Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) is gearing up for its autumn launch event! The debut of new CEO Tim Cook draws attention as the foldable iPhone Duo starts at $2000.

Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) is set to hold its autumn product launch event themed "Surprise and Shine" at 1 AM Beijing time (Wednesday, Eastern Time). This will be Turners first major public appearance as the CEO of Apple Inc. In addition to its core product, the first foldable phone, Apple Inc. is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, a new Apple Watch, and upgraded AirPods at this event. Turner's Debut At 65, Cook will hand over the reins to Turner after 15 years at the helm of Apple Inc. Under Cook's leadership, Apple Inc. has expanded into new product areas and increased annual revenue to nearly $500 billion. During Cook's tenure, Apple Inc.'s stock price has risen by over 2200%, significantly outperforming the broader U.S. stock market. At 51, Turner has served as the head of Apple Inc.'s hardware business since 2021. Although Turner has presided over Apple Inc.'s product launches before, this will be his first time doing so as CEO. Before the product unveilings, Wall Street, consumers, and the media will closely observe how he introduces himself, and the manner in which he showcases the latest products will also be under scrutiny. With Cook's "pearls of wisdom" behind him, Turner faces tremendous pressure. To be seen as a successful CEO, Turner must not only ensure Apple Inc. continues its strong growth but also expand the business into new realms. This launch event is Turner's first opportunity to share his vision. Meanwhile, Cook will be seated in the audience and will not participate in the presentation, but as chairman, he still wields significant influence. It is worth mentioning that Turner will lead Apple Inc., which, while boasting a market value of $4.6 trillion, faces structural challenges that were not encountered during Cook's era. The first challenge is the significant lag in artificial intelligence (AI) advancements. In the field of generative AI, Apple Inc.'s positioning is noticeably behind. After the AI craze sparked by ChatGPT at the end of 2022, Apple Inc. initiated substantial investments, yet the first version of its Apple Intelligence software performed poorly. Last year, Apple Inc. made a controversial decision to abandon its self-developed model approach, opting instead to pay for Alphabet Inc.'s Class C Gemini technology as the foundation for the new Siri, which led to strong dissatisfaction among its internal language model team and the departure of several key members. The new Siri AI is set to launch in September, but whether it can turn around market reputation remains uncertain. Compared to Microsoft Corporation, Alphabet Inc. Class C, and OpenAI, which are actively integrating AI into consumer and enterprise products, Apple Inc.'s pace seems more cautious, facing increasing pressure to catch up. Turner must lead Apple Inc. in making crucial decisions in the AI fieldramping up research and development investment, increasing capital expenditures, and even pursuing large-scale acquisitions. The second challenge is escalating talent attrition. Hundreds of former Apple Inc. employees are currently working in OpenAI's hardware department, prompting Apple Inc. to file a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. Approximately half of Apple Inc.'s executive team may resign in the coming years. To retain key talents, Turner has issued several hundred thousand dollars in additional bonuses to members of the iPhone design team and has personally intervened in retention efforts. Finally, there are changes in the supply chain. Apple Inc.'s forward purchase commitments have approached $57 billion, whereas the procurement commitments of the four major hyperscale cloud service providers are approximately $2 trillion. Apple Inc.'s $5.62 billion on-balance debt will mature in a year. Meanwhile, Chinese DRAM manufacturer Changxin Storage has captured about 11% of global DRAM production, becoming a new option in Apple Inc.'s supply chain. Bank of America Corp. analysts predict that Apple Inc.'s abandonment of net cash neutrality targets "may indicate that Apple Inc. will increase research and development investment, capital expenditures, and engage in larger-scale acquisitions in the near future." The first foldable phone, "iPhone Duo," starts at $2000. Foldable phones still belong to a niche market globally, comprising only about 1.6% of total smartphone shipments in 2025. These phones have certain drawbacks, such as shorter battery life and poorer camera performance, and the visible unsightly crease when unfolded is another weakness. However, the situation may finally be changing. Technology and supply chains have advanced to a point where they can enhance durability, reduce crease issues, and address other flaws. This may allow foldable phones to truly enter the mainstream market. This is precisely why Apple Inc. is now entering the foldable phone space. Renowned tech journalist Mark Gurman reported on September 9 that Apple Inc.'s first foldable phone is named the "iPhone Duo," with a starting price of $2000. The entry-level version will come with 256GB of storage. Apple Inc. will also offer higher-capacity versions, with the highest priced at about $3000. It is said that the iPhone Duo will feature a short and wide design, making it ideal for video viewing. It will also be equipped with Apple Inc.'s latest self-developed C2 modem and A20 Pro chip, and will support applications running side by side as well as iPad-like multitasking. The phone will house two 48-megapixel rear cameras and a 12-megapixel camera for video conferencing. Additionally, it will feature a magnetic hinge system and support for the Apple Pencil. The challenge lies in how to create a sufficiently attractive product that consumers are willing to pay the high price for. The pricing of $2000 is higher than that of similar products from Samsung Electronics and other competitors; however, this price aligns with Apple Inc.'s positioning goals for a product utilizing expensive components. For Apple Inc., this expensive device is expected to become a status symbol and could help the company regain its reputation as an innovator. Over the past decade, the number of truly exciting new products from Apple Inc. has gradually dwindled. Although Apple Inc. has released some impressive