In John Ternas’ debut showcase as CEO, Apple unveiled a series of new products, including its first foldable phone called the iPhone Duo, and the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max with larger screens.
But the biggest news for investors from Wednesday’s event may be that there will be no iPhone 18 without the Pro name.
Analysts have largely anticipated this change in Apple’s annual pace in recent months, expecting the company to launch its flagship iPhone at a spring event where it has previously announced new lower-priced models such as the iPhone SE and iPhone 16e.
The cheapest new iPhone announced Wednesday is the iPhone 18 Pro, which starts at $1,199 in the U.S., which represents a $100 price increase. Before the event, the iPhone 17 was priced at $799, but after the event it was listed for $899. Apple raised the prices of Macs and iPads in June in response to global shortages of memory and other components. “It’s not sustainable,” former CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Ternas took over from Mr. Cook on September 1, becoming the second Apple CEO since Steve Jobs resigned in 2011, shortly before his death. Cook has warned that supply constraints will continue, and the company noted on its July earnings call that supply constraints will become an even bigger problem for the company in the September quarter.
Maintaining the mainstream iPhone until spring is a new strategy for Apple. Industry analysts said Wednesday that the company aims to smooth out its revenue from quarter to quarter and could achieve that with a split-launch strategy.
Historically, Apple’s biggest quarter has been its first fiscal quarter, which is the first full quarter of iPhone sales and includes Christmas. The next two quarters are usually much slower.
Analysts said a major iPhone launch with a lower-priced device in March or April could go a long way toward smoothing out Apple’s slow-season sales.
“When Apple puts all its effort into the last quarter of the year, of course it generates very strong revenue, but when the second quarter comes around, sales drop significantly and that revenue is lost,” Francisco Geronimo, a vice president at market research firm IDC, said in an interview. “I think this gives us some stability in terms of balancing our revenue throughout the year.”
For the past decade, Apple has largely split its iPhone lineup into two when it released the iPhone 11, with one releasing a more expensive Pro version with the best display and camera. Since then, Apple has announced Pro and standard phones at the same fall event with the same release date.
Apple’s average selling price (ASP) has increased in recent years as its Pro smartphones sell better than mainstream options. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan said the new approach is influencing these trends, but there are also potential downsides.
“In our view, a split launch has the potential to support Mix and ASP,” Mohan wrote in a memo this week. However, it added: “There is a risk that price-sensitive consumers will postpone upgrading until a lower-priced model is available.”
Apple CEO John Tarnas holds an iPhone Duo at Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event held at Apple Park, Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, on September 9, 2026.
Benjamin Fanjoy | Getty Images
According to IDC estimates, Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max accounted for 54% of iPhone sales in the first half of 2026. The regular iPhone 17 accounted for 26% of iPhone sales.
“Apple has made this strategy as the market has started to slow down in terms of smartphone adoption and upgrades,” Geronimo said.
Supply chain issues are also at play. Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, said launching only two new models instead of four could greatly simplify what Apple must secure from its supply chain.
“High memory prices have not helped Apple launch multiple iPhones at the same time,” Shah said.
At the end of Wednesday’s event, the company announced the foldable iPhone Duo, which starts at $1,999, in line with competing products from companies such as Huawei.
Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, said Apple has redesigned much of its iOS software to take advantage of two screens, navigation buttons and other controls. Users can multitask two apps at the same time and even use Apple’s stylus called the Pencil.
“For a device that plays such a central role in our lives, larger displays will open up entirely new possibilities,” Ternas said at the launch. “We think the best way to do that is with a foldable design.”
The phone features a new C2 modem, a second-generation modem manufactured in-house by Apple, making it even less modem-dependent. Qualcomm. Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, said in a keynote video that C2 runs 50% faster and uses 15% less energy than its predecessor.
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