Apple enters the foldable-phone market with the $1,999 iPhone Duo while introducing major camera upgrades on the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.
Photo Credit: Apple Inc.
Apple’s Biggest iPhone Launch in Years
On September 9, 2026, Apple showed off its first-ever foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, alongside the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, according to Apple’s own announcement. It was also a big day for another reason: this was the first keynote for John Ternus, who took over as Apple’s CEO on September 1, with Tim Cook moving into the role of executive chairman — a transition Apple announced back in April, according to ABC News.
iPhone Duo: Apple’s First Foldable iPhone
Picture a phone that opens like a small book. Closed, it has a 5.4-inch screen on the outside. Open it up, and you get a 7.6-inch screen on the inside — the biggest screen Apple has ever put on an iPhone. Apple says the closed screen still gives you about 90% of the screen space of a regular iPhone 18 Pro, and the open screen is 50% bigger than the Pro Max, per Apple’s press release. It comes in two colors — star white and night sky — made from polished titanium. Worth knowing: that’s a different color lineup from the Pro phones (which come in black, silver, glacier, and burgundy).
Apple describes the fully unfolded Duo as the thinnest iPhone it has ever made. It’s rated IP68, which means it’s dust-tight and water-resistant up to the specific depth and time Apple tested it for — that’s not the same as being safe to swim with, but it should shrug off rain, splashes, and a brief accidental dunk.
On battery life, Apple actually gives three separate numbers instead of one, so it’s worth keeping them straight: up to 31 hours of video if you only use the inside screen, up to 44 hours if you only use the outside screen, and up to 24 hours of regular day-to-day use if you’re switching between both screens. For charging, it can hit 50% battery in about 20 minutes plugged in, or about 30 minutes on a wireless charger.
iPhone Duo Price and Release Date
The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for the 256GB version, according to Apple, and goes up from there if you want more storage, all the way to 2TB. You can preorder starting October 16, and it’ll actually be in stores and shipping on October 23.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
The regular iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are launching on Apple’s usual fall schedule. According to Apple’s press release, they come in four colors: black, silver, glacier, and a brand-new burgundy. The Dynamic Island (that little pill-shaped cutout at the top) is smaller now and can show three things happening at once instead of just one or two.
Inside is a new chip called A20 Pro, built on Apple’s newest, most efficient manufacturing process. The processor part is faster, the graphics part is up to 40% faster than last year’s, and there’s a new AI chip inside — Apple calls it a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, which is really 32 cores total, and Apple says it roughly doubles how much AI work the phone can do on-device compared to last year. There’s also a redesigned cooling system inside, and Apple’s own new cell signal chip.
On battery, Apple says eSIM-only models get up to 36 hours of video on the regular Pro and up to 45 hours on the Pro Max — Apple’s own words for this are that it’s “the largest increase in battery life ever on iPhone.”
Prices went up $100 this year: the iPhone 18 Pro now starts at $1,199, and the Pro Max starts at $1,299. Both come in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. Preorders start September 12 at 5am Pacific time, and the phones actually ship September 18 in over 65 countries, with 20 more countries getting it a week later on September 25.
Major Camera Upgrade
The biggest camera change is something Apple’s never done before on an iPhone: a variable aperture. In plain terms, the camera’s opening can physically get bigger or smaller depending on the shot, kind of like how your eye’s pupil adjusts to light. Six tiny blades do this automatically, according to Apple — it opens wider in the dark for better night shots, and narrows for group photos so more people stay in focus.
Most people won’t even notice this happening — the phone just handles it. But if you’re into photography, Apple also added manual controls, so you can adjust the aperture, shutter speed, and white balance yourself, with a live histogram to check your exposure.
Apple Watch Series 12
Apple’s press release for the Series 12 talks about a new health-tracking system built around a faster chip, with more frequent heart rate and heart rate variability readings than before. There’s also a new feature called Readiness, which looks at your recent activity, vitals, and sleep and gives you a score telling you whether to rest, take it easy, or go all out. Apple lists it starting at $399, shipping September 18 — just to be clear, those are Apple’s own numbers, not something reviewers have confirmed hands-on yet.
Apple Watch Ultra 4
According to Apple, the Ultra 4 gets the same health tracking and Readiness score as the Series 12, but keeps its tougher, more rugged build and the Action Button that only the Ultra line has. Apple lists it starting at $799, with preorders open now and shipping listed for September 18.
AirPods 5
Per Apple’s AirPods page, the AirPods 5 finally bring noise cancellation to Apple’s regular (non-Pro) earbuds for the first time, plus hands-free Siri and real-time translation while someone’s talking to you. There’s a slightly pricier version with a longer stem and a wireless charging case. Apple lists the starting price at $129, with the higher-end version at $149, both shipping September 18.
Why Apple Finally Entered the Foldable Market
Samsung has had this space mostly to itself for years, and Apple’s push into high-end foldables is widely expected to help push up how much money Apple makes per phone sold on average, going forward.
Apple’s rivals clearly weren’t going to let this moment pass quietly either — CNBC reported that both Huawei and Xiaomi announced their own new foldable phones just the day before Apple’s event.
iPhone Duo vs Samsung Foldables
Apple and Samsung took different approaches to basically the same idea. The Duo’s screens (7.6 inches inside, 5.4 inches outside) are close in size to Samsung’s current foldables, though Samsung’s outer screen is usually a bit bigger and easier to use one-handed. Price-wise, $1,999 puts the Duo right around where Samsung’s own top foldables have launched. The real difference might come down to software — Apple built iOS 27 from scratch around this dual-screen design, while Samsung’s had several extra years to polish its own multitasking and pen support.
What This Means for Apple
Between the Duo’s $1,999 price tag and the $100 price bump on the 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple’s phones just got noticeably more expensive across the board this year. That’s not just an iPhone thing, either — Apple raised prices on Macs and iPads back in June, saying it could no longer absorb the surging cost of memory and storage chips driven by the AI data-center boom, according to the Associated Press. At the time, Apple called it a component price increase unlike anything it had seen, “this much, this quickly.” So this fall’s price hikes fit a bigger pattern already underway, not something unique to the foldable.
The real question nobody can answer yet is simple: will regular people actually pay $1,999 for Apple’s first attempt at a foldable phone?
Conclusion — Is the iPhone Duo Worth the Wait?
On paper, this is genuinely impressive stuff: the biggest screen ever on an iPhone, the thinnest iPhone Apple’s ever built, and battery numbers that are specific and testable rather than vague marketing fluff. What a press release can’t tell you, though, is how this thing holds up after a year of folding it open and shut every day, or how it stacks up against a company that’s had years longer to get foldables right. If you want a phone-and-tablet combo and don’t mind being an early adopter, this looks like a strong first shot. If you just want the best iPhone for your money, the regular 18 Pro is probably the smarter buy. Either way, Apple’s own words are the starting point here — the real verdict comes once actual reviewers get their hands on one in October.
By The Lion Capital Editorial Team | September 2026