For now, artificial intelligence is taking a back seat. At Apple’s latest product event, the focus was mostly on hardware design, especially a new foldable phone. This shows that new CEO John Ternus is kicking off his time in charge with a bold and risky move.
Apple is in a unique spot right now. Its stock has stayed strong compared to other big tech companies that are spending heavily on AI. The previous leadership was criticized for losing some of Apple’s innovative spark. Now, with his background in hardware, Ternus seems set on changing that view by focusing on design innovation instead of just adding new AI features.
Choosing a foldable smartphone as the main focus is a bold move. Foldable phones are still a niche market, even though companies like Samsung and Huawei have released them for years. Ternus said earlier foldables felt like two phones stuck together, but he claims Apple’s new $2,000 device will be a real step forward.
Apple is also focusing on premium pricing. The new iPhone 18 models will first come out only in higher-priced versions, and a cheaper base model won’t be available until next year. This could help balance out higher memory costs. At the same time, the long-awaited AI update for Siri is coming this month, but it’s only a beta and won’t be available yet in the EU or China.
Overall, Apple is betting that most smartphone buyers don’t care as much about AI as people think, and that it can succeed with foldable phones where others have not. If anyone can do it, Apple might be the one. But if this plan doesn’t work, people will likely criticize Apple even more for not keeping up with AI.
