Intro
Apple has just wrapped up Surprise and Shine, the big fall announcement event. We got new iPhones, Apple Watches, and (non-pro) AirPods. And yes, the rumors were finally true: one of the new iPhones is a folding one. AirPods have some new tricks, the new Apple Watch has some very nice improvements, and even the normal iPhones are worth checking out. Let's get into it.
iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo
All of the iPhones announced today share a few features, so we'll start there.
At the heart of each new iPhone is the A20 Pro, a system on a chip (SoC) that's better than anything Apple has ever made. So said the presenters, anyway. This is Apple's first 2NM chip, which basically means they shrank the parts so they can fit more into the same amount of space, all while using less power and producing less heat. The A20 Pro comes with four efficiency cores and two cores meant to do serious work, which is the same distribution as last year (six cores, with four efficiency and two powerful ones). The big change here is that the two workhorse cores, called super cores, are beefed up considerably. Apple claims they have desktop performance. The graphics chip has also been upgraded, with seven cores and faster access to the phone's RAM; Apple says graphics run up to 40% faster than the A19 Pro.
It's 2026, so we can't not talk about AI, specifically large language models. The A20 Pro has neural accelerators to boost AI performance for the CPU and GPU cores, but the star of the show is the neural engine. Or rather, the engines, plural. Each A20 Pro has two of them, not just one, giving the chip 32 neural cores to work with. Combined with the A20's increased access to memory, Apple said that this is the best chip for mobile AI tasks.
All of this performance is going to produce a lot of heat, so Apple took the vapor chamber from iPhone 17 Pro and made some improvements. The way the chip's components transfer heat to the chamber is more efficient now, the materials have been updated, and the design has been altered. The new design has three times the space and is made from a combination of titanium and a special copper alloy. It transfers 40% more heat than the system on iPhone 17 Pro, letting the phone do more work for longer before it has to slow itself down to keep from overheating.
Remember Siri AI, a version of Siri that is aware of your locations, messages, and other details? It was announced back in June. If you don't follow Apple news as obsessively as I do, the short version is that Siri is far more aware and capable than before. You can ask for "that recipe Jake sent me a couple months ago", you can issue more natural commands, and you can get much more accurate results with dictation. All of this is kept in a new Siri app, so you can check on past conversations. Oh, and Siri's voice is better than ever.
Anyway, Siri AI is fully supported by all the new phones, and Apple spent some time reminding us of what all is going to be possible. There are some extra goodies for Apple Watch Series 12 owners who have Siri AI devices, too, but we'll get to those later.
iPhone 18 Pro
As has become customary, Apple is offering this year's pro phones in standard and Max variants. The Max has the most battery life of any iPhone ever, while the smaller phone has battery life equivalent to what iPhone 17 Pro Max offers. This seems to be the main difference; both have the same chip, camera, design, and everything else, so I'll just talk about iPhone 18 Pro from here on out. Everything also applies to iPhone 18 Pro Max unless I say otherwise.
The stand-out feature of the camera system this year is variable aperture. Specially-designed, tiny pieces in the camera can move to let in more or less light, which also changes the field depth. The aperture widens in low light, closes some in bright light, and can be manually adjusted to change the feel of a picture. I guess professional photographers will be jumping for joy.
The A20 Pro's AI capabilities also allow Apple to add more camera enhancements, some of which we knew about already from the iOS 27 announcement at WWDC back in June. What is unique to iPhone 18 Pro, though, is a new set of manual camera controls, called pro controls. These let you change the aperture, white balance, and other settings whose purpose I can only guess at. You can even use AI to keep video locked on a subject. But you're not here for camera details, so let's get on with it.
There are a few other, smaller changes compared to iPhone 17 Pro. The new phone can charge faster when plugged in (as opposed to using wireless charging). The Dynamic Island is also smaller and now supports up to three live activities at once.
Surprisingly, that's about it. The battery life improvements are great, the A20 Pro sounds like an impressive chip, and the colors have changed (silver, black, glacier, and burgundy). Aside from that, faster wired charging, and the camera improvements, everything seems to be the same. Apple didn't mention the screen, body material, any new or changed buttons, speakers, wifi performance, or anything else. It seems iPhone 18 Pro is, physically, the same as iPhone 17 Pro, just with a new chip and camera.
You can pre-order iPhone 18 Pro starting September 12, and it will start shipping on September 18. The Pro starts at $1,199, $1,299 for the Pro Max. This gives you 256GB of storage, just like last year. You can upgrade all the way up to 2TB of storage, the first time any iPhone has offered such a large internal drive. Just know that it won't be cheap. You can also check out the new array of colors for Apple's official cases, cross-body straps, and (new this year) wrist straps.
iPhone Duo
Apple's first entry into the world of foldable phones is called iPhone Duo. It has a 5.4-inch outer display and unfolds to show a 7.6-inch screen. Both screens have full Apple Pencil support, and the outer screen has Ceramic Shield 2. The frame is high-grade titanium, colored either white or night sky. The side button acts how you expect, but also sports a Touch ID sensor--the phone lacks Face ID. You can add multiple fingers, so that no matter how you happen to hold the phone, the finger resting on the button can unlock it. You can also unlock your phone with your watch. Also, despite being foldable, iPhone Duo has an IP68 rating. That means dust and water will have a hard time getting into it, but you shouldn't take it swimming.
