Can John Ternus find Apple’s next big thing?
The Verge Nilay Patel
Apple’s new CEO opened his first event with a foldable iPhone and a big AI pitch. But the real story is Ternus trying to turn Apple from iPhone-first to AI-first.
Based on reporting by The Verge, Nilay Patel — read the original for the full story.
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Apple’s latest hardware event was less about surprises than about a handoff. John Ternus, now CEO, used his first major launch to introduce the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable smartphone, and to put his own stamp on the company’s AI story. That pairing was no accident. Apple clearly wanted the new boss and the new product to arrive together.
The keynote itself was almost aggressively familiar. Mark Gurman’s read is that it could have passed for a Tim Cook event, right down to the polished, tightly controlled pacing. What changed was the framing. Ternus opened with what Apple called an “intelligent personal hub,” a nod to Apple Intelligence and a signal that the company wants to present AI as the center of the next phase, even if the product proof is still thin.
That thinness matters. Apple has spent about two years on Apple Intelligence since WWDC 2024, but this event reportedly introduced no major new AI feature at all. Instead, Apple spent the first stretch of the keynote retelling its recent AI work in a more polished way. It was story first, substance second. And that is very Apple when Apple does not yet have the thing it wants to be known for.
Gurman says that’s because the company simply does not have a true AI-native device at the core yet, so it is propping up the iPhone as the AI device for now. The next wave may be more revealing: a smart home hub with a square screen and a new operating system, a version on a robotic arm, a home security system, smart glasses, and AirPods with cameras. Those products, if they arrive, are the real test of whether Ternus can push Apple out of the long shadow of the iPhone era.
For now, though, Apple played it safe. New CEO, new foldable phone, familiar stagecraft. The company knows exactly how to sell continuity. The hard part is selling the future.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
Apple loves a clean costume change: new CEO, same theater. That’s fine until the audience notices the script hasn’t caught up with the set. The real tell will be whether Apple ships something that doesn’t need the iPhone as a safety blanket, which is where all the grown-up tech money has been hiding for years.
Read more about this at: The Verge
