How Tim Cook pushed Apple into a new era set for John Ternus’ CEO debut

Apple is likely to launch its foldable iPhone, rumoured to be called iPhone Ultra, later today (September 9), making the first big change to its phone design in years. The keynote is also John Ternus’s public debut as CEO following his takeover on September 1. While the former hardware executive will be known as the executive to introduce the foldable phone, behind the scenes, the push into this category remains deeply rooted in Tim Cook’s vision.As per a report by Bloomberg, Cook made up his mind around 2020 following a regional tour of Asia. He reportedly observed consumers in China and across the region carrying folding handsets built by rivals like Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies. Cook returned to Cupertino convinced that Apple had to establish a presence in the emerging segment.Citing insiders familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg noted that Cook became the earliest and most vocal supporter of the category, urging engineers to speed up their work. But interestingly, Apple’s hardware labs had actually been researching flexible glass, hinges and folding screens long before Samsung rolled out the original Galaxy Fold back in 2019. The project, however, lacked decisive commercial focus. Early prototypes leaned toward a folding iPad mini that opened into a full-sized slate.Cook’s intervention pivoted the engineering teams away from specialised tablets and redirected them toward building an everyday folding smartphone intended for a wider audience.Apple’s foldable iPhone was codenamed V68Known internally by the codename V68, and referred to by several development teams as the iPhone Ultra, the project became one of the most intricate engineering undertakings in the firm’s modern era. The report also said that planners initially aimed for a baseline price of $1,999, hoping to slip just beneath the psychologically sensitive $2,000 threshold, a marketing tactic Apple previously deployed with the $999 iPhone X in 2017.Recent economic pressures, however, have disrupted those targets as due to component expenses driven by memory shortages, internal pricing models have climbed as high as $2,199 for baseline editions. Premium storage tiers could climb toward $3,000, creating a massive pricing difference when compared against the $799 entry-level iPhone or the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro.Despite the potential for consumer pushback over premium costs, executive leadership took confidence from recent sales trends. Top variants of the existing iPhone Pro Max model already approach the $2,000 mark, demonstrating that loyal buyers are willing to pay premiums for high-end mobile hardware.Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.