Ternus Says Early Foldables Felt Cheap, as Apple Unveils iPhone Duo

John Ternus foldables were not something Apple rushed to make. In an interview with TIME, the Apple CEO said the first foldable phones on the market felt low quality — describing them as cheap and crappy. That assessment helps explain why Apple held back while others moved first.

Why Apple Waited

Samsung released its first foldable in 2019. At the time, Apple chose not to follow with a device of its own. The company opted to take time before entering the category, according to the interview. Ternus’s remarks suggest that decision was tied to how those early products came across — not just what they could do.

What the iPhone Duo Changes

Apple’s answer is the iPhone Duo, a foldable with a premium design. In the TIME interview, Ternus highlighted the device’s display crease as barely noticeable — a detail that speaks to how far the hardware has moved from the early foldables he criticized.

The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable, arriving years after Samsung’s 2019 launch. Ternus described giving the Apple design team confidence to push both innovation and manufacturing boundaries. That push is reflected in the Duo’s premium build and the minimized crease on its display.

Pre-Order Details

Pre-orders for the iPhone Duo open Friday at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. The brief does not include pricing, full specifications, or a release date beyond the pre-order window. Availability regions were also not specified.

A Different Path to Foldables

Apple’s late entry stands in contrast to Samsung’s early move in 2019. Rather than being first, Apple waited and developed its own approach. The result is the iPhone Duo, a foldable that Ternus frames as meeting a standard the earliest devices did not.

The interview was published by TIME, and the source article was written by Joe Rossignol on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Ternus’s comments mark his most direct public statement yet on why Apple held off — and what changed when it finally entered the foldable market.