Apple (AAPL) shares slipped around 0.3 per cent after investors gave a muted reception to new chief executive John Ternus’s launch of the company’s first foldable iPhone.
The price dip followed an already difficult session, with shares having fallen 1.2 per cent the previous day, though Apple stock remains up around 16 per cent in 2026.
Apple entered the foldable market on Wednesday with the $1,999 iPhone Duo, arriving more than seven years after Samsung first brought the format to consumers.
The passport-sized device opens from a conventional 5.4-inch screen into a 7.6-inch display and is powered by Apple’s new A20 Pro chip.
The Duo starts at $1,999 and rises to $3,199 at the top end, making it one of the most expensive smartphones Apple has ever produced.
Amanda Mitchell, senior telecoms analyst at Globaldata, said Apple was betting its brand and huge existing customer base could pull foldables “from niche to mainstream,” a feat rivals have so far failed to achieve.
Foldables accounted for just 1.6 per cent of global smartphone sales last year, despite years of launches from Apple’s Android rivals including Samsung, Huawei and Google.
“The upside of arriving late is having time to refine what others pioneered,” Mitchell said, though she called the Duo’s $1,999 to $3,199 price range “eyebrow-raising.”
Mitchell also said some of the Duo’s premium reflected the “industry-wide memory crunch” as AI data centres compete aggressively with consumer device manufacturers for chip supply.
Surging demand for memory chips from AI data centres has pushed up component costs across the consumer electronics sector, squeezing margins for manufacturers including Apple.
Apple also raised prices across much of its existing iPhone range, an unusual break from its habit of discounting older handsets when new models arrive.
The iPhone 17 has risen by $100 to $899 in the US, while the cheaper 17e has climbed from $599 to $699, and the iPhone Air is up from $999 to $1,099.
Apple’s new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are also pricier, starting at $1,199 and $1,299 respectively, each $100 above the previous generation.
Former chief executive Tim Cook had warned earlier this year that rising costs would eventually reach consumers, saying “price increases are unavoidable.”
Apple reported a $29.8 billion quarterly profit in its latest results, while iPhone revenue jumped 22 per cent to $54.3 billion, giving Ternus a strong financial platform.
The iPhone 17 range generated more than $170 billion in wholesale revenue during its first year, according to Counterpoint Research, up 11 per cent on its predecessor.
Apple’s market value currently stands at roughly $4.7 trillion, underlining the enormous commercial stakes attached to Ternus’s first major product launch as chief executive.
The foldable iPhone represents one of Apple’s biggest changes to the physical design of the iPhone since its launch nearly two decades ago, and the market’s response will shape Ternus’s early tenure significantly.