Apple's new boss starts with big gamble on costly first folding iPhone

John Ternus has entered his second week as Apple's chief executive and the company has revealed the first major change to the iPhone since it was released almost 20 years ago.

Ternus, who took on Apple's top job after Tim Cook stepped down , was onstage on Wednesday at the company's annual product release event in front of huge images of the first foldable iPhone.

With a book-style format, the new iPhone, dubbed the Duo, is the largest ever size of the product. And with a starting price of $2,000 (£1,475) going up to $3,200, it is also the most expensive.

Ternus said the Duo was "inspired by the iPad" but called the folding features "fluid and completely intuitive."

The foldable phone has been a work-in-progress inside Apple for several years.

When unfolded, it has the look of a small iPad. When folded in half, it has the look of a wider iPhone.

Ternus said during the event that Apple wanted to avoid the look and feel of other foldable smart phones on the market, which he said "feel like two phones stuck together... making a larger screen feel much smaller."

The Duo, he said, is the "result of a series of remarkable innovations that we think will redefine the experience of using a foldable phone."