Apple’s September event had quite a few things to talk about this year.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max were expected, but Apple also introduced the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone. Along with the new iPhones, we got new AirPods, Apple Watch models and several updates around Apple Intelligence.
Here’s a quick look at everything Apple announced.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
The new Pro iPhones get the A20 Pro chip, along with major camera improvements.
Apple is adding Pro Controls to the camera and better focus control while recording video. Apple also showed improvements to Audio Mix, photo editing and image generation.
Apple Intelligence gets serious
AI was everywhere during the event.
Apple showed off on-device AI models, smarter Siri, better photo editing and image generation. Siri is becoming much more capable of understanding context rather than simply responding to individual commands.
There’s also Siri Recap, which makes it easier to return to previous conversations.
For Apple, this is clearly the next big step for Apple Intelligence.
An update on the Dynamic Island
The Dynamic Island is getting an update too. Apple is making it smaller while giving it more room to show useful information and Live Activities.
It may not sound like the biggest change, but this is one of those features you notice throughout the day.
Apple Reference Image
Apple also introduced Apple Reference Image, aimed at helping users understand more about images in a world where AI-generated and edited photos are becoming increasingly common.
It’s an interesting move from Apple, considering how quickly AI-generated content is becoming part of everyday life.
Two iPhones, one number
One of the more practical announcements was iPhone Handoff.
The feature lets users move between two iPhones while keeping the same phone number. For anyone carrying separate work and personal phones, this could be genuinely useful.
AirPods 5
Apple also announced AirPods 5, bringing improved audio and Active Noise Cancellation to the open-ear AirPods design.
But the more interesting part is what Apple is doing with AI.
Live Translation
AirPods can now help with Live Translation, allowing conversations between people speaking different languages to feel much more natural.
This could be particularly useful when travelling — and it’s probably one of the Apple Intelligence features people will actually try immediately.
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4
The new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 focus heavily on health, fitness and smarter insights.
Apple is improving health sensing and using intelligence to make the information collected by the Watch easier to understand.
The Ultra continues to target people who want a more rugged watch for fitness and outdoor activities.
And then came iPhone Duo
The biggest surprise of the night was iPhone Duo.
Apple has finally entered the foldable-phone market.
The Duo opens up into a much larger display while still working like a regular iPhone when closed. Apple has also adapted iOS for the larger screen, including multitasking with Split View.
This isn’t simply a smaller iPhone that happens to fold. Apple clearly wants the Duo to feel like a different kind of iPhone.
And that makes it one of the most interesting products Apple has introduced in years.
Conclusion
After years of incremental changes, Apple has given us quite a few things to talk about this time.
The foldable iPhone era has finally begun.
For developers, Apple also released the Release Candidates today – download them, try the new features, and get your apps ready for launch!
Happy Coding 🙂