Apple has set September 9 for its annual iPhone event, and it will be the first product launch run by new CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook at the start of the month.
The event, teased under the name “Surprise and shine,” is scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific time at Apple Park in Cupertino, with a livestream available through Apple’s website, the Apple TV app, and YouTube.
What’s expected on stage
The headline releases are the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, along with what’s widely expected to be Apple’s first foldable phone, a device reporting has referred to as the iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra depending on the source. An updated Apple Watch Series 12 and a new Apple Watch Ultra are also expected to make an appearance, continuing Apple’s usual pattern of pairing its phone launch with watch updates.
A foldable iPhone would be Apple’s biggest hardware departure in years, arriving well after Samsung and other Android makers have already gone through several generations of folding phones. Whether Apple’s version justifies the wait, or just proves the company needed more time to get the hinge and crease right, is the kind of question that tends to get answered fast once reviewers get hands-on units.
Ternus’s first turn in the spotlight
Ternus, who spent more than two decades at Apple before taking over as CEO on September 1, previously ran Apple’s hardware engineering group, meaning this event is effectively him presenting products he had a direct hand in building rather than inheriting someone else’s roadmap. Cook, now serving as executive chairman, is expected to keep a lower public profile going forward, including on policy matters where he was previously Apple’s face in Washington.
Sources: MacRumors · Digital Trends
