Apple unveils iPhone 18 Pro, Duo foldable, and price hike

Apple’s September event kicks off with a broken storefront

Apple opened its September showcase at 10 AM Pacific Time, and the Apple Store went dark minutes before the keynote. The outage follows a long‑standing pattern: the storefront disappears just before major announcements. The silence signals that Apple is about to roll out a set of high‑profile products. The lineup includes the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, the foldable iPhone Duo, Apple Watch Series 12, and fifth‑generation AirPods. All three devices arrive under the banner “Surprise and shine,” a phrase Apple uses for events that combine incremental upgrades with at least one surprise element. The timing aligns with the company’s annual hardware refresh cycle, which typically lands in early September.

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max price bump

Apple raised the starting price of its flagship iPhone for the first time in years. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will launch at $1,199, a $100 increase over the previous generation. The hike pushes the base price above the $1,100 threshold that many analysts consider a psychological barrier. The price move arrives after a string of modest increases across Apple’s product range. The company has been nudging up accessories and services, but the iPhone price tag has remained static until now. Industry watchers note that the increase could pressure mid‑range competitors that have been closing the performance gap.

Foldable iPhone Duo: naming and design clues

Apple is set to unveil its first foldable phone under the name iPhone Duo. The moniker appears in a Bloomberg leak that also mentions color options and a price point, though the exact figure is not disclosed. The device will join the iPhone 18 Pro line as a separate form factor rather than an “Ultra” variant. The Duo represents a departure from Apple’s traditional slab design. A foldable chassis implies a larger display when opened and a compact footprint when closed. Engineers will need to address durability, hinge mechanics, and the integration of existing iPhone silicon into a flexible substrate. The decision to brand it “Duo” rather than “Ultra” suggests Apple sees the foldable as a complementary product rather than a premium replacement.

Camera tease and hardware expectations

John Ternus, now Apple’s chief executive, posted a cryptic video on social media just before the keynote. The clip shows a close‑up of a lens assembly shifting, hinting at a new camera capability for the iPhone 18 Pro. The video contains no spoken commentary, leaving the community to decode the visual cue. Analysts infer that the movement could indicate a periscope‑style telephoto module or an adjustable aperture. Both technologies would improve low‑light performance and optical zoom without expanding the phone’s thickness. Apple has not confirmed any specifics, and the video stops short of revealing the final hardware. The tease underscores the company’s strategy of using mystery to drive pre‑order speculation.

What to watch

The next week will reveal the iPhone Duo’s pricing and availability, data points that will test market appetite for a foldable iPhone. Watch for the official pre‑order start time and the configuration list for the iPhone 18 Pro, especially any mention of sensor size or lens count. The Apple Watch Series 12 will also be examined for health‑sensor upgrades, while the AirPods 5 launch will indicate whether Apple is pushing a new wireless audio standard. All of these moves will shape the competitive dynamics ahead of the holiday season.

Updates

• 2026-09-15 — dbrand has the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro covered – with a huge range of designs (source)
• 2026-09-10 — Here’s how the iPhone Duo stacks up against the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 (source)
• 2026-09-10 — Hands-on with the foldable iPhone Duo [Gallery] (source)