{
  "id": 14733220,
  "title": "Ternus spent 15 years planning the iPhone Duo",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/ternus-spent-15-years-planning-the-iphone-duo",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-15T15:32:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "AppleInsider",
    "slug": "appleinsider",
    "url": "https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/10/15/ternus-spent-15-years-planning-the-iphone-duo"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "John Ternus, Apple's new CEO, spent 15 years planning the highly anticipated iPhone Duo, a foldable device. Ternus, named Tim Cook's successor in April 2026, had been involved with the project for around 10 years following his initial employment with the company. In an interview with Time magazine, he revealed that he and five fellow engineers filed a patent for foldable devices as early as 2011. Ternus and his team believed that OLED displays would eventually become flexible, paving the way for the iPhone Duo. However, rivals like Samsung had beaten Apple to market with foldable devices. Ternus, though, remained unfazed, stating that the other examples in the world felt \"cheap and crappy.\" Apple's vice president of product design, Richard Dinh, shared that the company had considered launching a foldable iPhone earlier but decided to wait until they could get it right. Ternus, known for his insistence on getting designs perfect, emphasized the importance of waiting for the right moment. He believed in the longevity of the iPhone and hardware, expressing that people value physical devices and the unique experiences they provide. As CEO, Ternus must navigate Apple's complex political landscape, including the company's decision to explore processor and memory options from Chinese manufacturers. Despite criticism, Ternus supports this move, citing the memory constraints as a pressing issue.",
  "summary": "New CEO John Ternus believes Apple should get designs right rather than launch early or emulate rivals, and the iPhone Duo is an example of that. John Ternus and the iPhone Duo - image credit: Apple. Ternus was named as Tim Cook 's successor in April 2026, around 25 years after he first joined the company. But after just 10 years, he was already involved in what would become the iPhone Duo .…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "An interview with John Ternus, who says the memory shortage is \"a crisis\" and \"all options should be on the table\", and that Tim Cook \"has great relationships\" (Andrew R. Chow/Time)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/an-interview-with-john-ternus-who-says-the-memory-shortage-is-a",
        "published": "2026-10-15T13:20:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "9to5Mac",
        "title": "John Ternus talks iPhone Duo, ‘cheap and crappy’ foldables in new interview",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/john-ternus-talks-iphone-duo-cheap-and-crappy-foldables-in-new",
        "published": "2026-10-15T14:11:18.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MacRumors",
        "title": "Apple CEO John Ternus on Early Foldables: 'Kind of Cheap and Crappy'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/apple-ceo-john-ternus-on-early-foldables-kind-of-cheap-and-crappy",
        "published": "2026-10-15T15:17:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}