TIME has featured Apple CEO John Ternus on its 2026 Best Inventions cover and selected the iPhone Duo for the list, drawing attention to Apple’s first foldable iPhone before availability begins Oct. 23.
The Duo appears among TIME’s consumer electronics selections, while an interview with Ternus anchors the issue. The magazine said it chose 300 inventions and 100 special mentions, weighing candidates on originality, efficacy, ambition and impact. It sought nominations from its staff and through an online application process. TIME said its Best Inventions issue has run for more than a quarter century.
Apple announced April 20 that Ternus, then Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, would succeed then-CEO Tim Cook on Sept. 1. Cook became executive chairman. Apple introduced the Duo on Sept. 9, eight days after the leadership change. The cover pairs Ternus’s new role with the company’s first foldable iPhone.
The Duo has a 7.6-inch inner display and a 5.4-inch outer display, Apple said. U.S. prices start at $1,999. Preorders opened Oct. 16, ahead of the phone’s scheduled availability. Apple describes the folding screen and hinge as central to the device’s design.
TIME also pointed to Ternus’s earlier work on flexible devices. A U.S. patent application titled Flexible Electronic Devices was filed Sept. 30, 2011, and published April 4, 2013. It names John P. Ternus among six inventors. The filing establishes his involvement in that application but does not show whether any of its features appear in the finished Duo.
In his interview with TIME, Ternus criticized the feel of earlier foldable phones. Customers will be able to assess Apple’s device when availability begins Oct. 23 in more than 70 countries and regions. Apple has scheduled availability in 28 additional countries and regions for Oct. 30.
