Apple used its “Surprise and Shine” event on Wednesday to introduce the iPhone Duo, the company’s first foldable smartphone, alongside an updated iPhone 18 Pro lineup, new Apple Watch models, refreshed AirPods and a redesigned Health app. It was also the first major product showcase led by John Ternus in his new role as Apple’s chief executive.
The iPhone Duo: Apple’s Long-Awaited Foldable
The iPhone Duo opens into a 7.6-inch inner display and folds shut to a 5.4-inch outer screen, both using Super Retina XDR panels with ProMotion and Always-On capability. Apple said the outer display preserves about 90 percent of the iPhone 18 Pro’s screen area, while the inner display is 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s.
Unfolded, Apple says the Duo is the thinnest iPhone the company has ever made. Its enclosure is built from grade 5 titanium, with a hinge assembled from more than 100 specially engineered components designed for smooth, consistent opening and closing. A nano-texture finish on the inner display is intended to cut glare and hide crease lines.
Powering the device is Apple’s new A20 Pro chip, built on a 2-nanometer process and paired with a custom vapor chamber cooling system. Apple says this setup delivers up to 35 percent better sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro, aimed at handling multitasking, gaming and on-device AI workloads. The phone also introduces Apple’s new C2 modem and N1 wireless chip, and it ships as an eSIM-only device worldwide.
On the camera side, the Duo uses a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera with a built-in 2x optical-quality telephoto, plus a 48-megapixel Fusion Ultra Wide camera for wider shots and macro photography. The foldable form factor also enables features like Duo Preview, which lets a subject check their framing on the outer screen, and Duo FaceTime, which lets a second person join a call using the outer display.
Battery life is rated at up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display, 44 hours on the outer display, or up to 24 hours when both are used evenly, thanks to a dual-battery design that Apple says operates as a single unit.
The iPhone Duo comes in Star White and Night Sky and starts at $1,999 for 256GB, scaling up to a 2TB option — a capacity not offered on rival foldables from Samsung or Google, according to Reuters. Apple is also offering a leasing option through Klarna starting at roughly $58 a month over 24 months. Preorders open October 16, with sales beginning October 23 in more than 70 countries, expanding to 28 additional markets on October 30.
iPhone 18 Pro Gets a Camera Overhaul — and a Price Increase
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max keep the same overall design as their predecessors but bring a significantly reworked camera system. The new 48-megapixel main sensor includes a six-blade variable aperture meant to improve low-light shots and shooting speed, along with new manual-style Pro controls for white balance, shutter speed, aperture and histogram readouts. New “Photographic Styles” add finer control over texture and grain, and the camera can shoot 4K video in Dolby Vision HDR with cinematic effects applied after recording.
Pricing rose by $100 across the lineup: the iPhone 18 Pro now starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299. Reuters attributed the increase to rising memory chip costs industry-wide. Preorders open Saturday, September 12, with devices arriving September 18.
Apple Watch, AirPods and an “Always-Listening” Push
The Apple Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4 didn’t get a major hardware redesign, but Apple loaded them with new software features. A “Sound Recognition” tool can detect sirens, alarms, doorbells and a crying baby, aimed at users who are hard of hearing. New “Audio Intelligence” tools include Live Rewind, which replays the previous 15 seconds of a conversation as text, and Siri Recap, designed to summarize key takeaways from things like meetings.
The Series 12 starts at $399. Reports on the Ultra 4’s starting price differed — some coverage listed it at $499, while Reuters reported a $799 starting price — so buyers should confirm current pricing directly with Apple. Both watches begin shipping September 18, with preorders open now.
Apple’s AirPods 5 bring active noise cancellation to the company’s entry-level earbuds for the first time, cutting background noise by about 50 percent more than the prior generation, according to Apple. They also add stem-based volume control, a feature previously reserved for AirPods Pro, and an improved Transparency mode. The earbuds offer up to five hours of ANC listening per charge and 22 hours total with the case. AirPods 5 start at $129, or $149 with a wireless charging case, with availability beginning September 18.
Apple also refreshed its Health app, adding an Insights tab, a “Readiness” score, a calculated “Health Age” and a new Longevity tab that draws on Apple Watch and iPhone data to assess sleep, movement and heart health. The redesign rolls out later this year, starting in U.S. English.
Siri AI and a Privacy-First Pitch
Much of the event centered on Apple’s next-generation Siri, internally branded “Siri AI,” which Apple says can understand personal context, act on what’s shown on a user’s screen, and answer open-ended questions using both on-device processing and Apple’s Private Cloud Compute system for heavier tasks. Reuters reported the new Siri will work with more than 300,000 apps at launch.
Apple also introduced an “Apple Reference Image” authentication standard and added support for the SynthID watermarking system to help identify AI-generated or edited images — though Reuters noted these tools won’t be available in the European Union or China at launch.
Siri AI begins rolling out as a beta with iOS 27 on September 14, initially in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish support expected in October.
A New Chapter Under CEO John Ternus
Wednesday’s event marked Ternus’s first fall product showcase since taking over as Apple’s chief executive, a leadership transition that framed much of the day’s coverage. In his opening remarks, Ternus described the Duo as “the most transformational change to iPhone since the original,” positioning the foldable as a signal of how he intends to steer Apple’s product strategy going forward, particularly on AI.
A Viral Moment at Cupertino
Amid the product reveals, one unscripted moment drew outsized attention online. Streamer IShowSpeed met Ternus in person at Apple’s Cupertino campus and was handed an iPhone Duo to try out, reacting with his signature bark and calling the device “amazing” before asking Ternus outright, “Can I get an iPhone Duo?” The two posed for a selfie, and clips of the exchange circulated widely on social media following the event.
It wasn’t Speed’s first interaction with Apple — he has previously partnered with the company on a Beats campaign, and during an Africa livestream tour he gave a blind child in Morocco an iPhone 17 Pro to use its accessibility features.
What Happens Next
Apple Intelligence features tied to iOS 27 arrive September 14 for supported devices and languages. The iPhone 18 Pro line, Apple Watch Series 12, Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 go on sale September 18, while the iPhone Duo follows with an October 16 preorder window and an October 23 launch. Apple has not detailed pricing or availability for markets outside the more than 70 countries and regions confirmed for the initial rollout.
