John Ternus spent his first day as Apple’s chief executive telling employees to brace for next week. In an all-hands memo on Sept. 1, the new CEO promised a “huge launch” that he said would be “phenomenal,” and he thanked Tim Cook, who remains executive chairman, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reported the message.
The memo offered no specifics, but the company’s plans are an open secret. Apple has scheduled a Sept. 9 event under the name “Surprise and Shine,” and the market expects the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Watch Ultra 4.
Apple’s marketing chief, Greg Joswiak, added to the buildup the same day, posting on X in a way that pointed at the Sept. 9 date without naming products. Apple typically saves the details for the event itself, and the tease from its marketing chief suggested confidence in what the stage will hold.
For Ternus, an engineer who ran Apple’s hardware development before taking the top job, the event is a first public test. The launch comes barely a week into a tenure that began with a change at the top of a company whose fortunes remain tied to the iPhone, and the memo set expectations high for the products that will follow.
Ternus, who succeeded Cook after a long apprenticeship inside Apple’s hardware organization, has been a quiet presence at the company’s product events for years. He led the engineering work that moved the Mac onto Apple’s own processors, ending a two-decade reliance on Intel chips, and he has spent the years since overseeing the product lines that define the company. His first event as chief executive will look familiar in structure, but the stakes on stage are his own.
The foldable iPhone is the headline act. Apple has let Samsung and Chinese handset makers sell folding phones for years, waiting for displays and hinges to mature before entering a category its rivals have owned. Its first entry arrives with the engineering reputation of a company that typically arrives late but expects to arrive better.
Analysts expect the foldable to carry a premium price and to start with limited supply as Apple’s suppliers ramp production of the hinges and flexible displays the design demands. Early volumes will be constrained, they said, and the first question is not how many Apple can sell but how many it can make.
The economics explain the attention. The iPhone still accounts for roughly half of Apple’s revenue, and a new form factor gives customers a reason to replace phones they might otherwise keep for another year. Whether the foldable becomes a halo product for early adopters or reaches volumes big enough to move Apple’s revenue will be decided by how fast production scales.
The watch lineup rounds out the event. The Series 12 is expected to continue Apple’s push into health monitoring, while the Ultra 4 targets athletes and outdoor users; both sit at the center of a wearables business that has grown into one of the company’s steadier revenue streams even as the category faces crowded competition.
The foldable category is no longer young. Samsung has sold its Galaxy Z series for years, and Chinese brands such as Huawei have pushed folding designs into the premium tier with aggressive pricing and rapid iteration. Early folding screens drew complaints about creases and durability, and the engineering has matured slowly, which has been Apple’s stated argument for waiting: the technology needed to reach the quality bar the company holds for its most expensive products.
Cook’s new role keeps a familiar hand near the center of the company. As executive chairman he remains on Apple’s board and involved in its direction, a structure that lets the company change chief executives without changing course. The memo’s thanks to Cook signaled continuity at a moment when investors are watching how the transition is handled.
Apple’s financial model gives it room for a slow foldable ramp. The company has built a services business that throws off steady subscription revenue, cushioning the hardware cycles that once dictated results, and the iPhone’s enormous installed base means even a niche foldable would sell in volumes most competitors could not match. The question is not whether the foldable succeeds as a product, but whether it succeeds as the centerpiece of a new chief executive’s first season.
The name Apple chose for a September event hints at the message of Ternus’s first season: after a change at the top, the company wants its product pipeline to do the talking. The teasers point to one of the most crowded hardware lineups in Apple’s recent history, with new phones, a new form factor and new watches sharing one stage.
For Ternus, the foldable is the first card he plays as chief executive, and he has put it on the company’s most profitable product line. Apple’s new boss is betting that a phone that folds will persuade customers to pay more, and that the company’s timing, however late, will prove its patience right.
The event will also test how Apple manages the mechanics of a launch under new leadership. September has been Apple’s rhythm for more than a decade, and the supply chain that feeds it runs on a schedule set long before Ternus took the job. The handoff at the top leaves the calendar unchanged, but the pressure of a first event under a new chief executive is real.
Investors and customers will learn in a week whether the promises hold. Ternus told employees the launch would be phenomenal; on Sept. 9, with the iPhone 18 line, a foldable and new watches on stage, Apple will find out whether the market agrees.