Each half of iPhone Duo is very, very thin--after all, the whole package has to be comfortably thin when folded. Apple says that each half is the thinnest iPhone ever produced, which suggests that the halves are thinner than an iPhone Air. Despite this, iPhone Duo has good battery life (30 hours of video playback on the internal screen, 44 when using the outer one) and supports fast wired charging. It also, as mentioned earlier, has the same A20 Pro chip and vapor chamber cooling as iPhone 18 Pro. It even has Apple's custom cellular modem, the C2, giving it millimeter wave 5G support (U.S. only for now) and faster and more efficient cellular communications overall.
The camera situation is interesting. iPhone Duo sports the same camera system as iPhone 18 Pro, though without the variable aperture feature. When unfolded, an under-screen selfie camera is available, while a more capable camera lives just above the outer screen. This enables some neat options, such as letting both the photographer and the subject see the camera feed (one person on the inner screen, the other on the outer one) before a picture is taken. If you are taking pictures of children, iOS lets you enable animations designed to draw attention and get the kids' eyes looking toward the lens. When making FaceTime calls, someone can use the inner camera and screen, while someone else can use the outer set, letting two people use the same phone but with different camera feeds. Thanks to its design, you can fold iPhone Duo in such a way that the camera stays pointed where you want without being held. You can let iOS monitor the feed, and take the picture when it thinks you're ready.
As to the screen, Apple spent a lot of time talking up the engineering that went into minimizing the crease, getting the under-finger feel right, and more. A special coating makes the screen feel closer to glass than the plasticky feel some folding phones have, while also cutting glare and reflections. Nano-scale layers of lenses help the screen stay bright and readable, while reducing the wear of all the folding and unfolding it will undergo during its life.
That's not all the engineering that went into iPhone Duo, either. The frame is not only made of titanium, but reinforced at key points with custom materials for added strength. The hinge is weighted, balanced, and carefully structured to fully support the screen at every point of the folding process. You can set the two halves at any angle (up to 180 degrees) and they will stay there. Use it like a small iPad, set one screen at an angle like a laptop while you type on the other one, or make a tent shape, using the phone like a stand while you watch the outer display. The phone will react how you expect, even going so far as to constantly balance the audio coming from its dual speakers based on how the two halves are configured.
iOS 27 has been designed to take full advantage of this phone's unique abilities. You can do a lot of the multi-tasking tricks that you can on iPad, such as opening two apps side by side, quickly moving between on-screen apps, showing a list of emails and an open message at once, and more. You can see two home screen pages at once, and your dock is now vertical. Video controls now appear on the side of the screen, rather than the bottom, so videos have more space and so your thumb can reach the controls. The status bar is smaller and now stays in a corner, again, to give apps more room. Apps have new APIs available, letting them, for example, show a list of options on one half of the screen and a preview of the selected option on the other half. iOS will even detect how the phone is being used and move content toward the edge, so it is easier to tap or see.
I realize that much of this section has been about cameras, on-screen layouts, and other things that a lot of you reading this won't care about. That's because that was the focus of the presentation. For now, iPhone Duo feels like a device that will be amazing for plenty of sighted users, but will have less appeal to those of us who use VoiceOver. Low vision folks may love the larger screen, but not being such a person myself, I can't really comment on that. Personally, I'm going to see how things go with this phone, play with one in person once my local stores have some, and not worry about getting my own just yet. I don't know if there will be enough advantage for VoiceOver to justify the cost. Of course, it would be nice to have Touch ID again.
iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for the 256GB model. As with iPhone 18 Pro, you can increase this all the way to 2TB. Preorders open on October 16, with deliveries and in-store availability starting on October 23.
AirPods 5
Today brought us a new AirPods model: AirPods 5. Like the previous generation, they come in two variants, one more expensive than the other. With AirPods 4, the cheaper model lacked active noise cancelation and wireless charging. That's not the case anymore
With this new generation, both variants have ANC. The more expensive AirPods add volume adjustment on the stem, just like AirPods Pro, and a case that supports wireless charging. As we've come to expect, the case can handle MagSafe, Qi, and Apple Watch chargers. The premium version also have a five-hour battery life, which is an hour more than what the less expensive ones offer. This is measured with ANC enabled.
Both versions of AirPods 5 are, Apple claims, designed to feel and sound better while lasting longer. ANC is 50% more effective than AirPods 4, while transparency sounds more natural. Audio sounds more detailed and rich, and the earbuds can shrug off more sweat and rain than before. They will also work better in even more ear shapes--so Apple says, anyway. No, they are still not available in any color other than white.
The less expensive AirPods cost $129, which is what the non-noise-canceling AirPods 4 cost, and this generation includes ANC. That's a good deal, but for just $20 more, you can get on-stem volume controls and a case that can charge wirelessly. That's $149, which is $30 less expensive than the high-end AirPods 4. Apple isn't known for lowering prices, so this is a very pleasant surprise. You can pre-order starting today (September 9). Deliveries will begin arriving September 18, which is also when stores will start offering the new AirPods.
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4
The Apple Watch got some nice enhancements this time around. They all apply equally to the Series 12 and Ultra 4, so I will just talk about the new features here. Everything is true of both models, neither of which seems to have changed, physically, from its predecessor.
The first improvement is to the heart sensors. Apple Watch has always used lights to measure your pulse, and that hasn't changed. The LEDs in these new models are different, though. Skin contact is better, the LEDs have been arranged in a ring pattern, and the color of the light has gone from red to green. Add in the new electrical sensors for ECG readings, and Apple Watch has never had a more accurate measure of your heart rate.
Almost more exciting is how often Apple Watch now takes heart measurements: every five seconds. This is up to sixty times more often than previous Apple Watches did. Heart rate variability (HRV) is now measured every five minutes, which is a 24 times increase. HRV is an indicator of stress and cardiovascular health, so the more (and more accurate) the readings, the better.
