New Apple CEO John Ternus welcomed buyers of the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max to the company’s flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York on Friday, and it’s likely to be just the first of several major product launches for the former hardware lead’s first year in the top job.
Dressed in a dark gray shirt and blue jeans, Ternus immediately took to taking selfies, giving handshakes and signing phone boxes for the hundreds of fans who chose to preorder the new iPhone or Apple Watch.
Ternus, formerly Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, took a casual and personable approach to the launch — even gently laughing as one excited Apple fan accidentally dropped his iPhone 17 Pro Max onto the concrete while walking into the store.
“It’s fine, it’s got a little ding, no crack, thank you, Ceramic Shield,” Dallen Frutchey, 18, from Virginia, said about the accidental drop just ahead of moving his data to his new iPhone 18 Pro Max. This is his fourth time attending one of Apple’s Fifth Avenue store openings, where he had met prior CEO Tim Cook a number of times. At today’s event, he got a selfie with Ternus just before the phone drop.
“I’m excited to have someone who is down in the details with the products working on things now,” Frutchey said, wearing a blue sweater that matched his new glacier blue phone.
Dallen Frutchey, 18, with his new iPhone 18 Pro Max in glacier blue.Mike Sorrentino/CNET
The very first person to come out of the Apple store — Harry Sun, 21, from New Jersey — walked out with a burgundy phone while wearing a Believe pin from the Apple TV show Ted Lasso. Eric Morgan, the second person in line, came all the way from Guatemala. He was buying several phones for his family, who also made the trip but were staying at their hotel, away from the iPhone launch-day madness.
Harry Sun, 21, was the first person to walk out of Apple’s Fifth Avenue store with a new iPhone in hand.Bridget Carey/CNET
The glacier blue hue appeared to be an early crowd favorite at this store, and Apple’s flagship location had a number of visible changes to mark the occasion. The outside of the store had a color blend of burgundy along with that shade of blue — giving no love to the more traditional silver and black color variants that are also available for the 18 Pro and Pro Max.
Apple decorated the entrance to its Fifth Avenue store for the launch.Mike Sorrentino/CNET
Inside, the Apple store took on more of a party vibe as it filled with the crowds that had been waiting outside. A DJ booth spinning Lady Gaga songs blasted in front of a large blue carpet area that served as a showroom for the new phones, as well as the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.
The blue carpet showroom area for Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro phones, Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 and the AirPods 5.Mike Sorrentino/CNET
At the opposite end of the store, without many passersby, a small photography exhibit featuring photos taken on the iPhone 18 Pro was on display in an area that formerly served as the Apple HomePod demo area. We will see over the next few months whether new products will take over that real estate, since today’s event also marks a shift in how Apple conducts its iPhone launches.
Apple has a photography exhibition spotlighting images taken on the iPhone 18 Pro at its Fifth Avenue store.Mike Sorrentino/CNET
Apple’s set to do at least one more store launch like this when the iPhone Duo goes on sale on Oct. 23 — marking the company’s first entry into the foldable phone space. It’s also rumored to be launching a number of new home entertainment products, with the decreased floor space for the HomePod possibly hinting at a relaunch of the speaker now that the new Siri AI assistant is rolling out to the iPhone 15 Pro and later.
And that’s not to mention the rumors hinting that a non-Pro iPhone 18 and an iPhone Air sequel may be set up for a spring launch, anchoring what could be a new annual launch event early in the year to contrast with premium phones coming later in Apple’s typical September window.
Apple’s current lineup consists of (left to right) the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Not pictured but also available are the iPhone 17E and iPhone 16.Mike Sorrentino/CNET
So while this is the first iPhone launch under Ternus, it’s likely that several more of these are to come over the next year.
Bridget Carey contributed to this story.
Mike Sorrentino
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