Apple has confirmed its annual iPhone unveiling event for September 9. It will be the stage where new CEO John Ternus takes the spotlight, rather than Tim Cook, for the first time in 15 years— and the company’s most expensive and high-risk product lineup among its iPhones is expected to be on display.

Key point

  • Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine’ event will kick off on September 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.

  • Apple’s first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, while the standard iPhone 18 has been pushed back to spring 2027.

  • Tunners officially takes over as CEO on Sept. 1, while Cook moves to the role of Executive Chairman of the board.

Apple makes the Sept. 9 keynote official

Apple on Wednesday unveiled an event invitation featuring a backlit Apple logo image, along with the phrase “Surprise and shine.” The keynote will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time and 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. The event will be livestreamed via YouTube, Apple’s official events page, and the Apple TV app.

Invitations to the Apple Park site were also sent to journalists from major media outlets.

In line with its usual practice, Apple held back detailed explanations of the hardware it plans to unveil. However, analysts see the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max—and Apple’s first foldable smartphone, rumored to be called the so-called “iPhone Ultra”—as likely leading candidates. There are also predictions that next-generation Apple Watch and new AirPods products will be added.

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Foldable “iPhone Ultra” pricing draws Wall Street attention

This fall’s lineup will not include a standard iPhone 18. According to supply-chain reports, Apple has pushed back the release schedule for its basic models—the iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and the iPhone Air 2—to spring 2027. The September stage will be reserved for premium products only, leaving an entry-level model gap that would otherwise support pricing tiers.

Experts including Mingchi Guo estimate the starting price of the foldable model at around $2,000. Some research firms predict the average selling price (ASP) will approach $2,500, and that first-year shipments will remain in the single digits (hundreds of thousands of units).

Apple has also separately warned about rising memory prices. Analysts believe this cost pressure could drive price increases across the entire Pro lineup this year.

As a result, Tunners has been handed an unusually heavy debut as Apple CEO. While introducing what would be Apple’s most expensive iPhone, he also needs to ease market concerns about the fall lineup having fewer units. The situation is compounded by parts supply disruptions and the challenges of mass-producing foldable displays. Investors are watching what strategy and messaging Tunners will use to make a winning move in the foldable market—where Apple is entering several years after Samsung and Google.

Team Cook, hands the baton after 15 years

Apple said in an April announcement that Team Cook will move to the position of board chairman on Sept. 1 and will bring to a close his CEO tenure that began in 2011. John Tunners, a 25-year Apple veteran who has led hardware engineering since 2021, has been named as his successor.

During Cook’s time as CEO, Apple’s market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion and annual revenue grew to more than $400 billion. However, he has been criticized for being slow to respond to generative AI, and poor sales momentum for the mixed-reality headset “Vision Pro” has been cited as a major weakness.

Next article: iPhone 18 Pro lags behind Pro Max in camera upgrade

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