This generation of watch has better step length tracking as well, meaning that indoor walks and runs will be measured more accurately than before. Apple also claims that this makes Apple Watch the most accurate step tracker of all the modern wearables. They are therefore adding a step count complication, at long last.
What will watchOS do with all this data? Apart from your heart rate complication actually showing your current pulse, Apple has made a series of health data improvements. A readiness score suggests whether you should make today a recovery-focused day or a day during which you can push more.
On iPhone, your heart and activity data feed a new Longevity feature. You can see how you are doing over time, how your metrics compare to the average person at your age, and what you could do to improve things. To make this feature more accurate, you can take VO2 max, flexibility, movement, and other tests, all done using your iPhone's cameras and live coaching from the app. You can also purchase bloodwork from Quest for $119, directly through the Health app (U.S. only, for now). The results will inform your health insights and recommendations. You can also connect your existing health records, as has been possible for some time.
It's not all about health, though. Audio Intelligence is a set of features centered around the microphones in the watch and Siri AI's increased abilities. All of these features are opt-in, meaning they are not enabled by default.
Sound Recognition has been on iPhones for years, but now comes to Apple Watch. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can be alerted to sirens, alarms, doorbells, and other sounds. This works even without iPhone nearby.
Live Rewind: double press the digital crown and you get a transcript of the last fifteen seconds of conversation. You can read it, or choose to send it to Siri for further use. During the presentation, they showed a server listing food options, then an Apple Watch user bringing up the list as a transcript. It's not clear if you have to activate this feature each time you want the watch to start paying attention, or if it is always available.
Siri Recap is a feature you turn on when you want it, such as during a business meeting or an important conversation. Once the event is over, you turn Recap off again. Siri will generate a title and key points from what it heard, letting you review what was said and jog your memory. I assume this also adds to Siri AI's context, letting you ask questions about what was said in the meeting last week, for instance.
Shazam for song detection is nothing new, but it is now automatic (once you turn the feature on). You can always know what song is playing near you, without having to ask Siri to do anything.
Apple promised that all of these features run locally or, when they don't, are end-to-end encrypted and have extra security built in. No speakers are ever identified or tagged, no audio is saved, nothing is used for training AI. In fact, audio processed by Apple Watch can't leave the system because of how the S11 SoC is designed. Apple has a whole privacy paper about Audio Intelligence if you want to read more.
Speaking of the S11 system, let's go over what we know, which isn't much. We know it has something called an Audio Exclave, which is where audio from the watch's microphones is saved and processed. Audio can't leave this isolated part of the system, which is part of how Apple guarantees that Audio Intelligence puts privacy first. The S11 also supports the greatly increased health sensor readings without impacting battery life. Beyond that, Apple made no claims about speed increases, wireless changes or anything else.
In a bit of a surprise move, Apple has kept prices the same. The Series 12 starts as $399 for the aluminum casing, while the Ultra starts at $799. Preorders are open today (September 9) and, as with most of what we've talked about here, deliveries and in-store availability start on September 18.
The new colors and materials are:
- aluminum, now with Ceramic Shield 2 glass: black, space gray, light gold, and dark bronze
- ceramic: pearl white and night blue
- titanium (Series 12): radiant gold and natural
- titanium (Apple Watch Ultra 4): black and natural
That's All For Now
Rumors continue to swirl that Apple has more to show us, so there might be press releases or another event later this year. For now, though, we've covered all the new shinies--iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and AirPods 5. Plus, version 27 of all of Apple's operating systems comes out on September 14, at which time we will finally get a look at this much-improved Siri that all these new devices were built to support.
What caught your metaphorical eye, if anything? Personally, I pre-ordered a Series 12 before I was halfway done writing this article. It'll be a big upgrade over my SE 3, and since most of what I use my Apple Watch for is health-related, I want all the data I can get. I might see about AirPods 5 if a good sale comes along, but I'll wait for the reviews. I like the idea of a folding phone, and I definitely want to play with one in person, but I have no desire to own one. I'm also not planning to get an iPhone 18 Pro, though if Siri AI and upcoming Apple Intelligence features turn out to be as amazing as Apple insists they are, well, we'll see. What do you think? Discuss your excitement, bitter disappointment, or indifference in the comments!
Comments
17 pro max, but considering what to do
Really like the battery life of the 18 pro max, and its pushing me into a maybe situation.
Although, there's a huge huge part of me that wants to get the duo as well,
And then, the other huge part of me who is clearly sensible saying, keep the 17 pro max, so who knows whats about to happen haha
Canadian pricing for the duo
I am in Canada and checked the pricing for the Iphone duo and it starts at $3000 going all the way up to $5000 for the 2 TB version.
I’m not too excited about any of us
I’m really not too excited by any of us. I feel like it’s a lot of just more of the same just more powerful supposedly processors of technology. It’s really nothing new here. The only thing I really want to look at is the iPhone. I wouldn’t be able to afford to own one, but I definitely want to look at it. I’m really disappointed that nothing comes in pink again this year. I find it very odd that there’s no standard iPhone anymore. There’s just a pro and a Pro Max. I guess I kind of remember that happening last year but it’s just seems so strange to me still. I’m used to being a base model and then like a pro Pro Max. I’m not really going to upgrade any of my devices anyway so none of this is that great. I don’t have any interest in AirPods so I’m not really into that either. I’ve never had an Apple Watch so I really don’t have any interest in those either. And my phones are too old to get the new series so I really don’t have that much coming. I’m just kind of feeling I guess in different about the whole thing. I do like reading about the new things that are coming up though I think it’s great that you put this out every year for us. Thanks for the roundup of everything.
one huge thing missing
They are using the modem developed by Apple. I'll be getting a 18 pro max.