products, such as the AirPods in 2016, the redesigned iPad Pro in 2018, the Apple Watch Ultra in 2022, and the Vision Pro in 2024, this pales in comparison to the era initiated by the original iPhone, during which products like the MacBook Air, iPad and iPad 2, and iPhone 4 and 5, as well as the first-generation Apple Watch were sequentially launched. Another key challenge is winning over Chinese consumers, as China could become one of the most important markets for this device. Last year, China accounted for more than half of global foldable phone shipments, selling over ten million units domestically. In other words, the quantity of foldable phones purchased in China alone exceeded the total sold in all other regions. This makes foldable phones especially significant for Apple Inc. The company has been seeking products that resonate in the Chinese market, while local competitorsespecially Huaweiare more proactive in their new product designs. A team of analysts led by Erik Woodring at Morgan Stanley recently noted in a report to investors that if Apple Inc.'s first foldable phone receives a positive response from consumers, it could significantly contribute to revenues in the December quarter. Analysts pointed out: "We currently estimate that Apple Inc. will ship approximately 6.5 million foldable iPhones in the December quarter, corresponding to about $14 billion in revenue, or 16% of total iPhone revenue for the December quarter." The analysts further noted: "Beyond the short-term financial contribution, it will be interesting to see how Apple Inc. leverages this larger product form factor, and whether it can provide better usage scenarios on a foldable device beyond just a bigger screenmost importantly, what the real experience is like with the device in hand. If consumer feedback is strong, we believe the ultimate scale of this product category could exceed the levels currently implied by supply chain forecasts." The iPhone 18 Pro series will see a significant camera upgrade. In addition to the first foldable phone, Apple Inc. is expected to launch the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at this event, while the standard iPhone 18 will be delayed until the first half of next year. The iPhone 18 Pro series will continue to use the market-proven flat design. In fact, the appearance of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be almost identical to last years versionthe only noticeable change being the popular orange color replaced with a wine red. However, these devices will still receive some attractive technical upgrades. The camera system will feature new lenses and professional-grade software. The most significant change will be the inclusion of mechanical apertures in at least the larger model, enabling more precise depth control and superior low-light photography capabilities. These phones will also be equipped with the A20 Pro chip, have longer battery lives, and come with redesigned thermal plates to help prevent overheating. Another change is that the Dynamic Island cutoutwhich was first introduced in 2022has now become smaller and also improved. It allows users to switch between three real-time tasks at the top of the iPhone simultaneously, an upgrade from the previous two real-time activities. New Apple Watch and AirPods 5 The new Apple Watch and AirPods will not undergo major aesthetic redesigns, but they will receive some important updates. For the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, Apple Inc. will introduce new color options and make adjustments to the case and bands. Notably, the Apple Watch Series 12 will reintroduce a ceramic case option, while the Ultra 4, as the most high-end model, will see its battery life improved. The focus will be on deepening the analysis of health and fitness data gathered from the various sensors in the watch. Apple Inc. will launch a new Readiness app, a variant of its Vitals software, to track key data from the device's sensors, such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels. This app will incorporate features that have previously appeared on Oura and Whoop devices, indicating that Apple Inc. is ready to engage in more direct competition with emerging wearable fitness devices. The health features of the new Apple Watch will launch alongside a redesigned iPhone health app. Another upgrade for the Apple Watch is a feature aimed at competing with a variety of recent AI wearables: a privacy-focused enhancement that can analyze user activities throughout the day and provide a summary of events, including conversations; however, this system will not display text records or record or store audio. Apple Inc. originally planned to unveil high-end in-ear AirPods at this event, equipped with a camera sensor for environmental analysis, but this product has now been postponed until next year. However, the market will still see the arrival of a new low-end AirPods 5 model. This headphone will come in versions with and without a wireless charging case and will feature significantly improved active noise cancellation. Price Increase for iPhone One of the main points of concern for Wall Street and consumers is perhaps product pricing. In June, due to a severe shortage of storage chips, Apple Inc. raised prices for all Macs, iPads, and home devices. At that time, the company decided to keep the iPhone prices unchanged. However, this situation will change nowApple Inc. will increase the prices of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max by $100, respectively. Given the severity of the tight supply of storage chips, this will be a relatively moderate price hike, also indicating that Apple Inc. may absorb some of the added costs. Apple Inc. has already warned that its gross margin will face pressure this quarter, indicating that the company is not passing all the increasing costs onto consumers. Earlier this year, Apple Inc. took measures to mitigate the impact of price hikes, announcing the launch of the Apple Upgrade program in the United States. This rental program allows users to make a permanent monthly payment and upgrade their device to a new version each year. Wireless carriers may also play a role in lowering consumer impact from iPhone price increases by offering more attractive installment plans and trade-in discounts. However, considering the extremely high loyalty of the iPhone user base, Apple Inc. still has room for further price increases (remember, the increases for Macs and iPads are much larger).