San Francisco Frontiers - New Apple CEO to face first test with foldable iPhone launch

It will also be the first major event under new chief executive John Ternus, who took over from outgoing CEO Tim Cook on September 1.

Ternus, 51, joined Apple's design team in 2001 and worked his way up to leading the engineering teams behind Apple's entire product lineup, including the iPhones that generate most of the company's revenue.

The event, which Ternus promised would be "phenomenal" in his first company-wide email as CEO last week, will kick off at 10 am local time (1700 GMT).

The tech giant is expected to finally reveal a long-awaited foldable iPhone, currently rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra, which will start at $2,000, according to reports.

Like Samsung's foldable smartphones, Apple's device will have a smaller external display when closed and a much larger screen that unfolds when the phone is opened.

The format essentially combines the portability of a smartphone with the larger display of a tablet, offering users a larger screen without carrying a tablet-sized device.

The foldable will be a test for Apple, which has not launched a breakout hit since the AirPods 10 years ago.

Samsung launched the industry's first mainstream foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, in 2019. The South Korean company released an updated model, the Galaxy Z Fold, last year at a starting price of $2,000.

Foldable smartphones make up a tiny fraction of the market, at less than 2 percent of global shipments, but Apple could take 31 percent of that demand by the end of the year and reach 40 percent by 2027, according to research firm IDC.

"Apple's foldable iPhone is very likely to shift the competitive dynamics both in China and global markets," IDC research associate Kiranjeet Kaur told AFP.

The foldable iPhone's release comes as demand for powerful chips amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has created a supply chain crunch, pushing prices higher across industries.

As a result, smartphone shipments will decline by more than 16 percent this year while the average cost jumps more than 27 percent, according to IDC.

"Foldable phones are not immune to the memory supply shortages, but the relative impact is lower considering these phones are already priced in the higher-range," Kaur said.

In what would be a first for Apple, it is unclear whether the company will launch a new entry-level iPhone this year.

According to various reports, the company might only unveil two higher-end versions of its next series: the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. A more affordable base version, the iPhone 18, might not launch until next year.

The foldable Ultra will be around the size of a passport when closed and have only two camera lenses, a regular and an ultra-wide lens, according to Bloomberg.

An improved version of Siri, powered by AI, will be integrated into many of the new devices announced, which could include watches, AirPods, an Apple TV box and the HomePod mini.

The company might also launch a 7-inch device with a screen meant to act as a smart home hub, Bloomberg reported, though it is unclear whether that will be unveiled Wednesday or later this year.

Y.Harris--SFF