Apple confirms September 9 iPhone event, John Ternus's first as CEO

Apple has officially confirmed its fall product launch event for September 9, 2026, at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. The event, themed 'Surprise and Shine,' begins at 10 a.m. PT and will be streamed live. It carries unusual weight this year: John Ternus, Apple's longtime hardware chief, assumes the CEO role on September 1, making this his first major product announcement at the helm of the company.

Tim Cook, who led Apple for 15 years through the iPhone era, the M-series chip transition, and the company's rise past a $3 trillion valuation, steps down as CEO on September 1 and becomes executive chairman. The timing is deliberate — handing Ternus an immediate, highly visible win on the global stage.

What to expect on September 9

The most anticipated announcement is Apple's first foldable iPhone. Early testers who received devices before the event have praised the passport-style form factor and the hinge mechanism, describing the inner display as nearly crease-free at 7.8 inches with a 5.5-inch cover screen. If the reports hold, it would be the most significant iPhone form factor change since the original device launched in 2007.

The lineup is also expected to include the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max — described as comparatively iterative updates — alongside Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra, new smart home devices, and the launch dates for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS Golden Gate.

The Ternus era begins

Ternus has spent more than two decades at Apple overseeing hardware engineering, with his fingerprints on the M-series chip transition, the redesigned MacBook Pro, and the Apple Silicon roadmap. His appointment signals continuity in Apple's hardware-first philosophy, but investors and analysts will be watching closely for any shifts in strategic emphasis — particularly around AI, where Apple's pace relative to Google and Microsoft has drawn persistent criticism.

The September 9 event is where Ternus gets to set the tone. Whether the foldable iPhone and whatever else Apple announces that day lands as a genuine leap or a polished iteration will shape the market's read on his leadership from day one.