Tim Cook bailed out just in time to avoid to iPhone Duo quagmire

It's probably fun to run a ~$5 trillion company like Apple. Everybody wants to be in John Ternus' shoes except for Tim Cook—he obviously doesn't want to stay on top of Apple right now.

There's a reason for that and it's called the iPhone Duo.

Passing the baton

Although 2027 will be the most important year for Apple in this decade (after all, in 2027, the iPhone turns 20 years old), 2026 is pretty significant, too. Tim Cook, who took over from Steve Jobs, left his CEO position and passed the baton to John Ternus.

2026 is also the year when Apple finally decided to join the foldable race (better late than never) with the new iPhone Duo. Although the first-ever foldable iPhone hasn't yet reached users anywhere in the world (it'll launch on October 23), the iPhone Duo was talked about extensively at the unveiling event.

The current rumors

Speaking of availability and launch dates, the latest rumors about the iPhone Duo don't paint a particularly positive picture.

Apple is reportedly still struggling to ramp up production of its first foldable iPhone, with early output of the iPhone Duo expected to remain limited ahead of its October 23 launch. Sources in Foxconn's supply chain reportedly put the final assembly yield at just over 60% as of September 17, with production potentially needing another six months to a year to reach mature yields.

Much of the trouble appears to come from Apple's unusually strict quality requirements and its lack of experience building foldable phones, rather than one specific technological flaw. Foxconn has reportedly been repeatedly tweaking equipment, assembly processes and production settings to get the line running smoothly. Samsung Display's OLED panels and some hinge components have also suffered yield and delivery problems, leaving Apple with less time to fine-tune production.

The hinge itself has reportedly been especially troublesome, with Apple testing and later reconsidering different approaches, including Liquid Metal.

You had seven years to prepare for this

Apple has precisely zero excuses for this delay… if it turns out to be true. If Cupertino had joined the foldable race back in 2019 or 2020, sure—I'd be willing to cut it some slack if things went a bit crazy in the beginning. But in 2027, I've got no patience left.

The delayed electronics phenomenon isn't new; actually, it's boring already. Whether it's the new iPhone in a particular hue or the just-released Sony Playstation, it doesn't matter. We're kind of used to this, as we've been dealing with shortages for some years now.

Sure, it builds the anticipation, but for the iPhone Duo, I expected Apple to not go down this route.

Tim Cook bailed out

Regardless of whether you approve of Tim Cook's reign or not, the fact is that during his time, Apple grew incredibly. Everybody, at least in the US and the EU, lusts after the devices that have the fruit logo on them.

Yet, we never saw a Tim Cook-era foldable by Apple; the iPhone Duo was surely sketched, extensively planned and developed in the months and years before Tim's departure, but it's got Ternus' signature on it. He presented it, he owns it.

That's a double-edged sword. If the iPhone Duo goes down as a major success for Apple, Ternus will reap the benefits. The same rules apply if the phone turns out to be a disappointment and a market flop.

The way the current rumors are unfolding—the ones about the production issues—I think Tim Cook is a bit relieved that he bailed out before stepping in the moving sands.

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