Apple’s annual product debut event ushered in a new era for the company. Mr. Tim Cook hosted the past 15 annual events as CEO, but Mr. John Ternus was promoted to CEO effective September 1st. Mr. Ternus inherits an impeccable execution track record that Mr. Cook built – zero major product recalls and the number one selling mobile device globally – and Mr. Ternus appears well suited for the job. The company came out swinging with new hardware and new software at this year’s event.
Tim Cook’s Legacy
Aside from an impressive run in Apple’s stock price, in my view there are two other defining achievements Mr. Tim Cook led Apple to: zero major product recalls, while growing the iPhone to the world’s best-selling mobile device.
Apple is one of the few mobile phone companies to have zero formal major product recalls since the iPhone was introduced.1 While there have been minor overheating issues in early models and battery life claim litigation, there are currently zero official product recalls for any ‘iPhone’ device, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.2 The same cannot be said for other major mobile manufacturers like Samsung, whose Galaxy Note7 still holds recall notices for millions of devices due to overheating leading to potential combustion.3 This track record during the evolution of the iPhone, to me, signals Mr. Cook’s impeccable design and manufacturing execution to perfect the consumer experience.
Stay on Top of Market Trends
The Carson Investment Research newsletter offers up-to-date market news, analysis and insights. Subscribe today!
"*" indicates required fields
And perfecting that consumer experience has led to perhaps the most valuable milestone for Apple: claiming the world’s best-selling mobile device. In the past decade, Apple has grown from roughly 18% share of global mobile device sales to above 30%.4 As shown below, it took until 2022 for the company to claim the number one spot in market share of mobile devices by overtaking Samsung.
As Mr. Tim Cook hands the title of CEO of Apple off to Mr. John Ternus, he vacates the role with two remarkable milestones: zero major device recalls and claiming the top-selling mobile device in the world.
Ternus’s CEO Debut
Apple’s first annual product demonstration led by new CEO John Ternus this week featured two announcements that caught my eye: the introduction of the iPhone Duo and an AI-enhanced Siri.
iPhone Duo
The iPhone Duo is Apple’s entrance to the foldable phone market. It may be the company’s answer to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Fold versions. Both of those devices may have bolstered Samsung’s market share in recent years as it had limited competition. But Apple’s entrance into this market may prove to be a watershed moment. The iPhone duo aims to provide users with a much larger display that still fits into a pocket. The new device features a folded outside display of 5.4-inch diagonal length, and an unfolded 7.6-inch display.5 That is sizably bigger than the 6.9-inch display of the new iPhone 18 Pro Max.6 Only time will tell how successful the Duo will be. And perhaps more important is whether this first revolutionary device launched in the John Ternus era will be recall-free like its iPhone predecessors.
AI-Enhanced Siri
Apple also unveiled a slew of updates to its native Siri application. Among some of the features is Siri Recap – a feature for new Apple Watches and iPhones to ambiently listen to your daily conversations and summarize them. Gone are the days of forgetting your child’s school musical time or impactful details from your doctor visits. It may be one of Apple’s most powerful AI products yet.
As Apple welcomes Mr. John Ternus to the CEO role, the company isn’t slowing down. Their annual new product demonstration event revealed some major AI enhancements to Siri, as well as a revolutionary new foldable product in the iPhone Duo. Only time will tell if these innovations live up to Apple’s impeccable recall-free reputation built under outgoing CEO Mr. Tim Cook’s tenure while maintaining Apple’s top spot in global mobile device sales.
- https://blog.ecoatm.com/have-any-iphones-been-recalled/
- https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls?search_combined_fields=iphone&field_rc_date_value=2004-01-01&field_rc_date_value_1=2026-09-11&field_rc_hazards_target_id=All&field_rc_recall_by_product_target_id=All&field_rc_manufactured_in_value=
- https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/Samsung-Expands-Recall-of-Galaxy-Note7-Smartphones-Based-on-Additional-Incidents-with-Replacement-Phones
- https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/worldwide/#monthly-201101-202608
- https://www.apple.com/iphone-duo/
- https://www.apple.com/iphone-18-pro/specs/
Cover image courtesy of NPR
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/09/nx-s1-5961487/apple-duo-foldable-iphone-john-ternus
For more content by Blake Anderson, CFA®, Director, Portfolio Management, click here.
9122694.1. – 11SEPT26A
