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Tech giant faces first product launch since Tim Cook stepped down as chief executive
John Ternus will do his first big product launch as Apple chief executive on Wednesday. Photograph: Jim Wilson/The New York Timesto roll out its latest range of iPhones.
This year will be different, though, with a raft of changes compared to previous years. Here is what to expect. As is now tradition, Apple is holding its regularly scheduled product launch, titled Surprise and Shine. We are expecting to see new iPhones, including the highly anticipated foldable phone.
This is the first big iPhone redesign since its launch in 2007. While the company has increased the screen size and changed some aesthetics, a bendable display will be a first for Apple. Will Ireland’s new personal investment accounts make us wealthier? Start as you mean to go on.
It won’t be the first time Ternus has been involved in a big launch – he was head of Apple’s hardware engineering before he was named Cook’s successor – but it will be the first time he is leading things. As a result, people will be watching closely to see how prominent a role he plays in Apple’s regular product events, and if he can bring back some of the hype that used to accompany these launches.
They are getting there. According to FDM CCS Insight, 25 million foldable smartphones were shipped in 2025. That’s an 18 per cent year-on-year increase, and was down to strong volumes from Samsung, Huawei and Motorola. That was about 2 per cent of the overall smartphone market.
“Despite the overall challenges in the smartphone market, we expect the foldable segment to grow strongly in 2026 and 2027. Although we expect many players will see some volume decline because of market pressures, Apple’s rumoured entry is expected to offset the weaknesses and strengthen the category in the long run,” says FDM CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood.
“We believe Apple will bring fresh attention to the category and increase acceptance of the designs despite high prices and still evolving uses. ” Having said that, it is expected to remain a niche category, accounting for just 4 per cent of the total market by the end of the decade, FDM CCS Insight says. We could see a new Apple Watch, plus camera-enabled AirPods. And Apple will also announce the full availability of iOS27, which includes an AI-enabled Siri.
But not for the EU just yet, at least. We will have to wait until Apple’s discussions with the European Commission over access for third-party voice assistants have concluded. There has been talk that Apple may split the launch of the new phones across two events, with the iPhone 18 Pro models launching at this event and the base model of the iPhone 18 coming in a few months’ time.
That would give the company time to get demand for the Pro models bedded in. Amazon announces 200 new jobs in Dublin and increases starting payClamping in Dublin city centre to be largely replaced by towing and finesIceland summons US ambassador after Trump posts map showing island under American flag‘People just want safety’: Migrants feel ‘targeted’ by Irish citizenship reforms
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