Apple’s ‘foldable’ bet in focus as new CEO John Ternus takes the stage for ‘Surprise and Shine’ event
Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ launch event on Wednesday night has generated high anticipation on many counts.
Besides being CEO John Ternus’ first public event, analysts believe Apple’s much-anticipated entry into foldables, deeper integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in devices, and commentary around rising costs are set to dominate the event.
Costly bet
Apple’s first foldable phone gives a fresh push to a category that has struggled to move beyond a niche, experts note. They expect it to cost between $2000-2500, costlier than its competition.
“This is going to be important not just for Apple but the whole foldable ecosystem; when Apple enters a category there will be substantial interest from other vendor OEMs,” Rishi Padhi, Principal Analyst at Gartner (India), said.
Tarun Pathak, Research Director, Counterpoint, is more cautious.
Foldables are still only about 2 per cent of the global smartphone market, but that also means there is a lot of room to grow, he adds. Until now, the discussion [around foldables] has been heavily focused on hardware and design aspects, but with Apple coming in, software integration, AI use cases will come to the fore, he adds.
Prabhu Ram, Vice-President – Industry Research Group, CyberMedia, believes Apple loyalists are likely to embrace this form factor with high prices offset by more accessibility initiatives, despite Apple not having a head start in foldables.
In a first, Apple is also likely to skip the base iPhone 18 variant and instead launch the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max variants on Wednesday night.
“With increasing prices and lifetime of devices, Apple may choose to not refresh the entire lineup during the September event instead going for a separate launch during Spring 2027,” Gartner’s Padhi said.
Pathak expects a portion of higher costs to be passed on to consumers. “There is a strong likelihood that launch prices for the new Pro series will increase versus the previous generation,” he said.
Ram adds, “The Pro, Pro Max, and the long-awaited foldable are expected to headline the fall lineup, while the base iPhone 18 moves to a leaner Q1 CY2027 launch — a prudent move that spreads iPhone revenue meaningfully across the year.”
Beyond iphones
The event will go beyond the iPhones. With Ternus’ hardware background, analysts are watching for a more comprehensive portfolio including a refresh to the Apple Watch, Apple AirPods, Apple TV hardware, HomePods, and Mac.
On Apple’s AI integration, Padhi expects to see more use cases develop beyond what was showcased in the WWDC [in June 2026]. The AI push is likely to be visible across Apple’s wider hardware ecosystem, he notes.
While fans will miss a familiar Tim Cook on stage, all eyes will be on Ternus to see if he retains Cook’s operational discipline or pushes harder into new categories.
Published on September 8, 2026
