Apple set to unveil foldable iPhone next month

Apple will hold its biggest product introduction of the year on September 9 (US time), kicking off the tenure of new chief executive officer John Ternus.

The event will take place at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, and be livestreamed on its website, the company said on Wednesday (US time). The tagline for the gathering is “Surprise and shine,” according to invitations sent to media.

Apple is poised to unveil new versions of the products that account for most of its revenue. This September event will be especially critical, as the company will use it to introduce its first foldable iPhone, entering a market dominated by Samsung .

As the iconic iPhone nears the 20th anniversary of its introduction, the new foldable design marks the biggest single change to the product’s look. The device will be about the size of a standard passport, and it will open up to reveal a screen roughly the size of a small iPad.

Apple is also planning to introduce the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, successors to its current high-end smartphones. The devices will feature faster chips, better battery life and major camera improvements, including a mechanical aperture on at least the larger model.

The event is also notable for what it won’t include: a second-generation iPhone Air or regular iPhone 18. Instead, Apple is moving the release dates for those products to next spring, looking to smooth out its sales throughout the year. Those products will launch around the same time as a low-end iPhone 18e, new Macs and iPads, Bloomberg News has reported.

Apple also has several other products in the pipeline for this year. New Apple Watches could arrive at the same time as the iPhones. And the company is readying a slate of home devices — including its first smart home hub with a screen, a fresh HomePod mini and an updated Apple TV set-top box — as well as an upgraded iPad mini.

Apple typically splits up its product launches across introductions in September and October.

The event will also be notable in that it will mark the first time that Ternus is spearheading a major launch as CEO. Ternus has been a driving force behind the foldable iPhone and the timing of his transition to CEO was designed to coincide with the product’s introduction, Bloomberg News has reported.

Tim Cook, the outgoing CEO, was known as a supply chain, sales and finance expert. In contrast, Ternus is a hardware engineer by trade and he’s promising a renewed push into new product categories and more advancements in artificial intelligence.

Cook, who ran Apple for 15 years, will remain with the company as executive chairman.