Excited about AirPods 5 and iPhone Duo
AirPods 5 bringing in features of AirPods Pro to an open-ear configuration is just amazing. I own AirPods Pro 3 and, although I like the features and sound quality, I'm not a big fan of in-ear headphones, and I don't personally find the higher volume equalization changes of the AirPods 4, which I also own, to be that annoying, so I guess that I'll be buying the AirPods 5 with wireless charging and volume controls on the stems to use at home, while reserving AirPods Pro 3 for outdoors use since they are less prone to falling off my ears if I accidentally bump into something or someone bumps into me.
The iPhone Duo is definitely a preorder-day investment for me, because I'm a developer who likes to showcase my projects in social settings, and the ability to carry essentially an iPad Mini with a profile that's smaller than a regular iPhone in my pocket to delight the sighted is too good to miss. It also has TouchID, which is a lot mor comfortable to use than FaceID in my opinion since I won't have to look at the phone the right way in order to unlock it or make payments. I currently own an iPhone 17, have previously owned an iPhone 17 Pro which has been seized for investigation after I reported a security breach to the police, and would normally not care about the iPhone 18 Pro or 18 Pro Max, but the iPhone Duo changes everything and I'll definitely get that.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 was my main disappointment. I currently own an Ultra 3, which is my second Ultra 3 since the first was also seized for investigation, and I own it not for the health features but rather for the more accurate GPS for orientation and navigation, the cellular capabilities making it possible to replace a phone, the ability to pay with a low profile device on my wrist, the ability to read the time without taking a phone out of my pocket, and the relatively long battery life which easily lasts 3 days with my normal use. The only thing that the Ultra 4 improves and I care about is the battery life, but the Ultra 3 is already good enough for me, and the rumored TouchID support on the digital crown unfortunately did not materialize, so I'll pass on this one.
Should have waited a year longer
I should have waited a year longer and just gotten the 18 PM, but then again I really like this 17 PM too and I have nothing to complain about. The battery gains are just so tempting though, however, I'll have to wait at least until the 19 or the 20 due to my contract, since I'm paying in monthly installments.
I totally get people doing that
I totally get people having the need to pay their phones monthly installments so I have to wait on upgrading. I was fortunate enough to be able to buy my phone outright from Apple so I don’t have any kind of luck into any particular phone company, but I know that everybody can do that. But my phones are imperfectly working order so that’s honestly the other reason I’m not upgrading anything. I’m gonna hold onto this SSA 2022 for as long as possible. We’ll just say that I’ll really miss that form factor when I have to give this up. I already know Apple will never bring it back, but I have to enjoy it while I have it. It’s still getting software update so I’ll just use it for as long as I can. It’s on my same Apple account as my iPhone 15 so it’s probably going to be fine for a while. I also just got my iPhone 15 in August last year so I really don’t need to upgrade that either. I do kind of wish there was something a little bit more exciting this year for me, but I’m glad for people who are excited for the new products coming out from Apple. I definitely want to check out one of those iPhone duos though. I wouldn’t have to have somebody take me to the local Apple Store here so I can look at it. It’s kind of interesting to have an iPhone that will look like an iPad mini but running iOS. Although that probably makes a pretty big screen for voiceover users. That’s exactly the reason that I got rid of my iPad mini. But hey, you know it is what it is. Look I’m still disappointed that nothing is coming in pink this year just saying. And no, I cannot see the color at all and I never could. The pink has been my favorite color ever since I was like five years old cause I always thought as a girl color so I just went with that. It’s OK though. My iPhone 15 is pink. And my iPhone SE 2022 is product red so that was the closest I can get. Both of my devices have clear cases so at least people get to see how cool the colors are on my phone.
Duo, VoiceOver and Braille Screen Input
Hello, I am just excited for the Duo machine, as it would finally be the one-device solution I'm looking for, at least in theory. But it's not worth the investment yet.
I'm talking about Input Braille Screen. I'm one active user of this writing mode, and I find that on iPhone it's a little, let's say it rude, amputated. I mean: 6 dots Italian Braille table for input Braille screen is missing some characters: asterisk, hashtag, percent, plus sign, equal sign, square and curly brackets, it has a quite good context detection, let's say smart keyboard, but it does not always work as expected; and given that I am writing in MarkDown very very often, I'd like to be able to do it in every place not just to bring a hardware keyboard or Braille display with me every moment. Or, even, switch Braille keyboard to English and then come back, just to type some characters. Or type them into the traditional virtual keyboard then go back to Braille. You can do it, but when you write a lot of text it's uncomfortable.
So I bought an iPad mini back in 2021, which can help me on this because large screen supports 8 dots virtual Braille keyboard. But it's two machines, one used just for one or two tasks.
The duo would solve this issue, providing me of one device for two use cases; and, considering latest price increases, if changing devices, it would be better to invest on a hybrid device like this one, rather than on iPhone+iPad. If I considered buying a new iPhone 18 any model adding an iPad to the shopping card, yes, I'd reach more than 3000 euros in a moment.
But currently I have just changed my iPhone 13 pro max into an iPhone 17 pro max, it makes no sense to jump in the dark like this. For this year I'll keep my iPhone 17 pro max as it is, without upgrading to any newer iPad I wouldn't need to. Waiting for new developments of this duo, if someone gets it and knows how it practically works with VoiceOver.
