Six weeks into the job, Apple’s new CEO is already on a magazine cover. TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 list is out, and John Ternus and the iPhone Duo are front and center. The TIME Best Inventions 2026 cover is a big moment for the new boss. If you missed his first day as Apple CEO, it was quite the handoff from Tim Cook.
I’ll say it: that’s a pretty good first-month résumé item.
What TIME actually put on the TIME Best Inventions 2026 list
This year’s collection runs 300 inventions, plus 100 special mentions. Per a rundown from Nexstar’s review team, entries come from TIME editors, correspondents and outside applicants. Then judges weigh originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.
The cover story leads TIME’s consumer electronics section under the title “John Ternus Is Engineering a New Era for Apple.” TIME’s Andrew Chow did the interview, MacTech reports. The profile draws on two September interviews.
The foldable that took a decade
Ternus became Apple’s CEO on Sept. 1. About eight days later, he stood at Apple Park and unveiled the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable. It starts at $1,999.
That price is not subtle. Neither is the engineering. The Duo uses a custom polymer display surface, and its hinge packs more than 100 precision components, according to iClarified’s read of the TIME interview. The matte finish makes the crease harder to spot. Even so, it does not make it vanish.
Apple is also very late to this party. Ternus reportedly worked on early foldable concepts as far back as 2011, 9to5Mac notes. Nearly a decade of rival foldables came and went first.
He apparently has opinions about them. Headlines quote him calling earlier models “cheap and crappy.” Ouch.
He also admitted the night before launch got a little wild. He told TIME he was riding “adrenaline and caffeine and excitement” ahead of the reveal.
Best inventions of 2026: it’s not just Apple
Before anyone assumes this is an Apple press tour, look at the rest of the list. TIME calls the GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS the smallest 8K cinema camera available, and GoPro’s first with a Micro Four Thirds mount.
Samsung and LG landed spots too. Per Korea Daily, Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra, Bespoke AI Family Hub Refrigerator and Odyssey G8 made it, along with LG’s Signature OLED W. Yes, even a fridge got an invention trophy.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on the list as well, NASA announced. A telescope getting the nod is one thing we can all agree on.
The smaller entries are fun too. Walking app WeWard says its Walking Mode is on the list, according to a company release. It calls the nod “an incredible honor” and says it passed 5 million U.S. users this year. That’s WeWard’s own claim, so take it as such.
Sneaker nerds get a headliner too. TIME says the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 weighs just 97 grams, and Sabastian Sawe wore it for a 1:59:30 marathon in London in April.
What to watch after TIME’s 2026 inventions list
Here’s the thing: a cover is nice, but a $1,999 price tag is where this gets real for your wallet. Apple’s cover moment arrives with some homework attached.
TIME’s profile notes critics who say Apple trails the AI frontier, even though it trains its own models. A shiny foldable doesn’t answer that on its own. Apple’s $299 HomeView smart home hub will test how far Siri has come.
Still, the cover gives Ternus a strong opening act. The harder part comes next: getting people to pay $1,999 for a phone that folds. Pre-orders are reportedly close in some overseas markets. However, Apple has not confirmed a U.S. on-sale date in anything I’ve seen, so keep an eye on Apple’s site. Investors will also be watching, since Q3 earnings season is already underway.
One cover does not make a legacy. But it beats a Monday-morning shareholder letter.
