TIME spoke with Apple chief executive John Ternus at Apple Park in Cupertino after he took the role in September when Tim Cook stepped down after 15 years.
The interview followed Apple's September keynote that introduced iPhone Duo.
Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran and mechanical engineer who started on the product design team, framed the transition as a focus on the future. He said Apple is asking "how do we build deeply personal experiences leveraging AI that help us all be more creative, be more productive, do whatever it is that we want to do?"
iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable phone and its most dramatic iPhone design shift since the 2007 debut, according to TIME.
When closed it is about the size of a passport. When open it presents as a small tablet.
The device uses a durable custom polymer and a display engine for a seamless transition between inner and outer screens, according to TIME. Apple said on its site the open display is 50 percent larger than iPhone 18 Pro Max and the outer display covers more than 90 percent of the front, according to Apple.
Ternus tied hardware choices to utility and to collaboration between industrial designers and engineers. He cited a small animation on opening the Duo as intentional whimsy and described Kids Queue, a feature that shows Peanuts characters like Snoopy on the outer display to hold a child's attention during photos.
On AI, Apple is positioning iPhone as the personal hub rather than chasing frontier models from rivals such as Anthropic, OpenAI and Google.
The company announced Siri AI powered by an Apple model that leverages Google's Gemini technology, according to TIME. Ternus said privacy remains central, that personal context stays on device and Apple cannot see it.
He said work with the American Academy of Pediatrics announced in June will expand screen-time tools for parents after earlier versions proved only good, not great.
Design remains the constant. Ternus said the way Apple works should not change even as products evolve.
Apple has not yet detailed iPhone Duo pricing, ship date or Siri AI rollout timing beyond the September unveiling.
