WIRED's review of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max highlights strong multi-day battery life, especially on the larger Pro Max, along with a significant performance jump from the new A20 Pro chip. The devices can run demanding console ports like Control, aided by a vapor chamber with triple the surface area for cooling. The phones also ship with iOS 27 and an upgraded Siri AI that remains less capable than rival assistants.
Filmmaker Todd Vaziri posted a video comparing Apple's 2026 keynote opener to scenes from the James Bond film Skyfall, pointing out matching camera angles and framing used to introduce Tim Cook and new CEO John Ternus. He also noted a gunbarrel-style sequence referencing the iPhone 18 Pro's variable aperture camera.
According to a blogger tracking Chinese social media chatter, Samsung is moving up the release of its Galaxy Z Trifold 2, seemingly in reaction to Apple's incoming iPhone Duo. The move comes despite the original trifold device's lackluster commercial performance, and the new model is expected to carry a similar price tag.
CNET is revisiting its original 2007 review of the first iPhone, written by Kent German and Donald Bell, as Apple prepares to launch the foldable iPhone Duo starting at $2,000. The original review praised the iPhone's design but criticized its missing features, slow EDGE network, and $499 price tag, which required a two-year AT&T contract.
WIRED has released a dedicated mobile app for iPhone and Android, available as a free download. The app bundles a personalized daily digest, video content, podcasts, narrated stories, and a comment section for reader discussion and live AMAs with journalists.
T-Mobile has become the first US carrier to support Apple's new iPhone Handoff feature in iOS 27, which lets one phone number work across two iPhones by activating service on whichever device is unlocked, syncing texts, calls, voicemail and Find My location. T-Mobile is charging $5 a month for the feature, which requires carrier-level eSIM configuration on both devices. Verizon plans to add support by year's end, while AT&T has not committed to offering it.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max launched alongside the more radical foldable iPhone Duo, arriving next month, but the Pro models are largely incremental. They share the same case design as the iPhone 17 Pro and use a new A20 Pro chip with improved thermal management for sustained performance, while the standout hardware change is a moving aperture in the main camera that adjusts how much light reaches the sensor.
Apple's iOS 27 update, released September 14, includes an AI-powered Siri but does not activate it automatically. Users must join a waitlist through Settings to try the new assistant, and can revert to the classic Siri at any time.
Samsung launched its Switchers ad campaign this week, using real-life celebrity couples and clinical psychologist Orna Guralnik from Showtime's Couples Therapy to frame switching from iPhone to Android as an emotional decision. The six 30-second spots feature pairs like Ciara Miller and Dylan Efron, and Nick Foles and Clay Matthews, and promote Samsung's newest Galaxy Z foldables. The campaign debuted just days after Apple unveiled its own foldable iPhone, the Duo.
Apple published a Security Research blog post explaining how its new Reference Image camera feature, launching on the iPhone 18 Pro, verifies that photos are authentic from the moment they're captured. The system creates a secure digital negative with signed metadata and timestamps inside Apple's Private Cloud Compute environment, and uses a sensor-level trust chain with revocation lists to flag compromised hardware or fraudulent images.
India's Central Consumer Protection Authority has sent its investigation into the 2024 iOS 18 update to a specialized probe unit, examining claims that the update caused screen discoloration and microphone faults on iPhones, leaving owners to pay for repairs since software isn't covered under warranty. Apple denies wrongdoing, calling the 75 complaints insufficient to prove a systemic flaw and arguing it shouldn't be treated as an insurer for all software-related risk.
Leaker Lanzuk reports that Samsung is accelerating development of its next tri-fold phone, potentially moving the launch up to late 2026 or early 2027 from a previously expected late 2027 release. The move follows Apple's reveal of the iPhone Duo and strong early sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 lineup, with Samsung reportedly aiming to keep pricing close to the original TriFold's $2,900 tag despite rising component costs.
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