Apple has launched its most expensive iPhone ever – a foldable handheld that costs at least £1,999 and marks the first major iPhone design change in almost 20 years.
The iPhone Duo is a gamble by new boss John Ternus, who took over from long-time chief executive Tim Cook this month.
Apple is entering the foldable phone market comparatively late, following the likes of South Korea’s Samsung and China’s Huawei.
Ternus told an audience at Apple’s California headquarters: “Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones awkwardly stuck together”. Apple’s model, he claimed “redefine[s] the experience of using a foldable phone”.
When unfolded, it looks like a small iPad and a wider iPhone when it is folded.
Ternus said: “It’s entirely new and at the same time remarkably familiar. A similar size to your passport, it feels familiar to hold and comfortable to use with one hand.”
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.”
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