Apple’s iPhone Duo, New Watches, iPhone 18 Pro and AirPods 5: Everything to Know

Apple Inc. on Wednesday unveiled its first foldable iPhone, the $1,999-and-up iPhone Duo, finally entering a market segment that rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Huawei Technologies Co. have been dabbling in for years.

The highly anticipated iPhone Duo reveal came toward the end of a nearly 80-minute-long presentation at the company’s Cupertino, California, headquarters, during which Apple also unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro, the AirPods 5 and two upgraded Apple Watch lines. Throughout, the company touted upgrades to its artificial intelligence-powered Siri digital assistant, first previewed at its annual developer conference in June.

Here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone Duo and the rest of the new hardware:

The iPhone Duo

When opened, the iPhone Duo is Apple’s thinnest iPhone yet, Apple said. When used as a conventional handset, the screen is 5.4 inches (13.7 centimeters); when unfolded, it expands to 7.6 inches.As much as the device looks like a small iPad when unfurled, the titanium phone was designed to fit comfortably in a pocket when closed, according to the company. Shoppers can choose from two colors: Star White and Night Sky (a dark blue).Similar to many entries in Apple’s tablet line, the iPhone Duo is compatible with the USB-C version of the Apple Pencil accessory.The phone has a Touch ID sensor on the side button. Other hardware specifications include spatial audio and durability that meets the IP68 standard, meaning it’s dust-sealed and can survive being immersed in water.A common shortcoming for foldables is that the folded area of the screen is highly conspicuous. Apple developed a custom nano-texture finish that it says minimizes crease visibility. The company also said a new cover layer makes the screen more durable compared with competing foldables.Under the hood, the Duo has the A20 Pro chip, as well as a vapor chamber to reduce heat and Apple’s in-house C2 cellular modem, which offers support for the 5G mmWave wireless network in the US. The iPhone Duo is eSIM-only globally, like last year’s iPhone Air, meaning it doesn’t use a physical card to track a subscriber’s identity.The iOS operating system has been redesigned for the iPhone Duo to allow side-by-side app multitasking, including two windows from the same app.There’s a redesigned keyboard for the portrait view, and the phone can be used in any orientation.Many of the controls are moved to the right side of the displays to make them easier to use with a thumb and free up space for content. That includes a vertical app dock.

The iPhone Duo shows early signs of playing nicely with third-party apps: The company showed demos involving popular software such as Slack and Zoom. The phone has two rear cameras, including 48-megapixel wide and ultrawide lenses. It shares some camera features with the new iPhone 18 Pro, including some photographic styles.The outside front camera is 12 megapixels, and there’s a new under-display FaceTime camera on the inside.The camera features include the ability to use the outer display as a viewfinder for the photo’s subject. Similar to what’s already available on Google’s competing foldable, it can also play video for kids to watch so you can snap photos of them more easily.Each side of the device has a battery pack. The two batteries operate as one, which Apple said provides 31 hours of video playback on the inner display and 44 hours on the outer panel.As for charging speeds, Apple says it can reach 50% in 20 minutes and deliver five hours of video playback after five minutes of charging.The phone starts at $1,999 with 256 gigabytes of built-in storage. It’s also being offered with 512 gigabytes ($2,199), 1 terabyte ($2,599) and 2 terabytes ($3,199).Preorders for the phone start Oct. 16. Shipments begin Oct. 23. Apple will sell an iPhone Duo case for $79 and an iPhone Duo Folio with a kickstand for $129. They will be available to order Oct. 16.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

The “Pro” model iPhone received several updates this year, including the most significant camera overhaul the line has seen in years. The company also drove home the idea that the phones are, at their core, artificial intelligence devices, aided by a suite of Apple Intelligence features, on-device AI models and Siri AI.

The Pro models include a smaller Dynamic Island at the top of the display, the first major change to this interactive element since 2022. The new setup is designed to be more useful, such as by showing three live activities to keep track of multiple things at once, including, say, flight status, timers and a Maps update.The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are available in black, silver, burgundy and glacier (blue), with color-matched glass on the back.The phones’ new A20 Pro chip has a central processing unit with six cores — a measure of data-crunching ability. It offers 20% faster so-called super cores and a new graphics processor with seven cores for 40% speedier performance.The A20 Pro chip has a dual Neural Engine boasting twice the performance of the prior generation, which Apple says should boost gaming and AI processing, including running third-party models on the device. All told, Apple said the iPhone 18 Pro brings a 40% gain in sustained performance.Siri AI, which already works with over 300,000 apps, will come to more applications, such as Microsoft Corp.’s Outlook.The English version of the souped-up Siri will launch this month, with French, Japanese and other languages and regions following in October.The iPhone 18 Pro promises a massive leap in battery life, with the standard-size model rated for 36 hours and the 18 Pro Max promising as much as 45 hours.Wired charging is faster: Apple promises six hours of video playback after a five-minute charge.Camera updates include a new variable aperture on the main camera lens with six blades that can open and close as needed to precisely control how much light gets in. The aperture adjusts automatically based on the scene. This should also improve performance in night mode.

