Bart Yee on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - '“what role did Ternus play in development of a folding iPhone and eventually the duo?” John Ternus played a foundational, 15-year role in pioneering Apple’s foldable technology, culminating in the September 2026 launch of the $1,999 iPhone Duo. His involvement spanned from early component concepts to steering the exact standard of quality for the final device: 1. Laying the Patents (2011) • Ternus’ involvement in foldables began long before the category even existed in the consumer market. In 2011, while working on the Product Design team, Ternus and five fellow engineers filed Apple’s first major patent for foldable electronic devices. They explored how circuit boards, internal configurations, and flexible OLED screen technology would interact years before flexible displays were commercially viable. 2. Rejecting Preemptive Launches • During his tenure as VP and SVP of Hardware Engineering, competitors began releasing early foldable devices. Ternus actively resisted rushing a product to market simply to compete. In interviews with TIME Magazine, he admitted he found rival foldables to feel “kind of cheap and crappy,” insisting that Apple hold back until the hardware felt completely premium. 3. Setting the Engineering Standards for the Duo • As the hardware chief, he set a strict standard for the engineering team. According to Richard Dinh, Apple’s VP of Product Design, the team built early prototypes that had similar display flaws to competitors but thought they might be “good enough” to launch. • Ternus pushed back, telling Dinh, “Look, Rich, you’ll know when it’s the right thing.” • This rejection of mediocrity gave the engineering team the mandate to fly globally to sync with suppliers, ultimately developing the iPhone Duo’s custom polymer nanotexture surface and a complex hinge made of over 100 internal precision parts that leaves the unfolded screen practically creaseless. ((Saying No & sticking to a highest Apple quality standard. If ever a Jobs / Apple culture disciple example was needed, this is it)) 4. The Face of the Final Launch (2026) Following his transition to Apple CEO on September 1, 2026, the passport-sized iPhone Duo was his very first major flagship product announcement just nine days later on September 9. The phone serves as the definitive engineering statement for the start of his tenure as CEO. “And what was Ternus’ involvement with Home View” “John Ternus’s involvement with HomeView represents a massive shift in his role at Apple. While his early career focused strictly on mechanical blueprints, HomeView is the second major launch of his CEO tenure and serves as the foundation for his new overarching corporate strategy. His involvement spans a few key areas: 1. The Strategy: Shifting from “Mr. Services” to a Hardware Ecosystem Under Tim Cook, Apple prioritized growing its services division. Ternus is using HomeView to pivot corporate strategy back to aggressive hardware ecosystem expansion. Facing intense pressure from AI rivals like OpenAI, Ternus’s core strategy is to expand physical touchpoints that draw consumers deeper into the Apple ecosystem. HomeView acts as the literal anchor for that ecosystem in the user’s home. 2. The Design Influence: A Nod to Apple’s Heritage As the former Hardware Engineering chief, Ternus oversaw the final development of the device’s physical form factor: a 7-inch square Liquid Retina touchscreen that floats on a stainless steel hinge above a domed speaker base. Tech analysts noted that this design is an unmistakable, nostalgic nod back to the iconic 2002 iMac G4—aligning with Ternus’s reputation for appreciating classic Apple hardware roots. 3. Orchestrating the “Welcome Home” Partnerships To make HomeView a viable household command center, Ternus had to build out a broader hardware network. Alongside the $299 hub, he orchestrated major manufacturing partnerships with LG Electronics and Schneider to simultaneously roll out Apple-vetted smart thermostats, video doorbells, smart locks, and security cameras that integrate seamlessly into the HomeView interface via the Matter and Thread smart home standards. ((LG via LG Innotek and other divisions already has relationships either Apple for OLED IPad displays and display driver chips.)) 4. Spearheading the Siri AI Integration The ultimate success of HomeView rests on its integration with a rebuilt, conversational Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence. Ternus introduced the device as Apple’s first dedicated piece of home hardware built entirely around this upgraded AI model. By enabling features like localized facial recognition (for up to six family members) and cross-device data pulling from paired iPhones, Ternus is positioning the device as a direct test of his ability to lead Apple into the AI era.”'
