Apple unveils iPhone Duo foldable at first fall event under CEO John Ternus

Apple used its first fall event under newly appointed CEO John Ternus to unveil the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, alongside new Pro iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches. TechCrunch reports that Wednesday's event, billed "Surprise and Sunshine," made the long-anticipated foldable its centerpiece.

A passport-shaped foldable

According to The Verge, the Duo is Apple's slimmest phone to date and opens completely flat, pairing a 7.6-inch inner display with a 5.4-inch cover screen. TechCrunch adds that the inner panel hides an under-display camera for an uninterrupted view, and that the hinge uses Grade 5 aluminum and more than 100 engineered components. Both outlets report two batteries delivering up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display or 44 hours on the outer one.

The Verge says both screens share one aspect ratio — its staff reaction piece pegs it at 1.4:1 — and that iOS 27 adds side-by-side apps, pinnable video and use in any orientation, with Netflix, Zoom and Slack already updated for the hardware. Inside are an A20 Pro chip, Apple's in-house C2 modem, a 48-megapixel main camera, a glare-cutting nanotexture finish and Touch ID on the side button. TechCrunch also lists a 48-megapixel ultrawide with 2x optical zoom, while The Verge notes an IP68 rating and Apple Pencil support coming later this year.

The Duo starts at $1,999 with 256GB of storage in star white or night sky, with pre-orders on October 16 and availability on October 23.

iPhone 18 Pro pushes cameras forward

Apple skipped a base iPhone 18 this round. The Verge reports the Pro models carry what Apple describes as its most substantial camera overhaul in years: a 48-megapixel main sensor with variable aperture, which TechCrunch says is driven by six thin blades. New Pro controls cover white balance, shutter speed, aperture and a histogram, and video can be recorded in 4K Dolby HDR Vision with cinematic effects applied after capture, according to TechCrunch. Other changes include an A20 chip with a large claimed performance gain, a Dynamic Island that can show three live activities at once, and an on-device AI model Apple calls its most advanced yet, powering a Siri that reaches more than 300,000 apps, The Verge says. Claimed playback hits 36 hours on the Pro and 45 on the Pro Max. The Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299 — $100 above last year's models, per TechCrunch — with a new 2TB option. Both ship September 18 in black, silver, burgundy or glacier.

AirPods 5 get noise cancellation

Apple is bringing active noise cancellation to its cheapest earbuds for the first time, with 50 percent more noise reduction than the prior generation, according to both outlets. The AirPods 5 cost $129, or $149 with on-stem volume control and a wireless charging case. The two reports disagree on battery life: The Verge cites up to four hours of listening with ANC on, or 20 with the case, while TechCrunch says five hours and 22 with the case. Both arrive September 18.

Watches and Health lean on AI

The Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 keep their designs but gain microphone-driven AI features, TechCrunch reports: Siri Recap summarizes daily conversations, Live Rewind transcribes the previous 15 seconds of a chat, and Sound Recognition listens for sirens, alarms, doorbells and a crying baby to alert users who are hard of hearing. The Verge adds that the Series 12 reads heart rate every five seconds using bigger, more efficient green LEDs, samples heart-rate variability as often as every five minutes, and offers 24 hours of battery, with the Ultra lasting over two days. A redesigned Health app adds an Insights tab, a Readiness score, a Health Age estimate and a Longevity assessment, rolling out later this year starting in US English, per TechCrunch. Pricing conflicts between the reports: both list the Series 12 at $399 — with an $899 ceramic option, per The Verge — but The Verge has the Ultra 4 at $799 and TechCrunch at $499. Both go on sale September 18.

iOS 27 lands alongside

The Verge says iOS 27 is nearly ready, with a beta of the more conversational AI Siri starting on English-language devices and able to act across apps. The update also brings opacity controls for Liquid Glass, new icon designs, extra-large widgets and separate volume settings for ringtones, alarms, timers and alerts.

Why it matters

Apple's arrival is the strongest endorsement yet of a foldable market that has stayed niche, and the pricing signals a mainstream push: Verge staff note the Duo sits just $100 above Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 with a similar strategy of strong performance and modest rear cameras, leaving room for Android makers to compete on photography and battery life. The launch also shows how much Apple's hardware story now runs through software and on-device AI — the Duo's appeal rests on iOS 27 multitasking, the watches are built to listen to conversations by design, and Siri spans hundreds of thousands of apps. Whether the $1,999 entry price broadens the category or keeps it a premium experiment — a cost several Verge reviewers said they personally balked at — is the question the October launch will answer.