Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ event: What to expect from John Ternus’s first keynote on September 9

On September 9, Apple starts a new chapter. The “Surprise and Shine” event at the Steve Jobs Theatre in Cupertino will be the first product launch under CEO John Ternus, who formally took over from Tim Cook on September 1. As someone who has been building Apple’s hardware for over two decades, from the Cinema Display to the iPhone Air, Mr. Ternus is expected to unveil the $4.6 trillion company’s first foldable iPhone.

It is widely speculated that the first foldable iPhone would be called “ultra”, and that it would be Apple’s biggest form-factor shift since the iPhone X ditched the home button in 2017. Given Mr. Ternus’s track record of coordinating hardware and silicon teams, as seen with the iPhone Air’s tightly integrated chassis, chip, and modem, expect the foldable to lean heavily on custom engineering rather than a straightforward hinge-and-glass exercise.