We unfolded the iPhone Duo
The Verge Jacob Kastrenakes ● Covered by 10 sources
Apple showed its first folding phone, and John Ternus got the CEO spotlight. The new iPhones look interesting, but the Apple Watch AI push sounds riskier.
Based on reporting by The Verge, Jacob Kastrenakes — read the original for the full story.
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Apple’s launch event had an unusual headline: the company’s first folding phone. On The Vergecast, the crew kicks off by looking at that moment as a first public turn for John Ternus in the CEO role. That’s a lot to ask of one appearance, and it makes the whole event feel less like a product parade and more like a signal of where Apple wants to go next.
Allison Johnson joins from Cupertino, where she got hands-on time with the new iPhones. The conversation doesn’t stay at the level of glossy launch-day excitement for long. Instead, it moves straight to the details that actually matter once the demos are over, especially the new variable aperture camera on the iPhone 18 Pro.
That camera is one of the main talking points, but it also comes with a question mark. The hosts are clearly not ready to call it a clean win, which is usually the right instinct with Apple hardware that sounds impressive on stage and a little murkier in real life. Sometimes the shiny new thing is the story; sometimes the hesitation around it is the story.
And then there’s Apple Watch AI, which the crew treats as a much sharper edge. The source frames it as Apple stepping into dangerous territory, and that feels like the right phrase. Apple can make a lot of noise with hardware upgrades, but when it starts pushing AI features onto a device people wear all day, the stakes change fast.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is classic Apple: make the hardware look inevitable, then hope everyone stops asking about the awkward bits. The folding phone gets the spotlight, but the real test is whether Apple can add AI without turning the Watch into a tiny liability wrapped around your wrist. I’d bet the camera gets more praise than the safety questions do, which is exactly why the safety questions matter.
Read more about this at: The Verge