Ahead of Apple's expected launch event, new reports detail final specifications for the rumored foldable iPhone Ultra. Bloomberg says Apple raised its target starting price from $1,999 to about $2,199 due to component costs, with top storage models potentially nearing $3,000, while leaks point to Touch ID instead of Face ID, MagSafe support, and a reduced but still visible hinge crease. The device is also expected to launch later in China than elsewhere because of its eSIM-only design.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple's long-rumored foldable phone will be called the iPhone Duo rather than the previously rumored iPhone Ultra. The device is said to start at $2,000 for 256GB storage and reach about $3,000 for 2TB, shipping as early as October in white and dark blue.
Apple's September 9 event, dubbed 'Surprise and shine,' will mark John Ternus's debut as company head following Tim Cook's move to executive chairman. Analysts widely expect Apple to finally unveil its long-rumored foldable iPhone at the Cupertino event, set for 1PM ET/10AM PT.
Ahead of its 'Surprise and Shine' event, Apple has quietly added nearly 40 hardware identifiers to its backend systems, covering iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watches, Apple TV, and a HomeAccessory category. Notably, seven iPhone identifiers appeared even though only six models are currently expected in the iPhone 18 lineup, suggesting either an unannounced variant or a surprise new device.
Apple's iOS 27 update expands the Clean Up feature in the Photos app with a new Auto control that lets users choose between two processing modes. A Fast mode uses a smaller AI model for quick edits like removing background clutter, while a High Quality mode uses more advanced AI for complex scenes, such as removing multiple people from a photo, at the cost of speed and battery life.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced plans to introduce legislation forcing Apple and Google to build device-level safeguards preventing children from taking, sharing, or viewing nude images on phones and tablets. The move comes after a three-month voluntary compliance deadline given in June, which Nandy says produced only partial improvements from the companies.
TrendForce reports Apple's smartphone production rose 14% year-over-year to about 52 million units in Q2 2026, giving it a 19% global share behind only Samsung's 62 million units. The overall global smartphone market fell 8% to 275 million units, a smaller drop than analysts had expected, prompting TrendForce to raise its full-year 2026 forecast to 1.07 billion units.
Some iOS users reported that Nest camera and doorbell alerts stopped appearing on their iPhones over the past several days, even though the app still logged the events when opened manually. Google has confirmed it identified the cause and deployed a fix, apologizing for the delayed communication about the issue.
Meta AI has released Muse, a new personal AI agent available as an iPhone app and through the web at muse.ai for Mac users. The app lets users customize their agent's name and avatar, and offers free access with weekly usage limits, while paid subscribers get expanded access. Muse is currently limited to the US, with plans to expand to more countries over time.
Panic will livestream its Playdate Update Showcase on Wednesday, September 9 at 12PM ET, just one hour before Apple's iPhone event, revealing Season 3's games and release date. The announcement came only 23 hours ahead of the stream, following the pattern of Season 2, which launched in May 2025 with six weeks of weekly game drops for $39 and sold over 15,000 copies.
Apple will hold its annual iPhone launch event on September 9 at 10 AM PDT, streamed live on YouTube and Apple's events site. The event is widely anticipated to introduce Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Ultra, alongside new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models, with the standard iPhone 18 expected next year. Apple may also reveal updated HomePods, camera-equipped AirPods, and new Apple Watches.
Apple released iOS 26.6.2 for iPhone and the matching iPadOS 26.6.2 for iPad, a minor patch addressing a bug that blocked downloading software updates over cellular data. The update is available now through Settings' Software Update screen, arriving just days before Apple's expected release of iOS 27.
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