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Morning Edition · Thursday, September 10, 2026Published at 1:22 AM EDT · New York
Apple Unveils Its First Foldable iPhone Under a New Chief Executive
Shares in Redington, an Apple distribution partner in India, rose 5 percent on the announcement, though analysts expect Samsung to keep the larger share of the foldable market.
Apple presented its new iPhone generation on Wednesday, including a foldable model called Duo, in the first product launch led by the company's new chief executive, Euronews reported. The company has watched Samsung and several Chinese manufacturers sell folding handsets for years without entering the category.
The clearest immediate market reaction came in India. Shares in Redington, which distributes Apple products in India and other markets, rose 5 percent, with analysts expecting the launch to raise consumer awareness of foldable devices while Samsung retains the larger share of that segment.
The commercial logic is replacement demand. Smartphone owners hold devices longer than they once did because each generation adds less. A folding screen changes the physical object, which gives the industry a reason to ask customers to upgrade rather than repair. It also shifts the bill of materials toward flexible displays, hinges and thinner batteries, components concentrated in South Korean, Japanese and Chinese suppliers.
The launch arrived on a day when the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.64 percent and oil rose above $100 a barrel, a reminder that a premium hardware cycle depends on consumers whose energy bills are rising.
What this means
A foldable iPhone redirects component spending toward display and hinge suppliers and toward the distributors and retailers that handle the higher average selling price, which is why an Indian distributor moved before any handset shipped. Apple gains if the format restarts an upgrade cycle among customers who skipped two or three generations, and loses margin if yields on folding displays stay poor and warranty costs run high. The decisive evidence will be the first two quarters of unit data, which separate genuine category expansion from buyers who would have upgraded anyway.
What to watch
- Reported order volumes at flexible display suppliers, the earliest hard signal of whether Apple expects real volume or a limited launch.
- The pricing of the Duo relative to the standard iPhone line, because a very large premium would confine the device to a small buyer base and limit the supply-chain effect.
- Whether Samsung and Chinese manufacturers cut foldable prices in response, which would compress margins across the category rather than expanding it.
Observations to monitor, not financial advice.
Synthesized from: Euronews · Economic Times
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