John Ternus steps into one of tech’s biggest roles this week and he is wasting no time making his presence felt. Apple’s newly appointed chief executive is set to unveil his opening lineup on Wednesday, anchored by something the iPhone’s two-decade history has never seen: a foldable handset with a price tag above two thousand dollars.

It is quite the debut. Ternus spent years heading Apple’s hardware division and the foldable iPhone is, in many respects, a product he shepherded himself. The device has reportedly been in development for at least eight years, meaning the man now standing at the front of the room is also the engineer who quietly built what he is about to sell. This puts Wednesday, as the date Ternus presents the new lineup publicly for the first time as chief executive.

So who is John Ternus? Within Apple, he is well regarded and long established, having worked his way up through the company’s engineering ranks over two decades. Outside it, he remains relatively unfamiliar to the general public, certainly compared with the figures who previously held the top job. Wednesday changes that, ready or not.

The foldable iPhone brings two challenges at once. It introduces a new physical form factor to a customer base that has grown comfortable with the standard slab design. It also pushes Apple into pricing territory that even loyal fans will scrutinise carefully. Convincing enough people that a folding screen justifies a four-figure premium is the kind of commercial test that does not come with a soft landing.

Rivals and analysts will be watching just as closely as consumers. Samsung and others have spent years building out the foldable category and Apple’s entry, whenever it eventually arrives on shelves, will reset expectations for what the segment can command at the high end. For Ternus, the product is personal in a way that is unusual even for a chief executive. He built it. Now he has to sell it.