Apple is expected to unveil its newest iPhones on Wednesday, in the first major product event led by John Ternus since he succeeded Tim Cook as chief executive on Sept. 1. The lineup is widely expected to include Apple’s first foldable handset—a category Samsung, Motorola and Google have already entered.¹

That delay is central to the debate around the launch. Apple has long preferred to wait rather than race into unproven technologies, and foldables remain a small corner of the smartphone business despite years of Android experimentation. Yet the company’s arrival could give the format a far larger audience.

One industry reading is that Apple’s apparent lateness masks its continuing ability to shape rivals’ priorities. The company is expected to introduce a compact, wide, passport-shaped foldable alongside iPhone Pro models, while the standard iPhone 18 may not arrive until early next year. Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi have already released similarly shaped devices in recent months, an alignment that has fueled the argument that manufacturers have been preparing for Apple’s move.²

The evidence remains largely based on leaks and supply-chain reporting, rather than an Apple confirmation. But the stakes are clear: foldables accounted for only 1.6% of smartphone sales in 2025, according to Counterpoint estimates cited in the analysis, even as shipments were projected to grow 20% this year. Apple was forecast to take a 28% share within months of entering the market.²

For Ternus, formerly Apple’s hardware engineering chief, the unveiling is more than a new form factor. As one assessment puts it, “The test for Ternus will be to maintain that influence” over the next five to 10 years.² Wednesday’s event will offer the first public measure of whether Apple can still turn a niche into a market—or merely join one already in motion.