Apple's first launch under John Ternus is set…

The handover from Tim Cook lands one week before Apple's annual iPhone event, which is widely expected to include the company's first folding phone.

If you have been waiting to see what Apple looks like without Tim Cook running it, the answer arrives on September 9. John Ternus has officially taken the reins as CEO, succeeding Cook after 15 years in the job, and Apple has set its annual iPhone event for Wednesday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

The headline rumor is a folding iPhone. MacRumors expects Apple to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the company's first-ever foldable iPhone at the event.

The rumored foldable, referred to as an iPhone Ultra, is described as having a 7.7-inch inner display and a 5.3-inch outer display, two rear cameras and one front camera, and a Touch ID power button in place of Face ID. That last part is the interesting one for anyone who has spent years unlocking an iPhone by looking at it.

iOS 27 is expected to be built with that hardware in mind, with side-by-side apps and other iPad-style multitasking behavior on the larger inner screen.

The rest of the rumored lineup is quieter. Apple Watch Series 12 is said to bring a faster S11 chip or newer, longer battery life, fitness tracking improvements and a ceramic case option, while two AirPods 5 models are expected, one with active noise cancellation and one without. Apple's improved Siri AI is also expected to roll out more broadly, according to TechCrunch.

Ternus, for his part, used his first days in the job to point past next week. Bloomberg reports that he wrote to staff on Tuesday that "we have a huge launch next week that's going to be phenomenal," adding that he was "just as excited about what lies beyond that, including the incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven't even imagined yet that we'll dream up and create together."

Some of what is already in the works has been circulating for a while: Apple is rumored to be developing camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses and a touchscreen laptop.

Cook's own farewell note struck a similar tone. "I take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John," he wrote to staff on his last day as CEO.