Analysts split on Apple after foldable iPhone Duo debut

Investing.com -- Analysts offered a mixed verdict on Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event, where new chief executive John Ternus unveiled the company's first foldable iPhone, the Duo, priced at $1,999.

Citi kept a Buy rating and $365 price target on Apple, calling the Duo the “biggest new hardware category” since the Apple Watch and AirPods.

It noted Apple's fall lineup, which pairs the foldable with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, is heavily skewed toward premium devices, and said the new Siri AI was the most important software announcement as Apple moves toward an AI agent built into iOS 27.

Goldman Sachs, which also has a Buy rating on Apple, was constructive, saying the decision to split the iPhone 18 launch should support average selling price growth, aided by $100 price increases on the Pro models and a new 2-terabyte storage tier.

Others were more guarded. Oppenheimer reiterated a Perform rating, expecting the Duo to become "the most successful foldable phone on the market" but cautioning that supply is likely limited to 8 million to 10 million units this year.

Needham's Laura Martin kept a Hold rating on Apple, arguing a bigger screen does not solve Apple's deeper problems.

She praised Ternus's take-charge style, saying Apple needs a "wartime CEO" amid agentic AI disruption, but worried the lack of low-end iPhones until spring threatens near-term unit sales and that the company's AI integration felt "too little, too late."

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