on Saturday Apple video: Think Different - 'The bit about Apple being 90 days away from bankruptcy was probably not exactly true. It may have been that if all revenue ceased they would fail in 90 days, but they still had revenue coming in so that 90 days was a receding horizon. Scary nevertheless.'
on Ezra Klein on Apple & AI - 'Taken even with a discount to face value, these numbers would require a significant increased value proposition. That could be increased -number- of users, or -increased value- provided to users, to justify that increase. Now I’m no user of AI, so I ask those of you who do have significant experience with current AI: Do you anticipate an order of magnitude better results from future AI (to justify these kinds of increase of scale? All this mumbling I hear about “agents,” does that justify an order of magnitude increase in AI scale? Or is this all about “being the first to reach AGI?”'
on Ezra Klein on Apple & AI - 'In 2008 I watched the bank meltdown not understanding what was happening. That cost me big time. Today I think I am ahead of the feast for the latest greatest new thing. I’m watching from the sidelines and invest little of my rebuilt wealth core. I’ve been doing it for so long, it keeps my brain active. In my opinion. The hype for AI is headed for the same kind of meltdown that occurred in 2008. Cash and gold are my prime holdings today.'
on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - 'As an Engineer, I take offense to this. Ternus is a hardware guy. Cook is an execution guy. Both are important, but Ternus was surely deeply involved in the development of the Duo, so I think it is totally reasonable that he was the one to introduce it. It may even be why he was named the new CEO.'
on Ezra Klein on Apple & AI - 'I was reminded of SNL’s classic “Point/Counterpoint” with Ackroyd and Curtin: “Jane, you ignorant slut”.'
on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - 'Each Duo counts as 2 in terms of revenue. Analysts need to update their revenue estimates for Q1, ’27, likely full FY 27. Pretty obvious, eh? Nice start for Ternus.'
on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - 'I get really tired of those “You promised!” Whines. Delivery “by 10/23? Or “starting 10/23”? I could continue this rant for probably dozens of other situations, but I won’t. (You’re welcome! 🙂 )'
on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - 'Much to my surprise, at 5 past the hour I was staring at 2 phone screens (my wife’s and mine) with a delivery of 10/23 and within a few minutes of completing my orders, I went back to see if delivery dates had changed and started seeing end-of-November dates. I’ve never seen it move that fast before. But that tells me nothing other than the available supply was consumed very quickly. The one thing that was different this year versus prior ones (as far as I can recall) was that all of the provider and credit housekeeping stuff was handled prior to the actual transaction. I remember seeing horror stories of order processes hanging, breaking, etc., in previous years, so my guess is this might have contributed to the amount of time it would take for delivery dates to extend since it was getting bogged down by API calls to Verizon, etc., that would simply shit the bed under that load. Apple got that out of the way this past week with their prepare-for-preorder option. My orders were fast and hassle-free.'
on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - 'There is one other factor that may be having an effect on delivery times. Last year business accounts could pre-pre-order iPhones, that is place an order before the official pre-order date. However, it turned out that they did not get their iPhones any sooner than anyone else, and may have actually been added onto the end of the pre-orders. This year it was different. We, those with the business accounts, were told otherwise. We were told our pre-pre-orders would go at the beginning of the regular pre-order.. so I placed my pre-pre-order, but I still do not have a date of delivery yet. I was told the delivery would be among those first delivered. We will see.'
on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - 'Similar experience here – Dec 7-14. Night Sky. '
on 'Extraordinary' says Apple of demand for the iPhone Duo - 'I had a feeling that the Duo sale was going surprisingly well. I logged onto the sale at exactly 5 PDT (8 ET) and the wait was not bad at about 5:12 it logged me in where I did the pre-order and my accepted order went through no more than five minutes later. I was ecstatic as I figured this time I would have to be amongst the first few to get the fruit of the Apple tree. Imagine my shock that the next page listed my delivery date as December 1 through 8. I had figured the white one might be rare at first but who knew it was going be as hard to catch as maybe Moby Dick! Oh well.'
on Saturday Apple video: Think Different - 'I have several of the posters framed in our home office. They are a daily reminder I still have work to do changing the world in every small way I can.'