Other new camera features include the ability to record time lapses in 4K resolution. The phones also offer improved slow-motion and cinematic modes, and higher-quality voice recordings.The Camera app gets so-called Pro Controls, including a customized camera experience that allows you to adjust white balance and manually adjust the aperture for motion blur.A new feature called Smart Focus Tracking uses AI to lock onto a subject and preserve detail, even if the subject exits and reenters the frame.The company added an updated version of photographic styles that improves colors and skin textures. Meanwhile, there’s a new authenticity feature and an Apple Reference Image capability to prove a photo was taken on an iPhone 18 Pro.Photo data is signed at the pixel level at the time of capture. Apple calls this a “digital negative” because it lets you confirm what was actually in the shot.New accessories include a clear case and a wrist strap that works with iPhone cases and the AirPods Pro.The regular Pro starts at $1,199, while the 18 Pro Max is priced from $1,299. Preorders get underway on Sept. 12, with availability beginning Sept. 18.

Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4

The Apple Watch didn’t get a major makeover this year, but the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 offer some notable updates, including a few features that help it play catch-up with more purpose-built fitness-tracking wearables.

The aluminum Series 12 comes in space gray, dark bronze and other colors. The aluminum edition now has 60% tougher glass, according to Apple. There are also new titanium options, and the ceramic edition is back, in white and night blue. The Hermes model, meanwhile, has a new shiny gold case color option.The watches include an S11 chip to process audio. It has a new “Secure Exclave” to manage raw audio. The chip also includes new technology based on the A20 Pro chip. It’s the most powerful Apple wearable chip to date, according to the company.The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is rated for over two days of battery life, while the Series 12’s max usage time is 24 hours, matching the last-generation model. The watches have an overhauled sensor stack called the Health Sensing System, bringing improvements in three core areas: more electrodes for better electrocardiogram readings, redesigned photodiodes for improved heart rate monitoring and larger green LEDs for better heart rate tracking.A Readiness app tells users when to push harder or rest, and it uses sleep and other health data to generate a score that attempts to quantify the body’s recovery level. Fitness band maker Whoop Inc. and smart ring brand Oura Inc. offer similar features.Health Age is also similar to features from Oura and Whoop. Apple generates this number using sleep data, heart rate variability and other biomarkers.The watches are launching alongside a redesigned Health app with an AI-generated summary. The app is coming later this year, starting with American English.In the US, Apple is working with Quest Diagnostics Inc. to offer lab tests for $119, similar to existing offerings from Whoop and Oura. There’s also a new fitness test that uses the iPhone’s camera to analyze workouts and provide health insights.Meanwhile, an Audio Intelligence tool includes the ability to listen for a baby crying, doorbells, sirens and more, even when your phone is not near you. Another feature is Live Rewind, which lets you go back 15 seconds to get a readout of what was said and may have been missed during a conversation.Another notable feature is Siri Recap, which uses ambient listening to take high-level notes on your conversations throughout the day. These can be viewed in the Siri app on the Apple Watch or on your other devices.Prices remain the same as the previous models: $399 for the Series 12 and $799 for the Ultra 4. Both go on sale Sept. 18.

AirPods 5

The AirPods 5 bring several audio improvements, including richer, more detailed sound across a wider range of ear shapes. They also tout improved noise cancellation, amounting to a 50% improvement in noise reduction over the AirPods 4.Transparency Mode, which lets in external sounds, now sounds more natural, according to the company.The AirPods 5 also have Live Translation, a feature that first debuted on the AirPods Pro 3.The earbuds have been reengineered to be more durable against rain, sweat and dust, Apple said.Battery life is rated at up to four hours with noise cancellation turned on.The AirPods 5 start at $129 and include noise cancellation at that price.A higher-end version — which costs $149 ($30 less than the previous generation) — includes swipe volume controls like the AirPods Pro, five-hour battery life and a wireless charging case.Both versions go on sale Sept. 18.