Last updated: September 9-10, 2026. Editorial Team — researched using Apple’s official newsroom materials and reporting from Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, and Al Jazeera. See “Sources & Methodology” for our full source list.
Quick Answer
Apple unveiled its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, alongside the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro lineup at Wednesday’s “Surprise and Shine” keynote — the first major product event under new CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook on September 1, ending Cook’s 15-year tenure. The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 and becomes available for pre-order October 16, launching October 23. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the 18 Pro Max at $1,299. Apple also introduced “Siri AI,” a revamped, more conversational version of its voice assistant. Apple’s stock has continued its steady climb through the leadership transition, up more than 37% over the past year and more than 16% since the start of 2026, even as the broader market faced a choppy September stretch.
A Genuine Changing of the Guard
Apple’s official succession announcement, made April 20, 2026, framed the transition in specific, formal terms: Tim Cook became executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors, while John Ternus, previously senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, became CEO effective September 1, 2026, with the transition unanimously approved by the board following what Apple described as a long-term succession planning process. It marks the first CEO change at the world’s most valuable consumer technology company since Steve Jobs handed the role to Cook in August 2011. Cook’s own words on stepping down were direct: “it has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple.” Ternus, 50, has spent 25 years at Apple since joining its product design team in 2001, rising to vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 and senior vice president in 2021 — credited with overseeing the launch of some of Apple’s most well-known product lines, including the iPad and AirPods.
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What the Market Reaction Has Actually Looked Like
Al Jazeera’s coverage of the September 1 transition notes Apple is, by any measure, a tough act to follow: under Cook’s leadership, the company’s stock jumped 2,258% over his 15-year tenure. That momentum has continued into the handover itself — Apple’s stock has grown more than 37% over the past year and more than 16% since the start of 2026, and shares rose 2.2% in midday trading specifically on the day Ternus officially took over his new role. Babak Hafezi, professor of international business at American University, offered a specific read on what the choice of a hardware-focused successor signals strategically: “the appointment of Ternus is Apple’s subtle way of doubling down on hardware innovation as a core strategy. It doesn’t refute the Tim Cook era; it marks a new stage in Apple’s history by intertwining AI with hardware, rather than treating AI as a standalone product.”
The Products That Defined Ternus’s First Keynote
Fox Business’s coverage of Wednesday’s event confirms the specific new lineup and pricing: alongside the iPhone Duo (Apple’s first foldable, capping years of speculation about the product), Apple released the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, starting at $1,199 and $1,299 respectively, with lease options available through Apple Upgrade. Apple also unveiled a revamped version of Siri called “Siri AI,” which acts as a personal chatbot for users — a notable strategic shift given how far behind rivals like Google and OpenAI Apple has been perceived to be in the generative AI race. Fox Business’s reporting adds an important pricing context worth understanding directly: Apple has recently hiked prices across its overall product lineup, a move the company attributes specifically to ongoing global chip shortages driven by surging AI-related demand — the same memory and semiconductor supply crunch that has been pressuring smartphone pricing industry-wide throughout 2026.
Why This Product Launch Carries Extra Symbolic Weight
It’s genuinely notable that Ternus’s very first major public presentation as CEO happens to be the launch of Apple’s most significant hardware category expansion in years. Engadget’s live coverage of the event underscored the symbolism directly, noting that June’s WWDC was Tim Cook’s last keynote, making this week’s event Ternus’s introduction to Apple’s product-launch stage in front of the world. Fortune’s earlier profile of the incoming CEO era captured the stakes concisely, asking whether “a low-key engineer” can help Apple “win the AI race” — a question this week’s event was widely read as Apple’s first concrete public answer to, pairing a genuinely new hardware category (the foldable) with a meaningfully upgraded AI assistant on the same stage.
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The Broader Foldable Market Apple Is Entering
Al Jazeera’s analysis frames the foldable category Apple is now entering as still relatively niche, but genuinely growing, and currently dominated by Samsung, which launched its first foldable device back in 2019 — giving Samsung roughly seven years of head start in the category. Analysts cited by Al Jazeera forecast Apple will make headway quickly given the company’s typical pattern of driving broader category adoption once it enters an established but still-maturing market, a pattern seen previously with categories like true wireless earbuds and smartwatches, both of which existed before Apple’s entry but grew substantially faster once Apple products became available.
What to Watch Next
- Pre-order demand for the iPhone Duo: Pre-orders open October 16, with the device launching October 23 — early demand signals will be closely watched as the first real market test of Apple’s foldable strategy.
- Whether Siri AI closes the perceived AI gap: The revamped assistant represents Apple’s most visible public AI product move to date; how it’s received relative to competing AI assistants will shape ongoing “Apple is behind in AI” narratives.
- Ternus’s broader leadership style: As a less polished public communicator than Cook, according to Fortune’s reporting, how Ternus handles ongoing investor and public communications will be closely watched in the months following this first keynote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Apple’s new CEO?
John Ternus, formerly senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, became Apple’s CEO on September 1, 2026, succeeding Tim Cook, who moved to the newly created role of executive chairman.
What is the iPhone Duo and how much does it cost?
The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable iPhone, starting at $1,999, with pre-orders opening October 16 and the device launching October 23, 2026.
What is Siri AI?
Siri AI is a revamped version of Apple’s voice assistant, announced at the September 2026 keynote, designed to function as a more conversational personal chatbot.
How has Apple’s stock performed during the leadership transition?
Apple’s stock is up more than 37% over the past year and more than 16% since the start of 2026, rising 2.2% specifically on the day Ternus officially became CEO.
Sources & Methodology
This article draws on primary sources and reporting from: Apple’s official newsroom announcement of the CEO transition (April 20, 2026); Apple’s official product event page; Fox Business’s coverage of the September 9-10, 2026 product launch event; Al Jazeera’s September 1, 2026 coverage of the CEO transition, including quoted analysis from Professor Babak Hafezi; Engadget’s live coverage of the “Surprise and Shine” keynote; and Fortune’s profile of the incoming Ternus era. Figures reflect the most recently published information as of this article’s last-updated date.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice.
