus, who took on Apple’s top job after Tim Cook stepped down, was onstage Wednesday at the company’s annual product release event, in front of large images of the first foldable iPhone.
With a book-style format, the new iPhone, dubbed the Duo, is the largest-ever model. And with a US starting price of $1,999 (£1,475) going up to $3,200, it is also the most expensive. UK prices start at £1,999.
Ternus stated the Duo was “inspired by the iPad” but called the folding features “fluid and completely intuitive.”
The foldable phone has been a work in progress at Apple for several years.
When unfolded, the new Duo looks like a small iPad. When folded in half, it looks like a wider iPhone.
Ternus stated during the event that Apple wanted to avoid the look and feel of other foldable smart phones on the market, which he stated “feel like two phones stuck together… making a larger screen feel much smaller.”
The Duo, he said, is the “result of a series of remarkable innovations that we think will redefine the experience of using a foldable phone.”
Ternus was directly involved in developing the foldable iPhone as he spent many years as a top executive inside Apple’s hardware division before being tapped earlier this year as Cook’s successor.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology research firm FDM CCS Insight, stated it was likely Ternus’s promotion was timed specifically “to coincide with what will be arguably one of the biggest iPhone launches for many years”.
“Nothing happens by accident at Apple,” Wood added.
Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies who attended the Wednesday presentation, stated the spotlight on Ternus made it feel “almost like he was a product himself.”
Altering the design of the iPhone may address some criticism that Apple has yet to land a major product hit or truly exciting innovation since the first iPhone came out in 2007.
“The foldable risks becoming a premium-priced ornament in the portfolio, imparting badge value but not meaningful growth,” stated Dipanjan Chatterjee, an analyst at Forrester.
