Apple is about to ask consumers to pay more for an iPhone that does something its rivals have been doing for years.

That makes Wednesday's launch event unusually important.

For the first time, new CEO John Ternus is taking the stage for Apple's annual iPhone unveiling, and the company is widely expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone. The product could become the biggest physical redesign of the iPhone since Apple removed the traditional home button with the iPhone X in 2017.

But the device is not simply another product launch.

It is Ternus's first major opportunity to define the direction of Apple after Tim Cook.

Cook officially handed over the CEO role to Ternus on Sept. 1, ending a leadership era that lasted roughly 15 years. Ternus previously ran Apple's hardware organization, making him one of the most technically experienced executives to take command of the company.

Now he has to convince consumers—and Wall Street—that Apple still knows how to create products capable of changing a market.

That is where the foldable iPhone becomes so important.

Foldable smartphones are not new.

Samsung and other Asian manufacturers have been selling them for years. Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung have continued to develop increasingly sophisticated folding and even tri-fold devices, giving competitors a considerable head start. Huawei, for example, held a dominant share of China's foldable market during the second quarter of 2026.

Apple's advantage is different.

It has the ecosystem.

It has the brand.

And it has hundreds of millions of customers who already own iPhones.

That means Apple does not necessarily need to invent the foldable category to dominate it.

It needs to make the category feel finished.

That distinction could be critical.

Consumers have historically tolerated compromises in early foldable phones, including visible screen creases, fragile hinges, limited dust resistance, high prices and unusual software experiences.

Apple is reportedly trying to attack exactly those weaknesses.

The expected device is a book-style foldable rather than a radically different form factor. Reuters reports that Apple is expected to charge more than $2,000 for the phone, potentially pushing it into an entirely new pricing category even by Apple's standards.

That price creates a huge test.

Apple sells premium smartphones, but the iPhone still depends on scale.

The iPhone generated $209.6 billion in revenue during Apple's most recent fiscal year—more than half of the company's total sales.

A foldable device costing more than $2,000 cannot replace Apple's mainstream iPhone business.

Instead, Apple is likely targeting wealthy early adopters and existing premium customers willing to pay for an entirely new experience.

That creates a potentially attractive business model.

Apple can introduce a high-priced product without immediately disrupting the standard iPhone lineup.

It can test demand.

It can establish a new premium category.

And, if the product succeeds, it can gradually expand the technology into less expensive models.

That is a familiar Apple strategy.

The company often enters markets after competitors have already established the category, then attempts to redefine the user experience.

The iPhone itself was not the first smartphone.

The Apple Watch was not the first smartwatch.

AirPods were not the first wireless earbuds.

Apple's historical advantage has been execution rather than simple first-mover status.

The foldable iPhone is therefore another test of that philosophy.

Can Apple take a product category that has existed for years and make it sufficiently better that consumers suddenly view it as essential?

That is the billion-dollar question.

And Ternus has a second challenge waiting for him.

Artificial intelligence.

Apple has been under intense pressure to show that it can compete with Google, OpenAI and other AI leaders. Reuters reports that the company is also expected to showcase a major Siri overhaul, with Apple's AI ambitions becoming a critical part of Ternus's first major public product presentation.

That combination makes Wednesday's event unusually significant.

The foldable iPhone represents hardware innovation.

The Siri overhaul represents software and AI.

Ternus must connect both stories.

Apple's pitch to consumers cannot simply be “here is a thinner or more flexible iPhone.”

It needs to explain why the new form factor is useful.

A larger unfolded screen could improve multitasking.

A more capable Siri could operate across applications.

AI could make the device more aware of context.

And the combination could make the foldable iPhone feel like something fundamentally different rather than an expensive novelty.

There is also a financial reason Apple needs the product to work.

The smartphone market is mature.

Most consumers already own a good phone.

Annual upgrades have become harder to justify.

A new form factor can create a fresh reason for existing customers to buy.

That is precisely what Apple needs.

A successful foldable iPhone could encourage owners of older devices to upgrade while also allowing Apple to increase average selling prices.

Analysts have reportedly projected that Apple could capture roughly 40% of the global foldable market by the end of next year, while some estimates suggest the product could produce more than $45 billion in revenue by the end of 2027.

Those are enormous numbers for a category that remains relatively small today.

But forecasts are one thing.

Manufacturing is another.

Foldable screens are difficult to produce.

Hinges are complicated.

Durability matters enormously.

And customers who spend more than $2,000 will expect near-perfect performance.

Apple therefore has very little room for error.

A visible crease that competitors already minimize could become a major source of criticism.

A hinge failure could become a public-relations disaster.

And if the software does not take advantage of the larger screen, customers may conclude that they paid thousands of dollars simply for a phone that folds.

Apple's reputation makes the expectations even higher.

The company is not competing against generic hardware makers.

It is competing against itself.

Customers expect Apple products to feel polished.

That is why today's event is about more than a new iPhone.

It is a referendum on Ternus.

Can he maintain Apple's extraordinary ability to create premium products that justify their prices?

Can he show that Apple can still generate excitement without relying on Tim Cook's established playbook?

And can he simultaneously convince investors that Apple has a credible answer to the AI revolution?

Those questions make the foldable iPhone one of the most important Apple launches in years.

The device does not need to invent folding phones.

It needs to make them matter.

Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi spent years proving that a phone can fold.

Now Apple gets its turn.

And the real test begins when John Ternus walks onto the stage.