Apple September 9, 2026:
foldable iPhone, new CEO,
everything that changes this week.

Tim Cook stepped down as Apple CEO after 15 years. In his first memo to employees as CEO, incoming chief John Ternus thanked staff for a warm welcome and expressed his vision for what comes next. Cook remains active as Executive Chair — the same structure Jobs used when he handed over to Cook in 2011. History rhymes at Apple.

Ternus is not a surprise choice. He has been the face of Apple's hardware engineering through the most consequential platform shift Apple has made since moving from PowerPC to Intel in 2006 — the Apple Silicon transition. The M-series chips, unified memory architecture, the decision to design Apple's own silicon rather than depend on Intel's roadmap — all of that happened under Ternus. He inherits the strongest hardware lineup Apple has ever shipped and an AI story still being written.

His first event as CEO is September 9. Ternus walks onto that stage having spent his career building the things Apple is about to announce.

What is being announced on September 9

The foldable iPhone — why it took Apple this long

Samsung has been making foldable phones since 2019. Google launched the Pixel Fold in 2023. Apple announces its first foldable in September 2026. By Apple's own standards that is not late — that is deliberate.

Apple does not ship new form factors until it believes the technology is ready for its users. The first iPhone came years after the first touchscreen smartphones. The Apple Watch came years after the first smartwatches. In every case Apple waited until battery life, display quality, hinge mechanism, and software experience could meet a standard that would not embarrass the product in year one.

The book-style design — 5.5-inch outer, 7.8-inch inner — positions it closer to the Galaxy Z Fold than the Galaxy Z Flip. That is deliberate. Apple is making a productivity device, not a novelty. The iPad-like inner display is the pitch: one device that is a phone when closed and a tablet when open.

The A20 Pro — what 2nm actually means

The M6 — Apple's chip announced August 25 — is the first built on TSMC's 2nm process. The A20 Pro in the iPhone 18 Pro uses the same node. Reports place it at up to 18% faster and 30% more power efficient than the A19 Pro.

The 30% efficiency improvement matters most for the foldable. The iPhone Ultra runs two displays simultaneously. A chip that runs 30% more efficiently than its predecessor is the difference between a foldable that needs charging twice a day and one that behaves like a normal phone. The 2nm process also expands the neural engine — the dedicated AI processor that handles on-device machine learning. Everything Apple Intelligence does in iOS 27 depends on neural engine throughput.

iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate

macOS Golden Gate continues Apple's California landmark naming tradition. iOS 27 ships with the new iPhones and introduces iPhone Handoff — the ability to switch between two iPhones using the same phone number on each device. That feature makes particular sense in a world where someone carries both a foldable and a traditional iPhone.

Based on historical release patterns, iOS 27 and all companion OS updates arrive around September 14 — one week after the announcement. Developers get release candidates immediately at the event.

John Ternus — what changes under new leadership

Cook's 15 years transformed Apple from a company that made great products into the largest market capitalisation in history with a services business generating tens of billions annually. Cook was the operations architect. Ternus is the hardware engineer.

The Apple Silicon transition — which Ternus led — is the most consequential hardware decision Apple has made since Jobs returned in 1997. It is why Apple's Mac lineup outperforms any Intel-based competitor and why the iPhone's performance advantage over Android keeps growing. Ternus inherits the machine Cook built and adds the perspective of someone who understands at a deep level what the hardware can do.