Apple held its annual Apple Event on Sept. 9, unveiling a new product lineup and marking new CEO John Ternus’ first major launch since succeeding Tim Cook.
The biggest announcement was the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable iPhone. When closed, the device has a 5.4-inch display, while opening it reveals a 7.6-inch display. Both displays have the same aspect ratio, allowing content to be scaled proportionally. Unlike the typical glossy screen, the Duo features a matte finish to reduce crease visibility and reflections.
“iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original. With an entirely new design and intuitive experiences, it shows what’s possible when hardware and software are engineered together and redefines what it means to use a foldable phone,” Ternus said.
The foldable iPhone also introduces multitasking capabilities. When opened, users can run two apps side by side through Split View, similar to a tablet.
The Duo supports the Apple Pencil (USB-C), and Touch ID is implemented through the side button.
“With the largest display ever on iPhone that still fits easily in your pocket, combined with the power of A20 Pro, iPhone Duo helps you stay more immersed and productive wherever you go, whether you’re enjoying content, multitasking across apps, or gaming,” Ternus continued.
The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, making it Apple’s most expensive phone. Apple enters the foldable phone market, where companies such as Samsung and Google have already established products.
Apple also announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, featuring the new A20 Pro chip, upgraded camera system and battery life. Both run on the A20 Pro chip, which is designed to improve performance and artificial intelligence features, including Siri AI.
The new Siri is designed to understand personal context and can help across apps such as messages and emails.
It can interpret the content on the phone screen and act based on that information.
Battery life has increased, with the iPhone 18 Pro providing up to 36 hours of battery, and the Pro Max offering up to 45 hours. Both phones have faster wired charging at about 50% charge in 15 minutes.
Additionally, both models have a new 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera with a variable aperture, which allows the camera to adjust how much light enters the lens. The camera app will add Pro Controls, granting users the ability to manually adjust settings such as shutter speed and white balance. These features give more control over photos without a separate professional camera app.
“We’ve made advancements to the areas our users care about most: camera, performance, battery and intelligence,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said. “Paired with impactful upgrades to Photographic Styles and powerful video capabilities, iPhone 18 Pro unlocks entirely new ways for users to express themselves.”
The company also unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. Both feature a new Health Sensing System for more accurate heart rate measurements and advanced health and fitness features. Siri AI comes to both watches, along with a new Audio Intelligence feature that can record conversations.
The Series 12 offers up to 24 hours of everyday battery life, with faster charging at about 12 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes of charging, while the Ultra 4 provides up to 50 hours of battery life.
For audio, Apple introduced AirPods 5, featuring an open-ear design and active noise cancellation. ANC can reduce up to 50% more external noise than AirPods 4.
The Conversation Awareness feature can lower the volume when users begin speaking, allowing them to have conversations without removing the AirPods.
Users can also change the volume by swiping up or down on the stem for the AirPods. Additionally, users can respond to Siri with head gestures and Live Translation allows conversations in different languages to be translated and played through the airpods.
Apple’s latest products signal a shift toward more advanced devices while continuing to build on its existing product lineup.
