(NEW YORK) — Apple held its annual product event on Wednesday as customers worldwide watched for fresh products as well as the debut of Apple CEO John Ternus.
Observers widely expect the company to unveil its first-ever foldable iPhone, marking Apple’s splashy entry into a long-existing product category. Foldable phones came onto the market in 2018, but they account for a small fraction of smartphone sales.
The product event, dubbed “Surprise and Shine,” kicked off in Cupertino, Calif., at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. It can be viewed on the company’s website.
The glossy showcase comes days after Ternus took the helm of the tech giant on Sept. 1, after having worked at the company for 25 years. Ternus replaced former CEO Tim Cook, who succeeded co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011.
The world’s second-largest company, as measured by market capitalization, depends largely on its smartphone business while offering an array of other products such as its iPad, Apple Watch and MacBook.
Shares of Apple have surged 22% in value over the past six months, far outpacing the S&P 500’s growth of 13% over that period.
The expected announcement of a foldable iPhone marks Apple’s latest effort to weigh in with a standout option in an existing product category, often at a higher price point.
In 2024, the company unveiled Apple Vision Pro, a mixed reality headset meant to compete with Meta Quest and other early-to-market offerings. At the time, the most affordable version of Apple Vision Pro sold for $3,499.
Apple also unveiled AI-driven features across several key products in 2024, heralding its long-awaited entry into the high-stakes AI race. The AI capability, dubbed Apple Intelligence, amounts to the “next big step for Apple,” Cook said at the time.
Apple released Apple Watch in 2014, referring to it then as the company’s latest “category-defining product.”
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