Planning to go see it into an apple store though. At least to touch it, to have an idea, I then could even decide to avoid it like death.
the airpods conundroum for me
hi all,
i have only ever tried the airpods pro 2's and original pro and the microphone kept becoming faulty after 3-6 months.
i would like to know, how the adaptive audio works, surely that is unsafe for us as blind people? however, how is it newer on the airpods 5, than on the 4s?
does it not work as i thought? when i tried it on the pro it just sounded like transparency mode with no difference. with this feature is it supposed to use active noise canceling and transparency together? so i could be on a train, turn on the feature and hear the next stop anouncements but not the overall noise of the train?
i would never use full a n c as of course being blind, we need to be aware of our surroundings. conversation mode worked well years ago when i had the pro 2. i just can't imagine how good transparency would be etc. in the open-ear design.
Think it's time
I am using an iPhone Pro Max and it's actually still working well for me, but I am getting serious FOMO with all the AI features. It's maybe not a great time to get a new phone - prices are up, and with local AI becoming a thing I have a feeling that the shelf life of phones is going to be reduced as we need more and more capacity.
But I reckon it's time so think I am going to order the 18 Pro. My understanding is that the battery should be better than my 13 Pro Max was when it was new - and frankly it is still more than I need. I rarely finish the day below 60%.
How much space does the AI indexing take up? I think the 256gb should be plenty for me even so.
I'm trying to remember what burgundy looks like. In my head it's a dark red, but I'm not sure if it might be more purply than that. I'm not sure why I care but for some reason I seem to this year.
I do like the sound of the new watches as well - I'm still using the original Ultra. I don't feel I can quite justify upgrading it considering it was £800 and it doesn't feel essential like the phone. The audio stuff and better Siri sounds tempting though. Will try to hold out for another year or so.
I'd also like to try the new Air Pods. I'm probably the only person on the planet who couldn't get on with the Air Pods Pro 2s - I mean I use them all the time, but they don't seem to fit my mutant ears properly no matter which attachment I use, so I wonder if maybe these would work better.
Couldn't give a stuff about the Ultra - I wish I had the eyes for it but maybe that just saves me some cash so probably a good thing I can't see it.
Anyway seems a pretty good presentation this year. Maybe it's just because I was in the market for a new phone anyway. I guess the phone doesn't really have anything exciting about it, but it will be interesting to see how the new processor works. It certainly sounds good, but then it would, wouldn't it?
yesterday's event
I watched yesterday's event just because I was curious, not because I'm in the market for anything.
This was honestly one of the most boring Apple events I've ever seen, even by the standards of recent years.
I'm generally not interested in foldable phones, I'm also not sure how VoiceOver is going to work with the IPhone duo.
Excited for iPhone Duo
I’m very excited for the iPhone Duo and will pre-order one.
Finally, the iPhone Duo is a phone that really feels new and exciting, without only being focused around camera but real utility and user experience instead.
No Upgrade for me
I'm currently using iPhone 17 ProMax, and I don't think I'm getting any of the new models this year.
iPhone Duo
I would love an iPhone Duo, but it's just not going to happen. The model I want would cost over $3,000 here in Canada. While I'll definitely visit the Apple Store to try one out, I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a phone right now—even one as exciting as the iPhone Duo.
Apple Event
Hello. I was unable to watch the apple event yesterday due to work commitments. Thanks for the summary. :) I am with singer girl and have a base model iPhone 15. IPhone duo sounds intresting and curious as to how VO will work on it. $2,000 is a bit much for a phone however I would like to check one out at the Apple store. I will update to IOS 27 on the 14th and have a play. Assmall as it may seem, independent volume for alarms, ring tones, and the like is interesting. Now when I lower the ringer volume, it won't effect the hole sound configuration. A bit dissappointed I won't be getting the new SIRI but it is what it is. I also heard a rumor that SIRI AI is in beta form.
Nah.
I've got an iphone 12 I think, or could be 12 pro, I don't know and honestly don't care that much, could even be a 13, but nah. I like AI, I think it's great but unless apple can wow me, whitch i highly doubt, I think the only time I'l upgrade my phone is if it actually dies. Although the 2 tb does seam interesting, maybe the best of the best ai will be on that model but then it'll be fun to see what it can do.
I do agree with singergirl that not much seams to change over the years, and i don't see that being any deffirnt for the next 3 or so years
My prediction with the bit of research I've done over this year with AI is that 2030 is the big year, that's the year when tonnes change, from your tooth paste and mouth wash to your raisers and things of that nature, so AI is going to get a huge change there too...
But would it be enough to buy the latest phone in 2030? honestly in my opinion,, no. I don't think anything AI wise will come out that will wow me on a phone, computers? sure, but IPhones? I doubt it.
I feel like I come across very cynical in my replies sometimes. Maybe it's with my age or with the way tech is going but yeah phones don't really hold any interest for me any more. They work and i like the games but feature wise? I just don't care about the latest AI. It's funny in a way, computers? I'm all over AI but phones? I couldn't care less.
Some thoughts
Ok so first off that iPhone duo looks awesome however I’m a pro-max person so if I do upgrade, I’ll probably be sticking with that. I have the 17 pro max right now, running the public beta version of iOS 27, and I must say it’s actually pretty freaking awesome. The new Siri is so much more capable than it used to be. I’m gonna skip over everything you all know about the new Siri, and I’m just going to get right into what I was just using it for. So, this new Siri can actually see what’s on your screen to help you out, so, what did I do? I opened up my camera! By opening up my camera, I was able to get Siri to describe what’s in front of me, what’s around me, read the text, tell me whether or not I’m in a good position to take a photo, etc. I just pushed the camera button on the bottom right, then hold the lock button to talk to Siri. This is awesome… i’ve been having quite a bit of fun doing this. So I can’t wait till the full version comes out.
thoughts
No fomo here, but that's what I expected. I, like everyone else, want to see how the iPhone Duo works. I don't think I would buy one though.
