Apple event recap: CEO John Ternus reveals new iPhone 18 Pro and first foldable device

Apple wraps up its September hardware event after giving the final details for the foldable iPhone Duo, which CEO John Ternus introduced using Steve Jobs’ famous “one more thing” line. Apple’s stock is trading down 1% as the livestream concludes.

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You’ll have to be a bit patient for the Duo. Apple will make the foldable iPhone available to preorder on Friday, October 16, and it launches on Friday, October 23. It will cost $1,999 for the base storage.

Apple shows two new accessories for its foldable phone. First, there is a small kickstand to prop the unfolded phone up. There is also a case that protects the edges of the folded.

Apple removed the SIM card slot to free up space for batteries. Since the iPhone 14, US models have been eSIM-only.

The iPhone Duo uses Apple’s 48 megapixel Fusion Ultra Wide camera, which is one of the same cameras found in the iPhone 18 Pro. (The iPhone 18 Pro includes a beefier overall camera system though.)

Apple’s new foldable phone, however, has another “FaceTime camera” which is visible upon opening the phone.

“iPhone Duo gives you fun new ways to use the camera that simply aren’t possible on any other iPhone,” Apple says. “With just a tap, iPhone Duo can become your personal photographer.”

Apple says there are two batteries powering the Duo. Users will get up to 44 hours of usability if they only use the outer display, and up to 31 hours of video playback when using the inner screens.

Foldable phones have long suffered from a visible crease down the middle when unfolded. But the goal is for the screen to look even and flat, without visible blemish. To improve on this issue, Apple developed a custom texture that creates a “flat matte surface” when opened. It’s made from a custom polymer and has a special coating for scratch resistance.

One of the many possible uses of the iPhone Duo is as a clock, Apple says.

In the launch video, a person sets up the foldable phone on a bedside table, and it turns into a clock.

“iPhone Duo can transform into a delightful bedside clock with the ability to wake you up with a gentle glow, timed perfectly with your alarm,” Apple says.

Apple’s first foldable phone will be available in Star White and Night Sky.

Users will be able to unlock the foldable iPhone Duo by pressing a finger onto the side of the device.

“Essential controls are on the side to free up vertical space for content,” Apple says.

Apple’s iPhone Duo, the highly anticipated folding phone, is roughly analogous to an iPad in size when unfolded, and a passport or small booklet when closed.

“We wanted the experience of using iPhone Duo to feel uninterrupted,” Apple says. “With two screens, the transition between open and closed had to be fluid and completely intuitive.”

Here’s how it looks when folded up, and what the software looks like on that front screen:

Say hello to the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first-ever foldable phone.

John Ternus starts by saying he isn’t impressed by other foldable phones. In unveiling Apple’s long-awaited entry into foldable phones, Tenus had some harsh words for those who got a head start.

“Others have created foldables that just feel like two phones stuck together,” he said.

We’ve seen:

• iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
• New AirPods 5
• Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4

Apple introduces “Siri recap,” a feature that uses “ambient listening” to take high-level notes of your conversations.

The feature gives a user recaps of their conversations. It can be turned off and on at any time via the control system.

“Privacy is protected at every step. These audio intelligence features do not create or store audio recordings,” Apple says. “The raw audio used for processing is completely inaccessible, even to Apple.”

Apple says it will be available in a beta version later this year.

The new Apple Watch will allow users to rewind conversations by up to 15 seconds, part of a suite of audio intelligence tools.

Additionally, the Apple Watch will be able to recognize sounds like a doorbell, a baby crying, or sirens.

Apple says it’s releasing a new assessment tool. It will ask users to jog in place with a coach, as shown on the iPhone, and give users tips for better form. The speed will speed up throughout the test.

Apple says it developed a new system that will take reams of data and tell a user their “health age.”

Apple says the number is “a simple way to discover how key health metrics align with your actual age.”

Your Apple Watch can now judge how hard you should push. A new “readiness” score will analyze recent activity, vitals, and sleep to give a “clear call on your body’s capacity to take on the day,” Apple says.

The score also updates during the day, and is viewable both on the Apple Watch and the iPhone Fitness app.

Apple says its new watches take “health and fitness to the next level” with a new sensor system.

The systems monitor a wearer’s heart rate all day. “Background heart rate readings are now taken every five seconds all day long, even while you’re on the go,” Apple says.

Next up is the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, which include new Health-focused features.

The company says the new Apple Watch sensors sit closer to the skin, even during workouts, and will now monitor your heart rate variability, or HRV.

Apple says its new Airpods 5 have standardized live translation, an innovation which first launched last year.

In the launch video, the AirPods worn by an actor translate someone speaking Spanish.

AirPods 5 have a “new acoustic architecture and advanced computational audio,” Apple announces. They will feature Apple’s classic open ear fit while upgrading the audio. They will cost $129 for the standard charging case, and $149 with the wireless charging case.

