Apple's September 9 Event: Everything Announced — iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, New Watches and AirPods

Apple's "Surprise and Shine" keynote wrapped up on September 9, and the headline product is exactly the kind of surprise the tagline promised: Apple's first foldable iPhone is real, and it's called the iPhone Duo — not the iPhone Ultra that the strongest pre-event rumors had guessed. Alongside it, Apple shipped the usual fall refresh: two new Pro iPhones, two new Apple Watches, and a refreshed AirPods line. Here's what's actually confirmed, not rumored.

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

The iPhone 18 Pro (6.3", from $1,199) and iPhone 18 Pro Max (6.9", from $1,299) both move to Apple's new A20 Pro chip, the company's first built on TSMC's 2nm process. The Dynamic Island shrinks slightly, now fitting up to three simultaneous Live Activities, and the main camera gains a variable aperture with manual control up to f/4.0 — Apple claims up to 50% more light captured in dark scenes as a result. A new Burgundy color joins Glacier, Black, and Silver. Both ship September 18, with pre-orders open now.

iPhone Duo: The Foldable Is Real

Apple's first foldable unfolds to a 7.6" Super Retina XDR display with a nano-texture finish and folds down to a 5.4" outer screen — both panels run ProMotion and peak at 3,000 nits outdoors. It supports Apple Pencil, a first for any iPhone, and ships in dark blue and white. At $1,999 to start (climbing toward $3,000 for the 2TB configuration), it's the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever sold, and it arrives later than the Pro models — October 23 rather than September 18.

Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4

Both new watches share a genuinely new chip, the S11 — the first real Apple Watch performance upgrade since 2023's S9, since the Series 10, Series 11, Ultra 2, and Ultra 3 all quietly reused that same silicon. The Series 12 (from $399) gets a redesigned biometric sensor array with far more frequent background heart-rate sampling, a returning ceramic case option, and 25% more outdoor-workout battery life. The Ultra 4 (from $799) keeps the same rugged case as its predecessor but jumps to up to 50 hours of average battery life, or 84 hours in Low Power Mode. Neither watch got a visible redesign this year — the changes are entirely under the hood.

AirPods 5

Apple refreshed its entry-level AirPods line with two new models, both now including active noise cancellation for the first time at this tier — a $129 version with a USB-C charging case, and a $149 version with a Wireless Charging Case that adds a volume-swipe force sensor. Both sit below the AirPods Pro 3 in Apple's lineup rather than replacing it. See our full AirPods 5 breakdown for the complete spec sheet.

Software: iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, watchOS 27 — All Arriving September 14

Apple confirmed its full fall software lineup will ship Monday, September 14 — five days after this keynote, and before any of the new hardware above actually reaches customers. The headline feature across every platform is Siri AI, a rebuilt, more conversational Siri with text input, follow-up questions, and broader access to personal and on-screen context. We cover each platform's changes in more depth separately: iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and watchOS 27.

What Wasn't Announced

No standard iPhone 18 or iPhone 18e — both remain on track for spring 2027, per Apple's own reported split-launch strategy. No MacBook Ultra, no update to the standard AirPods Pro line, and no mention of the rumored blood-pressure sensor or Touch ID for Apple Watch — pre-event rumors that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had already downplayed ahead of the keynote, and which didn't materialize.

GSMTechTok has not yet had hands-on time with any device announced at this event — specs above are Apple's own stated figures, confirmed via the keynote and Apple's own press materials. Full reviews will follow real testing time after each device actually ships.