TIME Best Inventions 2026: Why did new Apple CEO John Ternus land cover alongside iPhone Duo?
Apple’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, John Ternus, has made it to the cover of TIME magazine's annual Best Inventions of 2026 issue.
Featuring an exclusive interview, the publication highlighted the launch of the highly anticipated foldable iPhone Duo and delved into Ternus's strategic vision for steering the tech behemoth into its next 50 years.
TIME's decision to prominently feature Ternus highlighted the significance of Apple's leadership transition during a critical period of hardware innovation.
The recognition came just weeks after Ternus succeeded Tim Cook in September, marking a generational shift for a company navigating intense competition in artificial intelligence, smartphones, and emerging computing platforms.
Crucially, the cover story highlighted a deep, historical connection between the new CEO and Apple's leap into foldable technology.
Approximately 15 years ago, Ternus was named as an inventor on an early Apple patent application covering foldable electronic devices. This engineering background provided the historical context for the iPhone Duo, which TIME viewed as an early symbol of his engineering-oriented approach to Apple’s next chapter.
For investors, the broader narrative was whether Ternus can translate this hardware expertise into dominant market leadership in AI and future computing.
The publication evaluated candidates globally based on originality, effectiveness, ambition, and potential impact. This year's unranked innovation issue recognises 300 breakthrough inventions and 100 special mentions across consumer electronics, medical technology, renewable energy, and AI.
Here are 10 notable inventions highlighted in the 2026 collection:
- Apple iPhone Duo: Apple's first book-style foldable device, expanding the iPhone's capabilities by merging smartphone portability with a larger display.
- Anthropic Claude Code: An AI-powered software engineering tool built to automate substantial portions of development workflows.
- Google SynthID: A technology addressing digital authenticity by helping identify AI-generated content.
- Lovable: An AI application development platform that enables users without programming experience to create software.
- NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: A next-generation observatory designed to study dark energy, distant galaxies, and exoplanets.
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: A flagship smartphone recognised by TIME for its privacy-focused approach to mobile technology.
- Framework Laptop 13 Pro: A professional notebook designed around component replacement and repairability over disposable hardware.
- OneCourt: A tactile tablet allowing visually impaired sports fans to experience and follow sporting events through touch.
- Meta Omnilingual ASR: An artificial intelligence system built to expand the accessibility of speech transcription across a wider variety of languages.
- Johnson & Johnson ICOTYDE: An innovative oral peptide treatment developed for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
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