It'll be interesting to see what, if any, good use cases it has for VoiceOver users. Given the many threads here about people asking if an iPad is worth it, and some people trying an iPad multiple times and going back to their iPhone/laptop, it will be in interesting to see if the same thing happens with the Duo.
All the gushing they do about the camera every year makes no sense to me at all as a person with no vision.
New siri voices.
I currently have an iPhone 16Pro. The new Siri voices sound interesting. As this isn't supported in the sixteen, I would need to update. This makes the 18Pro tempting. Not interested in the Duo as it would dramatically change how apps are laid out on the larger screen, probably feel more like an iPad. Interesting event though.
nice to have touch id back on a phone
I don't plan to buy anything this year, but if I was, I would try out the duo, to have touch id back! Other than that, it was a job well done by apple as always with the presenting. I cant wait to see what the rest of this year brings
Can't decide yet
Half a year ago I said I'd buy the 18 when it came out in September because although I love my tiny iPhone Mini very much! After all, I'm a female with small hands and small pockets. The iPhone Mini has 1 big fault. Its battery is also mini, and now old. Honestly, I also feel I should have the satellite features as well, because I do spend time in the mountains and other areas without cell service. Of course I soon found out there wouldn't be a standard 18 this fall.
The Siri features are actually the first AI I've ever been the slightest bit interested in because I'm all about privacy, safety, and no weird faulty content creation that isn't quite real so feels like it is cheating unwilling consumers. Getting things done efficiently and privately sounds good. It's amazing how much I hate digging through old messages and Emails for something I need quickly. Instant on-device image description would obviously be invaluable. And shortcut creation by description would be good too. The stupid shortcut interface keeps getting flakier and flakier when using VoiceOver.
Now I am going to show some wise self-control and not buy anything until I hear that the awful audio quality of iOS 27 is fixed, because it would be crazy to reward Apple for making phones that should be awesome but give blind people a low quality experience. I know I couldn't stand that and will tell them so.
So as of this minute I don't know whether I'm going to splurge on an 18 pro, wait for a deal on an iPhone 17 pro, or wait for the cheaper 18. I'm torn because I don't want the extra size and weight of the current phones but do want the features. I sure hope Apple fixes the bugs and makes me too impatient to wait until spring for a new phone.
thoughts on the new products.
I personally don't plan to upgrade just yet, and I certainly can't justify 3000 dollars for the iphone duo. I'll probably try it out in stors though. As for the Airpods I'm happy with the ones I have right now. I'll just see what happens this year.
Hard pass!
I've got airpods pro III, an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and an iphone 16. They're still meeting my needs just fine. I haven't read or heard anything even remotely tempting about this year's new devices. If I hadn't just bought the ultra 3 watch, I might have been slightly tempted by the new watch, but I'm getting better at resisting hype. I learned a very expensive lesson about falling for hype from those Ally Solos glasses.
question
So as I understand, they are not offering the 18? Just the pro models and up?
Re:question
The standard iPhone 18 is coming in March with the iPhone 18 E and most likely an iPhone Air two
Interesting I didn’t know that
Just out of curiosity, where did you see that there’s an iPhone AT&T coming out in March? That wasn’t mentioned in this post. I mean it’s cool. I believe you. I’m sure they probably is one. I just didn’t hear about it. I would definitely rather have just standard models. I don’t need pro phones. I don’t need bigger cameras and bigger screen stuff like that. I’m completely blind and I have been since birth so I’ve been a voiceover user the whole time I’ve had iPhones. My joke has always been that you can make the screen as bright as you want and the print is large as you want I’ll never see it. Never have either so there’s really not much for me to miss out on. Plus, I have small hands so I really don’t want a big phone even this iPhone 15 is a little bit bigger than I like, but it’s a smallest one factor there right now I think is the standard bottles. I don’t really know what my next one will be, but I really don’t have any reason to upgrade yet. I really hope Apple puts out something else in pink though. I know the iPhone 16 and 17 both have a pink version. I’ll probably get one of those next. We’ll see what happens by the time I’m ready to upgrade. The other thing I’m really not too thrilled about is that I won’t be able to have a mute switch anymore. That was actually the reason that I went with a standard 15 instead of a 16 because I wanted the switch. I don’t really like the idea of action button. So yeah it’s kind of why I’m holding onto this phone as long as I can. It’s also the reason that I kept my iPhone SE 2022 with my iPad because it’s the only thing left of the home button on it. I’m very tactically oriented so it’s gonna be really hard to give up those devices. At least I know I won’t have to for a while. They’re both getting software updates and they still both working so I’m going to keep them for as long as possible and continue to use them. Probably quite literally into the battery eyes to be honest because this because they’re not being updated doesn’t mean they won’t work.
No thanks.
My 16 pro is getting everything I need this year. The new Siri voices aren't anything to write home about anyway.
