Apple CEO John Ternus says the iPhone Duo’s Kid Cue camera feature uses Snoopy and other Peanuts characters on the outer display to get kids to look at the lens. That’s according to TIME on YouTube, which today posted its full video interview with Ternus, filmed at Apple Park in Cupertino after this year’s iPhone keynote.
The nine-minute sit-down expands on the TIME Best Inventions profile from last week, where Ternus called rival foldables cheap and crappy. This time, viewers hear him walk through some of the smaller touches on Apple’s first foldable.
Asked to explain Kid Cue, Ternus pointed out that the Duo has displays and cameras on both sides. “We have Peanuts characters like Snoopy on the outside display. So, it’ll kind of capture your child’s attention while you’re taking a picture and get them to look at the camera,” he said. When the interviewer joked it might also work on her dog, Ternus replied, “I bet it would.”
He also said the project gave Apple room to “get clever and have fun,” since the team was building something very different from past iPhones. One example is the animation that plays when you unfold the phone to the inner screen. “That’s not a functional thing, but it’s something that just makes you feel good every time you see it,” he said.
On AI, Ternus repeated that Apple focuses on products rather than the technology itself, adding that people shouldn’t even need to know AI made something happen. He said Siri AI can tap into your personal context, “but nobody else can see it. Apple can’t even see it.” Siri AI runs on an Apple model that leverages Google’s Gemini technology, a point he has defended before when saying the assistant isn’t meant to be your friend.
Asked whether anything about AI scares him, Ternus didn’t go that far. “It’s a space that’s moving fast, and so when things are moving fast, it’s sometimes hard to predict the outcomes,” he said, adding that he feels good about keeping the user at the centre.
He also admitted Apple’s old Screen Time tools were “good, but not great” when he used them as a parent, and said the new child safety features make managing kids’ devices much easier.
Ternus, who races cars outside of work, also shared how that hobby started. His older brother bought a Datsun 240Z in college, and after Ternus graduated, the two got into motorsports together.
The iPhone Duo launches this Friday, October 23, starting at $2,999 in Canada, though it’s already sold out with some deliveries slipping into 2027. At that price, Snoopy had better work on toddlers and dogs alike. Apple’s display and durability choices are covered in our exec interview roundup.
Would Kid Cue actually get your kids (or pets) to look at the camera?
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