GoKawiilApple’s “Surprise and Shine” event has officially wrapped, and all of the answers for the CNET Group’s Big Guessing Game are in.
The contest was held across CNET, Lifehacker, Mashable, PCMag and ZDNET. In three rounds, readers predicted what Apple would unveil this year. Each correct answer earned one chance in a drawing to win the latest Apple Watch. Here’s a rundown of all the answers we learned on Wednesday and a recap of the first and second rounds.
Tim Cook and John Ternus didn’t appear at the ‘Surprise and Shine’ event together
Most (71%) contest participants expected Apple’s new CEO John Ternus and former CEO Tim Cook to appear together at the event, but they didn’t.
Instead, Cook opened the event with the introductory video shot on an iPhone, then passed the scene to Ternus saying, “That’s your guy. That’s your opener.” Then Ternus appeared and kicked off the event.
Wednesday marked Ternus’ first Apple event as the company’s CEO. Cook has become the company’s executive chair.
Apple unveiled two new iPhone models
Half of CNET’s respondents (50%) expected three new iPhone models, but Apple unveiled two — the iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max and the foldable iPhone Duo.
That lineup indicates the possibility of a split launch, where we see more models in the iPhone 18 series lineup announced in the coming months and early 2027, when we could see the iPhone 18 base model.
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the 18 Pro Max at $1,299. Both are available for preorder starting today.
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