I really didn’t like them when I first heard them
I really didn’t like those New Siri voices when I first heard them. They just seem way too natural to me. I have this thing and I suppose it’s because I grew up with computerized voices that I don’t really want my machines to sound so human that I won’t be able to distinguish the difference between a machine and a human. And me though Siri voice is kind of towards the beginning of that. I’m actually really happy I’m not getting them. Yeah my iPhone 15 is taking care of everything I need is perfectly too. I’m also keeping my iPhone SE 2022 with an iPod. I asked if I wanted to trade that in along with my iPad mini six generation when I did that and I said no I wanted to keep it and I’m so glad I did. This is the last device for the home button, honey. I actually went with an iPhone 15 instead of a 16 because I like to switch for muting and I’m meeting the device instead of action. I know somebody I’m going to have to get used to that, but I figured since the 15 was still available I went and grabbed it. I have the 512 gig variant for the iPhone 15 in pink. My iPhone SE 2022 in the 256 gig in product red. I was happy that I was able to get the highest storage available on both devices. I have no idea what my next device will be but I’m really happy that the ones I have an hour. I’m still getting software update.
A pet peeve
I suppose they will delete this comment. But, the past tense of shrink is shrank.
OK, grammar police? :-)
I didn’t know we had grammar police on this site. Lol :-) but yes, you’re right. And yes, it’s annoying to have to read something like that. I understand. I just thought that was kind of funny. That you came on here and had to mention it.
thoughts
@Singer Girl lol. Proud member of the grammar police here. I joke to people that I'm the all-knowing grammar snob! I wouldn't point out all the little things that bug me here though. lol
As for the event, mostly meh as usual and no fomo for me. Like a lot of people, I do want to see what the Duo looks like. I wouldn't buy one though.
With all tech prices going up, I didn't see any compelling reason to upgrade from my 15 Pro. It gives me the AI features I care about and meets my needs just fine, so am glad I put in a new battery a couple months ago. Should give me another couple years out of it, and is much cheaper than buying a new iPhone (I buy my iPhones outright from the Apple Store with trade in and gift card credit).
I do the same thing
I do the same thing. My phone outright from Apple trading all that fun stuff. Yeah I really don’t think anything. This year is interesting enough for me to buy anything either. I definitely want to check out the new phone just to see what it looks like. I wouldn’t spend that much money on that thing though. Also, I think for something like that, I would probably wait for a couple more generations of it to be out first just to see how the durability of something like that would be and also how it will work for users because it almost seems like it’s gonna be more like an iPad. I don’t want it to be something that I would end up painting to have and then have to get rid of it. I did that with the iPad and it was only an iPad mini and I was still getting lost. Too much screen real estate for me as somebody who’s totally blind it’s birth. I don’t need a giant screen. I feel like the duo phone would just be a giant screen. I don’t use Bluetooth keyboard, so yeah, it would definitely be too much flipping. Too much swiping, but yeah.
Thank you for the grammar fix!
My thanks to Honest Nan, who is quite correct that my conjugation of "shrink" was incorrect. I try to get all my grammar right in these posts. For some reason, shrunk and shrank both sound right to me, so I didn't notice the error when I was proof-reading this. There's no ambiguity here, though: shrank is correct, and I was wrong.
Pre-ordering
I'm here and ready to go, 512GB 18 pro max for me, put a lot of thought into it, but not time for the duo yet, I'll see how it develops and go from there in the future. I buy larger storage and sell sooner, I just like to sell still having value on my phones
airpods
so what will the airpods 5 be like, vs the airpods pro 3? with adaptive audio still confused how this works? when we are walking say, will it not put us in danger? i like the sound of it if will mute say a train hum but still allow say the next stop announcements?
guess i'll have to try the both sets out.
Duo
I will absolutely be getting a duo, love the form factor and can’t wait.
I’m a bit confused on the questions on this thread about how VoiceOver will work on the duo?
It will work like VoiceOver on any other iPhone or iPad mini, I feel like that’s pretty obvious. I’m not sure why anyone would expect a fundamentally different user experience.
AtSinger Girl pink
Perhaps, a pink shell will work out for you, Singer Girl. Pink really can be an elegant and feminine color if pared with the right complementary colors and shades. Even though it used to be more a color preferred for men, and blue as the feminine.
Hope you end up with something you feell good about when you do upgrade.
Thanks me too
Thanks, I hope I do too. There is actually a couple phones that are pink. There’s 16 and 17 with pink. But yeah, I mean I could do a pink case I get that but it’s not quite the same. I mean look I get it. I’m never gonna see it but it’s just one of those things. As far as one of the other comments asking if we’d have a different Voice experience I think for me I was thinking that the do a phone would have a different Voice experience because there’s two screens iPad and the phone only have one screen so there might be a slightly different way that you use the dressers for voiceover. But yeah, I’m definitely gonna check out one of those moments for sure. I’ll be able to get one right now, but I’m gonna look.
Re: AtSinger Girl pink
Are you messing with her? Pink is definitely a female color in any setting, while blue is regarded as a male color. I personally wouldn't buy a pink phone though, and I'm not homophobic, it's just that I personally dislike pink. Purple, on the other hand, is a relatively close shade to pink that happens to be my favorite color. Pink has more red than blue, purple has nearly the same amount of red and blue, and violet looks like purple with more blue than red to the human eye but is in fact a completely distinct pure color of the rainbow.
Singer Girl and pink phone
Since I have color perception, I purposely didn't let myself look at the pink iPhone 16 when I was at the Apple store back in January of 2025 because I knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to make up my mind which one I wanted. I love my ultramarine phone, but a co-worker got the pink iPhone 16. She needed help with something, so I took a quick look at her phone since it was in a clear case. It is the prettiest shade of pink you can imagine. I'm so glad I didn't check it out before making my purchase. The decision paralysis would have been real for sure.
