Apple CEO John Ternus and marketing chief Greg Joswiak acknowledged that the iPhone Duo's aspect ratio leaked to rivals through shared supply chains, while crediting tight security for keeping the device's folding nano-texture display under wraps until launch.
Apple's new CEO John Ternus and head of marketing Greg "Joz" Joswiak have publicly addressed the wave of passport-shaped foldable phones that preceded the iPhone Duo's launch, acknowledging that competitors obtained key design details through supply chain leaks — while insisting the device's signature display technology remained secret.
Ternus and Joswiak spoke about the topic during an interview with TechRadar and Tom's Guide, offering the company's first direct comments on the timing controversy surrounding the iPhone Duo's form factor.
"People knew through leaks that we were working on a foldable," Joswiak said. "Unfortunately, they got the aspect ratio, and a lot of coincidental instances of people finding that an interesting aspect ratio."
The "people" Joswiak referred to are Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi — all three of which announced wide foldable phones ahead of Apple's own reveal.
Apple was not the first company to unveil a passport-shaped folding device this year, a reality the company did not contest. The shared global supplier networks used by Apple and its competitors make it structurally difficult to keep industrial design details fully confidential through the development cycle.
What did stay under wraps, Joswiak said, was the iPhone Duo's folding nano-texture display — a feature he described as unique to the device.
"What I'm super proud of — we kept it secret," Joswiak said. "We put the extra security on it. We didn't talk about it to anybody."
Ternus, who took over as CEO from Tim Cook, offered a notably candid account of his reaction to an early prototype of the display. "Oh this is it, this is what I want," he said, describing the moment with visible enthusiasm.
The interview underscored a broader shift in tone at Apple's top level. Ternus, whose background is as a hands-on hardware engineer, has adopted a more openly expressive public style compared to his predecessor — a contrast that observers say reflects his product-first orientation.
The iPhone Duo launch arrives amid intensifying competition in the foldable segment, with Chinese and Korean manufacturers having moved quickly to occupy the wide-format folding phone market. Whether the nano-texture display and Apple's software ecosystem prove sufficient differentiators will likely become clearer as the device reaches consumers.
Marc Sabatini is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering enterprise software, cybersecurity, and the regulatory beats that shape both. He focuses on the deal flow and policy decisions that move markets.
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