Ternus's First Apple Event: Foldable iPhone, No New AI — SkimNews
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- John Ternus became Apple CEO less than two weeks before the September 2026 iPhone hardware event, making the launch his first major product event in the role.
- Apple debuted the iPhone Duo at the event — its first foldable smartphone — with Gurman noting the timing was deliberately tied to Ternus's debut.
- Ternus opened the keynote by staking out an explicit AI point of view built around the 'intelligent personal hub' concept, which Gurman contrasted with Tim Cook's communal, collaborative decision-making style.
- Apple introduced no notable new AI features at the event; the first 15 minutes were a re-narrativization of Apple Intelligence features unveiled over the past two years.
- Apple has roughly half a dozen AI-native devices expected over the next 18 months, starting with a smart home hub later this year.
- Gurman characterized the event as Apple playing it safe — comparing Ternus's debut to a new lead singer performing Journey's greatest hits — to position the new CEO for success.
Why it matters: Ternus's first product event is the public test of whether Apple's new CEO can deliver a distinctive AI vision, and Gurman's reading is that the keynote felt interchangeable with a Tim Cook event. Apple had no new AI features to ship despite centering the narrative on AI, leaving the AI era largely aspirational until the first wave of AI-native hardware — starting with a smart home hub — arrives.
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