Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology research firm FDM, said Ternus’s promotion was likely timed to align with what could become one of the most significant iPhone launches in years.
“Nothing happens by accident at Apple,” Wood added.
Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies who attended Wednesday’s presentation, said the focus on Ternus made him seem “almost like he was a product himself.”
A major iPhone redesign could help address criticism that Apple has not delivered a major product success or a genuinely exciting innovation since the original iPhone debuted in 2007.
“The foldable risks becoming a premium-priced ornament in the portfolio, imparting badge value but not meaningful growth,” said Dipanjan Chatterjee, an analyst at Forrester.
Until now, the highest starting price for Apple’s newest iPhone was $900 (£664). The company also unveiled the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro on Wednesday, with starting prices of $1,200 (£885) and $1,300 (£959), respectively.
Chatterjee said the foldable iPhone could follow the path of Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which launched at $3,699 (£2,729) and has struggled to attract buyers. Alternatively, he said, it could become Apple’s next Apple Watch: less popular than the iPhone but still purchased by millions of people each year.
Another challenge for Apple is that customers are deeply accustomed to how the iPhone currently works, which could limit demand for a radically different design.
“Foldables are interesting devices,” Milanesi noted. “A lot of people are intrigued by it, but the software and the learning curve that you have from moving from a traditional phone to a foldable is real.”
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