Apple is reportedly heading into one of its busiest hardware launch cycles in years, with new CEO John Ternus set to oversee several new product categories and form factors over the next 24 months.
Ternus, Apple’s longtime hardware engineering chief, succeeded Tim Cook on Sept. 1 in the company’s first CEO transition in 15 years. He inherits a product roadmap largely developed before he took charge, but his hardware background makes the coming launches an early test of how he will steer Apple’s product strategy.
Reports suggest the roadmap includes a foldable iPhone, smart home hub, camera-equipped AirPods, smart glasses, and major Mac and iPad upgrades. Apple has not confirmed most of these products or their release windows.
iPhone event considered the first test for Ternus
The first test for Ternus will come at the company’s iPhone event this week. Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone, widely referred to in reports as the iPhone Ultra, although the company has not confirmed its name or specifications. The launch would bring Apple into a foldable segment that represented roughly 2% of global smartphone sales last year. Its expected price above $2,000 could increase Apple’s average selling price, although the premium may also limit demand.
Due to the focus on the foldable iPhone, Apple is reportedly planning to split iPhone launches into two events. Reports indicate that the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will be announced alongside the foldable model, while the standard iPhone 18 and 18e will be held for a spring event. The staggered schedule could give Apple’s more expensive models a longer period without competition from lower-priced new iPhones.
Broad updates to Apple’s existing product line
Apple is also expected to refresh several existing products over the coming months, according to reports, including the Apple Watch, Apple TV, entry-level AirPods, HomePod mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro. Most will focus on specifications and colours, but it is notable that the HomePod mini and Apple TV, which have not received major hardware updates for almost six and four years respectively, are finally receiving some attention.
Alongside updates to its existing product lines, Apple will also reportedly add an OLED display to the iPad mini. It would become the second iPad line to receive OLED after the iPad Pro, with other iPad models reportedly expected to adopt the display technology later. The MacBook Pro is also set for a major upgrade early next year, featuring a touchscreen, OLED display, and the Dynamic Island found on the iPhone. Apple has reportedly been working on the touchscreen MacBook for more than three years.
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New product lines have an AI focus
Apple’s first major new product category under Ternus could be a smart home hub, reportedly planned for release within the next six months. The device is expected to feature a seven-inch screen and rely heavily on Siri.
The hub could begin a broader smart home push. Apple is also reportedly developing home-security products and a tabletop robot, although those projects remain unannounced and their release schedules could change.
The smart home is becoming another battleground for AI assistants, putting Apple in competition with Google and other companies developing devices that can interpret voice, video, and environmental context. Most of the new product lines Apple is expected to launch over the next two years have a similar focus, with Siri set to sit at the centre of the experience.
These include AirPods with cameras that will feed Apple Intelligence visual data, enabling it to provide more contextual suggestions and answers. A pendant, which could arrive in late 2027 or 2028, would function in a similar way but sit on the front of the user’s body.
Apple is also expected to launch its first smart glasses around that time, featuring an always-on camera that can provide Apple Intelligence with visual context. The company is working through the privacy issues that have affected public perceptions of smart glasses, with some institutions and businesses already restricting their use. Further down the line, Apple is also developing augmented reality glasses similar to Snap’s Specs, which would display digital information directly in the user’s field of view.
For Apple users, the significance of this launch cycle is less about any single device and more about how many parts of the ecosystem could change at once. For businesses, camera-equipped wearables and always-listening smart home products could also create new privacy, security, and device-management questions. Buyers and IT teams should therefore treat the reported roadmap as an indication of Apple’s direction—not a confirmed purchasing timeline—until the company announces each product.
Read more: John Ternus’ move from hardware chief to Apple CEO explains why the company’s leadership change may shape its next generation of products.