Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology research firm FDM CCS Insight, said it was likely Ternus’s promotion was timed specifically “to coincide with what will be arguably one of the biggest iPhone launches for many years”.
“Nothing happens by accident at Apple,” he said.
Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies who attended the Wednesday presentation, said the spotlight on Ternus made it feel “almost like he was a product himself.”
Altering the design of the iPhone may address some criticism that Apple has yet to land a major product hit or truly exciting innovation since the first iPhone came out 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.
Previously, the highest starting price of the newest iPhone was $900 (£664).
Apple also revealed on Wednesday the new iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, which in the US start at $1,199 and $1,299 respectively.
Chatterjee said the foldable iPhone could go the way of Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which the company priced at $3,699 and has not been a hit with buyers.
Or, he said, it could be the company’s next Apple Watch which, while not as popular as the iPhone, is bought by millions of people each year.
The way people have become accustomed to the way the iPhone operates is another potential hurdle to Apple seeing big sales of the new 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.”
