GoKawiilThe iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable, automatically adjusts its display to its orientation. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET
We may not want to pay $2,000 for it, or couldn’t spend that even if we wanted to, thanks to RAMaggedon-high prices, but there’s no doubt that the centerpiece of Apple’s primary iPhone launch this year was the foldable iPhone Duo. From a bread-and-butter perspective, though, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, despite a price increase, were the highlight of the “Surprise and Shine” event on Wednesday. Apple took the opportunity to raise the prices of much of the rest of the line, though.
Much of what we’re treated to during these launch events is a recap of the new capabilities of their operating systems, which have usually been available in beta since the developers conferences where they get announced.
For Apple, that means demonstrations of its updated iOS 27 and WatchOS 27, announced at WWDC in June, running on the new hardware. But we’ve been using the OSes for a while and don’t have to rely on passing demos during the hardware announcement: Here’s our experience with the beta and what to know about iOS 27 before you start using it, as well as our take on the new Siri in WatchOS.
On the upside, the memetic reaction to the Duo brought out the creative snarkers of social media.
Check out our complete coverage of Apple’s September 2026 iPhone launch and play-by-play commentary on the event in our archived live blog.
Preorders for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max and Watches start soon, and they ship a week later. The Duo is up for preorder starting and ships at the end of October. And don’t forget the cases.
John Ternus’ event debut as CEO
After the initial cinematic opening promoting the new variable-aperture camera on the iPhone 18 Pro and Max, Tim Cook delivered a clever, well-done segue into Ternus’ first Apple launch as CEO.
Ternus came up through product design, and it showed during the event. If memory serves, we were provided with more specific hardware information about chips, device builds, cooling systems and so on than in a lot of earlier launches. That might not appeal to everyone, but it’s the type of thing that keeps me awake as we head into the second hour of these things.
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