Abstract:
Apple CEO John Ternus recently accepted an interview with the French Canal+ TV program "Clique" and talked about the design concept of Apple's first foldable screen iPhone Duo, the engineering challenges encountered during the development process, the development direction of Siri AI, and his work plan after taking over as Apple CEO. This is also one of Ternus's first comprehensive public interviews since he officially became Apple CEO.
When talking about the overall shape of the iPhone Duo after it is unfolded, Ternus explained that Apple ultimately did not adopt a design that simply spliced two traditional mobile phone screens together, but hoped to create a new experience that is truly suitable for large screens. He said that Apple does not want to just connect two mobile phone shapes together to form a strange-looking square device, but hopes to find the right ratio from the "big screen experience" itself.
Apple has been developing iPads for a long time, so it has accumulated a lot of experience in the proportion and use experience of large-size display devices. Ternus said that the unfolded form of iPhone Duo actually draws on this idea and redesigns the screen ratio so that it can present an iPad-like experience when fully unfolded.
However, it is not easy to turn this design into a product that can be sold on a large scale. Ternus revealed that Apple needs to solve "a lot of problems" in the process of developing iPhone Duo. He believes that folding screen products provide Apple engineers with an opportunity to give full play to their creativity and design things that have never appeared before.
One of the most difficult hardware engineering problems is the folding mechanism itself. The hinge not only needs to allow the screen to be opened and closed repeatedly, but also must ensure that it remains reliable after long-term use. At the same time, flexible displays themselves also face reliability challenges. Ternus said that Apple needs to solve the reliability problems of the hinge and display at the same time in order for the folding iPhone to meet Apple's product quality requirements.
When the host asked him which "little trick" he liked best on the iPhone Duo, Ternus showed off the animation effect when the device is unfolded. He specifically mentioned that when the device is unfolded from one side to the other, the system will display a continuous opening animation. In his opinion, this is a relaxed, interesting and pleasant design. He believes that this kind of detail can make users smile when using the product.
In terms of artificial intelligence, Ternus once again emphasized Apple’s different product concepts from some competitors. He said that Apple's Siri AI is not intended to be a "friend" to users.
Ternus believes that AI should not replace real relationships between people. He said that interpersonal relationships are an important part of human learning, growth, and happiness and happiness, so Apple does not hope to replace these real human connections with AI assistants. This view is consistent with a view previously expressed by Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi.
Ternus also talked about the process of being selected as Apple's next CEO. He revealed that Tim Cook and Apple's board of directors asked him if he would consider taking over as CEO, a question that surprised him.
Ternus said that when Cook asked him if he would consider serving as Apple CEO, he did not even think that he would one day get such an opportunity. He joked that he was lucky he was sitting at the time because "never in my life did I think something like this would happen."
Ternus will officially succeed Cook as Apple CEO on September 1, 2026. In the previous Apple management structure, he has been responsible for hardware engineering for a long time and participated in the development of multiple core products such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Therefore, he is considered one of the most important product and engineering leaders within Apple.
As to whether he will carry out large-scale reforms at Apple after becoming CEO, Ternus gave a relatively clear answer. He said that he was not prepared to make so-called "radical changes" because Apple's core philosophy has not actually changed.
Ternus said that although he had just become CEO, Apple's emphasis on innovation, product focus, and most importantly, "customer-centricity" have continued from the beginning of Apple's establishment to this day. He believes that these are not things that need to be re-established by himself, but are already deeply embedded in Apple culture.
Ternus also emphasized that he loves product development very much. He said that he likes to "make things," which is why he has stayed at Apple for a long time and loves this job. Therefore, he hopes to continue to promote product innovation, but does not think this means Apple needs to make a complete change of direction.
The interview also talked about a special moment Ternus had at Apple's September event. At the end of the conference, he said Apple's classic "One more thing" for the first time as Apple CEO and officially introduced iPhone Duo.
Ternus said that he had seen Steve Jobs say this sentence in the past, and he had also seen Tim Cook use this classic expression, so when he stood on the Apple conference stage and said "One more thing", he felt very special and even had a "goosebumps" feeling.
iPhone Duo is the first book-style folding iPhone launched by Apple, using an outer screen plus an inner folding screen design. When fully unfolded, it can provide a large-screen experience close to that of a small tablet, while Apple controls the thickness of the device through new body structure, hinge and display technology. Apple hopes to use this product to enter the folding screen smartphone market and at the same time redefine the product positioning between folding iPhones and ordinary iPhones.
In addition to iPhone Duo and AI, this complete interview also covers topics such as Tim Cook, global AI competition, Apple's environmental goals, Vision Pro, and the new parental control features of iOS 27. However, Ternus did not reveal more specific product information that has not yet been announced in this interview.
Judging from Ternus’s statement, Apple’s new management is currently not prepared to reflect the “coaching change” by changing the company’s basic direction. Instead, Ternus placed more emphasis on continuing Apple's long-standing product and engineering culture while bringing his engineering background to the CEO position. As the iPhone Duo becomes Apple's first product to enter the folding screen market, and AI continues to become the core area of competition in the entire technology industry, how Ternus can maintain Apple's existing product concepts while promoting the next stage of innovation will become an important test after he takes charge of Apple.
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