The foldable iPhone Duo is here: Plus everything Apple announced at its fall iPhone event

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It's safe to say that Apple's annual fall event is one of the most anticipated happenings in the tech world. Usually, Tim Cook and his cohorts in Cupertino unveil a few new iPhones, an Apple Watch or two and perhaps some AirPods. That's exciting enough in its own right, but this year is different. For one, Tim Cook stepped down as CEO and his replacement, John Ternus, took over just nine days ago, making today the new leader's first launch event.

But what really set the "Surprise and Shine" event apart from prior years in recent memory is the announcement of the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable phone . Apple said nothing official before the keynote today, so everyone in the tech world — us included — had to wait until the device was revealed on-stage. The new device is definitely the headliner, but Apple also revealed two new phones (the iPhone 18 Pro and the 18 Pro Max ) as well as new AirPods and two new wearables (the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and the Apple Watch Series 12 ). Here's everything Apple announced during today's iPhone keynote in California.

If Apple didn't end up announcing a foldable iPhone, the tech world would have lost its collective mind. Thankfully, Apple did not disappoint and the iPhone Duo is here. As expected, it has a "passport" design that creates a 5.4-inch screen when folded and a 6.7-inch iPad-mini-like screen when lying flat. People I talked to said Apple went this route because a wider internal screen is better for consuming media. Plus the familiar iPad vibe is, well, familiar to the Apple customer.

Apple said their model will re-design the experience of using a foldable phone. For one, it's the largest display ever on an iPhone. The body is made from aero-grade titanium and has a unique hinge made from more than 100 components and supports the center of the screen when open to help it lie flat. Apple says it's the thinnest iPhone ever when it's opened.

The 7.6-inch internal display is 80% larger than that of the iPhone 18 Pro (and a touch smaller than the iPad mini display which comes in at 8.3-inches). Apple says the 5.4-inch outer display will give nearly 90% of the screen real estate that you get with the iPhone 18 Pro. That screen comes with a scratch-resistant coating and a custom polymer cover layer for the inner screen that's up to 40% stiffer than materials used on other foldables.

The user interface won't feel exactly the same as either an iPhone or iPad, thanks to a completely redesigned operating system. It'll even support the USB-C Apple Pencil. From the use-case examples Apple shared, it seems the design really utilizes the folding format. The outer screen gives you selfie previews or can show animations to your kids when you're trying to get them to smile for the camera. Apple also included the beloved "flex mode" which lets you stand the phone in the half-folded position for viewing the screen or taking hands-free group shots. Many people will certainly enjoy the Duo FaceTime mode that lets the person you're talking to see both you and what you're looking at.

The foldable will start at $1,999 for 256GB of storage and it'll be available for pre-order starting October 16. It should hit shelves and start shipping out October 23.

The first devices (though not the headliners) announced today, were the two new Pro model iPhones. After being treated to a slew of movie opening shots (all filmed on iPhones, we were told) Tim Cook metaphorically passed the reigns to John Ternus. The new CEO introduced himself and let us know his thoughts on Apple devices, AI and Apple apps. Ternus described the "Intelligent Personal Hub," teasing things like great cameras, big screens, all-day batteries and "something that's always with you." He was, of course, describing an iPhone and talked about AI as well as data security.

We also got an overview of the new Siri AI, which we've tested already , as well as new camera tools from iOS 27. Then, finally, the iPhone Pro models were shown off for the first time.

Both models run on the A20 Pro chip that sets "a new bar for mobile computing," with desktop-class super cores and enable the "fastest processing speeds on any smartphone". To mitigate heat, a new thermal management offers 3X the surface area than last year and the new vapor chamber includes "industry first" copper nano layer to dissipate heat. All of this, Apple says, adds up to 40% improved heat performance.

The battery on the 18 Pro should last as long at last year's iPhone 17 Pro Max (36 hours) and the 18 Pro Max will get a whopping 45-hour lifespan from a charge.

The new camera includes aperture control on the 48MP main fusion camera using physical shutters that are thinner than a human hair. In short, it lets in more light in dark scenes and can handle better depth-of-focus shots. Apple also went over a slew of cinematic features (no doubt enabling those movie clips we saw at the beginning of the show) as well as the creation of a a "Reference Photo" (that can't be altered) to act as a digital negative — an important feature in our AI unreality.

Both Pro models will open for pre-orders on September 12. The Pro model starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max starts at $1,299. The phones will hit shelves on September 18. Apple is offering trade in values of up to $1,200 with a series 14 trade-in or newer.

With the launch of the AirPods 5 , active noise cancellation is now available for all Apple wireless earbuds. This is the model with the open ear fit (compared to the AirPods Pro that insert into your ear canal). The new model has been redesigned to fit more ears. And immersive audio should now be, well, more immersive. Noise reduction is up to 50% higher than the AirPods 4 and Apple says the transparency mode will sound more natural too. Thanks to integration with Siri AI, the AirPods 5 will support live translation. Sweat and dust resistance was also increased.

AirPods 5 will start at $129 (which was the same starting price as the non-ANC AirPods 4). There's also a model with longer battery life and a wireless charging case that'll sell for$149. Pre-orders are open today and the buds will be widely available September 18.

Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4

Last year, Apple hit us with three new wearables: the flagship Series 11 as well as the budget SE 3 and premium Ultra 3. This year, it looks like we get a new flagship and an Ultra (the SE doesn't typically get yearly refreshes). Both watches come with redesigned sensor arrays that support something Apple is calling the Health Sensing System. The array should have better skin contact as well as larger LEDs to support more accurate heart-rate data. Apple said they tested these new sensors against other wearables, and found, of course, that they beat all competitors. One can imagine, had that not been the case, the study would have gone unmentioned.

All data gathered by the watch goes into the Health app, which will now be powered by Apple Intelligence, sort of like what Google did . The entire Health app has been redesigned to include AI assistance that can offerer suggestions. Wearing the watch will also enable a "Health Age" as well as a "Longevity" score within the Health app. Just in case you want to see how your fitness and health efforts affect your theoretical lifespan.

The watch is also coming for those AI wearables you may have heard about. Both watches will enable "audio intelligence" that uses the on-board microphone to listen to what's going on around you. The feature will alert the hard of hearing to things like sirens and every one can use "live rewind" to play back the past 15 seconds of what was just said. Another feature, Siri Recap, can take notes when enabled, and can record and transcribe your conversations.

Both watches use the S11 chip, which have a new audio processing module to handle the above features, as well as a faster CPU and GPU derived from the phone's A20 Pro.

The glass on the Series 12 is 60% tougher and the battery life will last the same 24 hours as the Series 11, but the recharge time has dropped to 15 minutes to get 12 hours of battery life. New colors for the flagship include grey, black, gold and a new dark bronze. There's also a new ceramic case material available that comes in pearl white and night blue.

The Ultra 4 gets two days of battery life, including 18 hours of workout tracking. It comes in black and natural titanium. The starting price is $399 for the Apple Series 12 GPS model. The Ultra 4 will start at $799. Pre-orders open today and the watches will be available September 18.