Apple unveils first foldable iPhone Duo

Apple unveiled its first foldable phone Wednesday, introducing the iPhone Duo as the company’s biggest change to the iPhone since the device debuted in 2007 and marking its entry into a market Samsung has led for years.

New CEO John Ternus presented the device at Apple’s Cupertino, California, headquarters during the company’s annual fall showcase, dubbed “Surprise and Shine.” The event was his first major product keynote since succeeding longtime leader Tim Cook earlier this month.

The iPhone Duo opens like a book into a wide internal display and also has an external screen on the outside, Apple said. The company showed videos indicating the device can be used even when it is not fully unfolded.

“Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together,” Ternus said during the livestreamed event. He said Apple instead began with “a larger display that feels as natural and intuitive as iPad.”

Ternus called it the “largest display ever on an iPhone, while still fitting easily in your pocket.” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president for worldwide marketing, said the opened screen measures 7.6 inches diagonally and is 50% larger than the iPhone Pro Max display. The device is made of titanium, has speakers on the top and bottom, and will initially come in “star white” and “night sky.” When folded, CBS News reported, it is about the size of a passport.

The announcement came as a “one more thing” reveal, using a phrase closely associated with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the iPhone Duo could carry a price tag of about $2,000, according to CBS News.

Apple also announced the iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. CBS News reported that the iPhone 18 lineup is higher priced than earlier generations in part because of a global shortage of memory chips, with the iPhone 18 Pro starting at $1,199. CBS also reported Apple said the iPhone 18 will start at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299. The devices go on sale Sept. 12 and will be available in black, silver, glacier blue and burgundy, which Ternus called “a sophisticated and unique new color.”

Ternus said the iPhone 18 will add more artificial intelligence capabilities while maintaining user privacy. Apple Intelligence will run on the device when possible, he said, and use private cloud computing resources when more power is needed.

“When greater capability is needed, private cloud compute extends that same level of privacy protection, ensuring that nobody, not even Apple, can access what’s yours. It’s personal intelligence that’s actually personal,” Ternus said.

Apple said the iPhone 18 will include a new A20 chip with a six-core CPU design and two new “super cores,” making the phone up to 20% faster. The company also highlighted faster charging, more than 24 hours of battery life for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, improved camera aperture control and better thermal management to help prevent overheating.

Another new feature, called “Apple Reference Image,” is designed to help prove the authenticity of an image at a time when AI-generated content is becoming widespread, Apple said. The company also said users will be able to customize the voice of Siri, its artificial intelligence assistant.

The foldable iPhone arrives after years of rival devices from Samsung and others. Samsung has dominated the category since 2019, though foldables remain a niche product, with 19.6 million units shipped in 2025, a fraction of overall smartphone sales. On Monday, Huawei and Xiaomi launched foldable phones priced at $2,980 and $3,725, respectively.

Ternus takes over Apple as it faces rising competition in phones and pressure to show it can continue driving iPhone upgrade cycles. “John Ternus inherits perhaps the most successful consumer technology juggernaut in modern times. That is both a boon and a burden for him,” Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee told CBS News. “Tim Cook’s perfected execution, scale, and monetization set a high bar, and Ternus must extend that run.”