Apple iPhone September 9 launch event: What to expect
John Ternus takes over as CEO just as Apple announces its first foldable iPhone and delays the standard iPhone 18
Apple's September 9 "Surprise and Shine" event is shaping up to be the most product-dense keynote in company history, and it comes with an unusual backdrop: it's the first major launch under new CEO John Ternus, who took over September 1 after Tim Cook shifted to executive chairman.
Ternus, previously Apple's hardware engineering chief, inherits what the company is calling its biggest run of device releases yet.
Apple Foldable iPhone
The highlight is Apple’s very first foldable phone, which is anticipated to get a name of iPhone Ultra. The leaked dummy units indicate that the phone will feature a book-type, horizontally wider than vertically orientated design similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 that was just launched recently.
It has a 5.5-inch outer screen and a 7.8-inch inner screen, which is almost as big as an iPad mini. The screen will use OLED technology supplied by Samsung, and the phone's body will include titanium, aluminium, and a special liquid metal for the hinge. It will only come in two colours: white and indigo.
In a break from Apple's usual pattern, the standard iPhone 18 won't appear at this event at all; it's been pushed to spring 2027 alongside the iPhone 18e and a second-generation iPhone Air. That leaves the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max carrying September's lineup, expected to start around $1,399 with new Dark Cherry and Light Blue colour options alongside silver and dark grey.
The bigger technical story is a rumoured variable-aperture main camera, a first for iPhone, paired with a new A20 chip.
Apple Watches, Earbuds, and a Long-Rumoured Home Hub
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 are expected to bring under-the-hood performance gains and new health features rather than a design overhaul. AirPods are also due for a refresh.
The most closely watched non-iPhone product, though, is Apple's long-rumoured smart home hub, reportedly internally called "HomePad".
Referred to as a 7-inch all-screen display, which is available in both wall-mounting and speaker base models, it is based on the new AI-enabled Siri that supposedly recognises the face looking at it and customises its contents accordingly. There will also be a redesigned Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini.
However, not everything Apple is developing will end up making the September 9 release. A water-resistant OLED iPad mini is being rumoured to debut next month instead, while AirPods Pro with vision sensors, revealed in a leak of the macOS Tahoe beta version, are slated to come out only in 2027.
When to see Apple's Surprise and Shine event?
Apple will stream the event live on YouTube, its website, and the Apple TV app starting at 10am PT and is expected to confirm release dates for iOS 27 and its sibling software updates the same day.
