John Ternus Just Pulled an iPhone Duo Out of His Pocket at the Emmys

John Ternus has only been Apple CEO for a couple of weeks, and apparently he’s already figured out one of the most important parts of the job: always have the new iPhone on you.

While attending the 2026 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Ternus was filmed showing off the iPhone Duo — Apple’s first foldable iPhone — to reporters stood around him.

And yes, he literally pulled it out of the pocket of his tuxedo jacket.

The moment was caught by Deadline, with Ternus opening up the still-unreleased iPhone and giving people at the Emmys a look at Apple’s newest piece of hardware.

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The ultimate product demo

There’s something wonderfully casual about the whole thing.

This isn’t a carefully lit Apple keynote stage. There’s no giant screen behind him, no dramatic voiceover and no perfectly choreographed camera move.

It’s just Ternus, dressed for the Emmys, surrounded by people and reporters — and suddenly there’s an iPhone Duo in his hands.

That makes the image particularly fun because the Duo is still weeks away from actually being available to customers. Apple says pre-orders begin October 16, with the phone arriving in stores on October 23. 

So for now, seeing one in the wild still has a little bit of “wait, is that actually one?” energy.

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And that crease…

The other thing that immediately catches the eye is just how difficult the crease is to pick out in the video.

Apple has made a big deal about the Duo’s inner display, using a precision hinge and a special nano-texture finish designed to minimise glare and make the crease less noticeable. 

From this particular angle, it certainly seems to be doing its job.

The display isn’t completely disappearing into the background — the lighting is doing some weird things here — but the actual fold line is remarkably difficult to spot.

And that’s probably the most interesting part of this little Emmy cameo.

We’ve spent months talking about the idea of Apple’s first foldable iPhone. Now we’re starting to see it actually being used by Apple executives in the real world.

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Ternus has a new favourite party trick

There is also something fitting about this being one of Ternus’s first big public appearances outside Apple Park.

He has spent his career on the hardware side of Apple, and now he’s CEO. His first major product launch was the company’s biggest iPhone redesign in years.

And rather than keeping the Duo locked away in a glass case, he’s apparently quite happy to pull one out and show people.

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The iPhone Duo isn’t even in stores yet, and John Ternus is already using it as a conversation starter at the Emmys.

Honestly, that’s a pretty good way to introduce Apple’s flagship new iPhone.