The AirPods 5 are also getting a volume swipe slider on the side to more easily control how loud your music or podcasts play.

Apple is talking about the success of its AirPods Pro models, but it sounds like we’re getting a new model of regular AirPods today.

Kaiann Drance, the vice president of iPhone marketing, says iOS 27 has more child-safety features.

The features give parents “more flexible ways to manage what kids can see, who they can talk to, and when they have access,” Drance says.

Let’s face it: AI slop images are everywhere. Apple wants you to know whether images are generated or edited with AI.

Apple’s Maryam Azimi announced a reference image system that can help verify whether a photo was taken with an iPhone 18 Pro. The camera holds an image that lives with the “regular, editable photo.” She compared it to having a “digital negative” that users can compare against the original image.

Speaking at a Hollywood set, Kaiann Drance, the vice president of iPhone marketing, says variable aperture is coming to the iPhone.

“We’re introducing our biggest camera improvement in years, making stunning shots easy for everyone and adding new levels of creativity,” Drance says.

Aperture settings control how much light enters a camera. Drance says, “This is the most advanced camera we’ve ever made.”

The aperture system uses six laser-cut blades, Drance says.

You can worry a bit less about your phone dying. Apple hypes up the battery life of its new iPhone 18 Pro. The phone will have up to 24 hours per charge, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have up to 30 hours per charge.

The iPhone 18 Pro also supports 50% charge in about 15 minutes.

While Apple boasts its new Siri updates, not everyone will get it at once. Siri AI is rolling out in beta for English speakers and will expand to French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish in October.

Some Siri features will also have usage limits if they rely on powerful large language models.

Apple says users can customize Siri’s voice to new levels of personalization.

In addition to the traditional accents, Apple unveils two new customization sliders: pace and expressivity.

Apple says the on-device model “also enables more accurate system-wide dictation, making it easy for you to get punctuation, spelling, and capitalization just right.”

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will be able to run Apple’s most advanced on-device AI model. As Apple previously announced, Apple is launching its overhauled Siri with a dedicated app.

Introducing the new iPhone 18 Pro, Ternus lists colors like deep black and silver. There’s also a “fresh new color” called glacier, he says.

Plus, there’s the “sophisticated and unique” new addition, Ternus says: burgundy.

It looks like…an iPhone! Ternus reveals the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models. There are new colors, and the underlying computer chip technology will enhance photos and the new Siri AI, Apple says.

In what appeared to be a dig at AI labs, Apple’s CEO says that “others see that data as something to collect and store.”

“They move it to their servers and ask you to trust them,” he adds.

Ternus says that Apple intelligence instead stores data on individual devices when it can.

“When greater capability is needed, private cloud compute extends that same level of privacy protection, ensuring that nobody, not even Apple, can access what’s yours,” he says.

The Apple CEO says the iPhone is the perfect medium to achieve what he calls an “intelligent personal hub.”

His comments come as the world eagerly awaits OpenAI’s entry into the AI hardware space later this year.

We finally see Tim Cook in the prerecorded video, smiling. “No, no, no! Not me,” he says. “That’s your guy. That’s your opening shot.”

John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO, appears to begin the keynote.

Apple’s event begins with several action shots imagining possible openings to the event. Characters in the scenes say that each one should be the beginning scene.

Apple shifted years ago from live keynote addresses (which run the risk of embarrassing demo fails) to pre-recorded keynotes. Apple, however, still hosts journalists and influencers at Apple Park, its Cupertino, California HQ. While Apple’s CEO typically greets attendees, who will watch the livestream from the Steve Jobs Theater on campus, we’re minutes away from seeing if new CEO John Ternus decides to switch things up — or keep the keynote pre-recorded.

Apple recently overhauled its device subscriptions, which it now calls Apple Upgrade. The program offers the opportunity to lease a new iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or MacBook with monthly payments lower than those of traditional financing. It’s powered by buy-now-pay-later service Klarna.

With Apple’s rumored foldable iPhone expected to command a $2,000+ price tag, you can bet some customers might decide to rent instead of ponying up the full up-front cost.

While Tim Cook is no longer CEO, Apple is keeping him around — and keeping him paid.

Cook’s new job as Apple chairman includes a $2 million salary (instead of $3 million as CEO), and comes with an annual equity award with a target value of $45 million for fiscal year 2027. The former CEO will also help engage with “policymakers around the world,” which means Apple isn’t losing its “Trump whisperer.”

John Ternus studied engineering and once worked under Steve Jobs. Tim Cook, who is staying on as board chairman, called Ternus “one of a kind” and said the CEO transition would go “seamlessly.”

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John Ternus posted a short clip to X this morning ahead of Apple’s 1 p.m. ET event. The teaser, which shows a glimpse of what is presumably an unreleased device, could signal a glitzier marketing strategy under Ternus. It’s unusual to see Apple reveal actual imagery associated with coming devices ahead of an event, even if it’s not 100% clear what we’re looking at.