Apple Preps September 9 Event With iPhone Ultra, Foldable Model, and Premium Lineup

Apple's first major move under new leadership signals a bet on premium pricing
The September 9 event will introduce multiple high-end iPhone models and a foldable device, marking a strategic shift toward the luxury end of the smartphone market.
Mark

So Apple is holding an event on September 9. What's actually new here—is this just the regular iPhone refresh?

Mimi

Not quite. They're introducing an iPhone Ultra, which is supposed to be their most expensive iPhone ever, plus the iPhone 18 Pro and other premium models. But the bigger story is they're also launching a foldable iPhone.

Luke

Hold on. Do we know for certain they're launching a foldable, or is that speculation from analysts?

Mimi

The reporting indicates it's expected to be announced. Morgan Stanley has projected it could bring in $14 billion in December quarter revenue alone.

Luke

That's Morgan Stanley's projection, though—not Apple's confirmed guidance. We should be clear about that distinction.

Mark

Why does the foldable matter so much? Apple has avoided that category for years.

Mimi

Because it's a huge revenue opportunity, apparently. If Morgan Stanley's right, it's not a niche product—it's a major business line. And it signals Apple is willing to enter categories it previously dismissed.

Luke

But we don't know yet whether consumers will actually buy it at the price Apple is going to charge. That's the real test.

Mark

What about the timing? Why now, under this new leadership?

Mimi

Craig Ternus just took over, and this is being described as his first major product announcement. The scale of what they're unveiling—multiple new models, a foldable, premium positioning across the board—that's a statement about where he wants to take the company.

Luke

Though we should note: we don't have direct quotes from Apple or Ternus explaining the strategy. We're reading the strategy from the products themselves.

Mark

So the real question is whether people will pay these prices.

Mimi

Exactly. Memory costs have gone up, which is driving the higher prices. But that doesn't guarantee consumers will accept them.

  • Apple's first major event under new leadership arrives with unusual stakes — the Ternus era begins not quietly, but with the broadest product slate in the company's history.
  • An iPhone Ultra, expected to be the most expensive iPhone ever made, signals that rising memory costs are being passed upward rather than absorbed — a pressure point for consumers already stretched thin.
  • The foldable iPhone ends years of Apple silence on a category its rivals have occupied, with Morgan Stanley projecting it could generate $14 billion in a single quarter if adoption takes hold.
  • Analysts are watching pricing and foldable adoption rates as twin indicators — together they will reveal whether Apple can hold its margins and its mystique at the same time.

On September 9, Apple steps into a new chapter under Craig Ternus, unveiling what analysts call its most expansive iPhone lineup ever — including an Ultra model and the company's long-awaited entry into foldable devices. The moment is less about any single product than about a company publicly declaring where it believes the future of premium technology lives. In a market where growth is slowing and competition is fierce, Apple is answering with ambition rather than restraint.

Apple is preparing to take the stage on September 9 with a product announcement that feels less like a routine refresh and more like a statement of intent. Under the new leadership of Craig Ternus, the company plans to introduce an iPhone Ultra — expected to be its most expensive handset yet — alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and a range of premium variants. Rising memory component costs are shaping the pricing strategy, and Apple appears willing to push those costs toward the consumer rather than absorb them.

The announcement that has drawn the most attention, however, is the foldable iPhone. Apple has resisted this category for years while competitors built early footholds, but the company now appears ready to make its move. Morgan Stanley analysts project the foldable alone could contribute $14 billion to Apple's December quarter revenue — a figure that reframes the device not as an experiment, but as a potential pillar of the company's most critical selling season.

Beyond the hardware, the September 9 event carries the weight of a beginning. It is the moment Apple publicly signals its strategic priorities under new leadership, and the breadth of the lineup — multiple premium models, a foldable, and aggressive upmarket positioning — suggests the company is betting that consumers will keep paying for refinement and design. How those bets land, in pricing and in adoption, will define the early contours of what comes next.

Apple is preparing to unveil a sweeping new lineup of iPhones on September 9, marking the first major product announcement under the leadership of Craig Ternus. The company plans to introduce an iPhone Ultra model alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and other premium variants, representing what multiple analysts describe as the most ambitious slate of new devices the company has ever brought to market at a single event.

The iPhone Ultra is expected to be Apple's most expensive iPhone to date. Memory component costs have risen sharply, and those increases are being reflected in the pricing strategy for the new models. The premium positioning signals Apple's intent to push further upmarket, even as the broader smartphone market faces pressure from slowing growth and intense competition.

Among the devices expected to debut is a foldable iPhone, a category Apple has long resisted entering but now appears ready to embrace. Morgan Stanley analysts have projected that this foldable model alone could generate $14 billion in revenue during the December quarter—a figure that underscores how significant this product category has become to Apple's financial outlook. If that projection holds, the foldable iPhone would represent a meaningful contributor to the company's bottom line in its most important selling season.

The September 9 event carries symbolic weight beyond the hardware itself. It represents the opening chapter of the Ternus era at Apple, a moment when the company is signaling its strategic priorities through the products it chooses to highlight. The breadth of the announcement—multiple new iPhone models, a foldable device, and premium positioning across the board—suggests Apple is betting that consumers will continue to pay premium prices for incremental innovation and design refinement.

Analysts and industry observers are watching closely to see how Apple prices these new models and how consumers respond to the foldable iPhone in particular. Adoption rates for the foldable will likely become a key metric for understanding whether Apple's late entry into the category can capture meaningful market share, or whether the device remains a niche offering for early adopters and enthusiasts. The pricing strategy will also signal whether Apple believes it can sustain its historical margins even as component costs rise, or whether it will pass those increases directly to consumers.

Morgan Stanley analysts projected the foldable iPhone could generate $14 billion in December quarter revenue
— Morgan Stanley
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