New Apple CEO John Ternus greeted customers in person at Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York as the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max went on sale, taking selfies and signing boxes for fans who had preordered the devices. It marked his first public product launch appearance since succeeding Tim Cook, continuing Apple's tradition of CEO-attended store openings.
WIRED's testing of the Apple Watch Ultra 4 found it shares nearly all core health and safety features with the new Series 12, thanks to the same Health Sensing System and S11 chip powering both devices. The Ultra 4 retains its multiday battery, Action button, and satellite messaging as its main distinctions, but pricing stays at $799 with no new case finishes this generation.
Apple's iOS 27 update introduces more than 20 new Apple Intelligence capabilities, with the centerpiece being a ground-up rebuild of Siri powered by large language models. The revamped assistant adds broad world knowledge, awareness of personal context across apps like Messages and Calendar, on-screen understanding, task execution within apps, a dedicated Siri app with iCloud-synced conversation history, AI-assisted writing tools, upgraded Visual Intelligence, and customizable expressive voices on supported hardware.
Apple has released a simulator for the rumored iPhone Duo device as part of its Xcode 27.1 beta rollout, giving developers early access to test apps against the new form factor. The release signals Apple is preparing its developer ecosystem ahead of an eventual hardware launch.
In an interview with TechRadar, Apple's new VP of Hardware Engineering Tom Marieb described the design choices behind iPhone Duo's foldable hinge and display. He said the matte, nano-textured screen was chosen partly to disguise crease visibility over time, while the hinge's torque was carefully tuned to feel solid, like a high-end car door, even when held half-open.
Apple has released Xcode 27.1 beta 1, the first developer tool that supports building apps for the upcoming foldable iPhone Duo. The beta includes a simulator so developers can preview how their apps behave on the device's larger folding display before it ships.
The September 18, 2026 episode of 9to5Mac Daily rounds up the day's Apple news, focusing on fresh details surrounding iOS 27 and the rumored dual-screen or dual-device iPhone Duo concept. The podcast, sponsored by task-management app Stuff, is distributed across major platforms including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn.
Apple has launched new Silicone and TechWoven MagSafe cases for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, priced at $49 and $59 respectively, in colors like Burgundy, Mulberry and Taupe. Third-party makers including ESR, Spigen, Nomad and Burton Goods have also released their own iPhone 18 Pro case collections, ranging from budget options starting at $14 to premium leather and stand-equipped designs.
iOS 27 introduces a bill-splitting feature in Apple Wallet that uses the iPhone camera and Apple Intelligence to scan receipts and calculate what each person owes, including tax and tip. The tool works across Messages, Wallet, and Visual Intelligence, with a new Siri camera mode able to identify receipt items and trigger a split-payment option automatically.
Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses are increasingly being nicknamed 'perv glasses' due to misuse by people secretly filming others in public, echoing the 'Glasshole' stigma that doomed Google Glass in 2014. The author says this backlash has changed their own stance, now favoring reports that Apple's rumored smart glasses, expected next year, might launch without photo or video recording capability.
With iPhone 18 Pro units now arriving to customers, retailers are running discounts across new cases, chargers, and cables alongside an existing $50 markdown on AirPods Pro 3. Amazon is also offering pre-order savings on the upcoming M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini lineup, plus a $320 cut on the entry 24GB M5 MacBook Pro.
Apple's newest lineup—iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and AirPods 5—hit store shelves and retailers worldwide today. CEO John Ternus marked the occasion by opening Apple's Fifth Avenue flagship in New York alongside retail chief Deirdre O'Brien and marketing head Greg Joswiak. Online orders for the new iPhones face multi-week delays, though in-store pickup is available in many locations.