Oh wow, interesting
See that’s interesting to me. I can’t look at it. I just get it because I like it. And now actually, nobody was messing with me. I actually did read somewhere that it was the other way around that blue used to be the feminine color. But since it’s pink now, I’m just gonna go with that. Yeah I needed probably pink iPhone 16 or 17. I’ll probably be my next phone. Since literally nothing else from Apple after that is in pink. Very sad. When I had my iPad mini six generation that was also pink.
Colours
I've always thought it strange how some blind people seem to really care about the colour of things.
And then I found myself thinkg "ooh, burgundy!" and then having to research to make sure burgundy really was what I thought it was. All the while wondering why on earth I care.
Anyway, pre-ordered a burgundy iPhone 18 Pro which should arrive in a couple of weeks. First time I've used the Apple Store app to buy something. It was a bit more fiddly than I expected - after I saved my item to pick up and checkout later I really couldn't find out where the checkout option was. I ended up starting again and managed to finally find it on the main product page somewhere. Also odd that it seemed to default the post code to some random address in Milton Keynes I think. It was also a bit annoying it didn't allow me to pay with Apple Pay (maybe too expensive?) and didn't auto-complete the security code so I had to go get some help.
Anyway looking forward to the fun of getting it all setup as I've not done this before when it's mattered.
I wasn't brave enough to do a trade-in as I might not be ready in 14 days to send it back. I think I can trade-in after the event, though. I was looking at the trade-in value of my old phone plus my current Watch Ultra and thinking.. hmmm that's almost half the cost of a new Ultra 4.... could I?? No, no, no, stop this madness.
What phone are you upgrading from?
What phone are you upgrading from? Just curious. Have fun with your new toy. Lol I think it’s cool that you’re getting 18 pro. I don’t know why I’m blind people care about colors. That’s a really good question. Mine is just totally against nostalgia since I was a little kid you know I mean I can’t see pink. I’ve never seen it. I don’t know. I think it’s something like that. I know some people like the way the certain words of the color sound. I knew somebody who liked purple just because she liked the word purple she couldn’t see purple at all. I don’t know, but that’s cool that you’re getting your 18. Hope it works out for you. You can probably just do a phone to phone transfer if you want. I’ve done that and I’ve had success with all the phones I’ve done that with and it’s been like three different phones so far.
You be you @Singer Girl
I fully understand what you mean Singer Girl about wanting the color to be near you, it's the concept of it and the concept or inner feeling you have about yourself. We all kind of exist in the context of our culture, which does change over generations, sometimes over much shorter times. And feelings for some of us can shift at times along with the colors we associate with inside. I'll leave it at that.
I assure you, pink, as a shade of red, was once viewed as a masculine color. That is an historical fact. But as I said, our cultural context has changed. I wish you all the pink you can find, Singer Girl.
Oh, mr grieves, burgundy, so manly. 🤣 Hope you like your new phone.
Oh thanks
Thanks, old bear. Yes I know that’s a historical fact. I know you weren’t just like saying that. I’ve read that somewhere else before too. I can’t remember we are though. Hey we all like what we like I guess. I love that. I didn’t get one of the pink silicone cases from Apple for my iPhone 15. So my phone and my cases are pink. Look the only thing that really is stupid about that is that Voice does not detect is pink. If you put that case on the iPhone 15, it says that it’s light red so apparently voiceover doesn’t know colors very well. Lol I actually called Apple to tell him about that because I just thought it was weird, but it doesn’t even know its own colors of its own cases. They said it was like the white detecting it or some thing like that. I mean, it’s better than what it used to say. And iOS 18, it used to say that the color was like gray so at least I was 26 a little bit more of a hopefully accuracy I have no idea now it says that it’s light pink silicone and MagSafe case detected when you put it on the phone. Yeah. She’s a light ride, but yeah, here we are. Voiceover light red. Go figure.
Upgrade
I am upgrading from an iPhone 13 Pro Max - so looking forward to playing with the new Siri, new image descriptions, the funny new buttons I think have got added - discovering - and probably swearing about - the new dynamic island and so on.
As a fan of Liverpool football club (or soccer to those who don't know any better) I have a fondness for red, and I think burgundy is a very dark red so think it is quite classy if I remember right, which I probably don't. Anyway, I can't see it so it's whatever I imagine it to be I suppose.
Exactly
Ya, that isn't right. Even if it is true, pink is a type of light red, it doesn't carry the spirit of pinkness in our minds. And don't let anyone talk you out of that spirit, Singer Girl, enjoy expressing yourself as much as you can.
I like the colors or shades of colors near me that draw out a positive response from people seeing me. They go well with my hair and skin tone--it's changing as I go gray with age--then I try to pick the shades of colors with undertones that both express how I feel and fall in that range. Ya, that's complex, but that's what having multiple cases or accessories is about. I felt not so happy about when the only case I could get was the black one, or that it only has a black belt clip. I just try to ignore the thought of it in the back of my mind.
Ironic irony
First, great job on the blog post. I think the OP captured the details of the event quite nicely. Second, with regards to the iPhone Duo, while I love the concept of this device, I will not be getting it on launch day. Ever since my fiasco with an iPhone 15 Pro, I will never buy a brand new iPhone on launch day. Never again.
Now for something amusing...
Earlier this year I mentioned that Apple was developing a foldable iPhone device. If I can dig up that post from my history, I'll paste it here in an edit, but the point of the story is I got laughed at and scolded by a good chunk of the community here. Now look at you all, so excited about the new foldable iPhone launching next month. 🤔
I also cannot tell you how often in the past year alone, I've been ridiculed by people because I held onto an iPhone SE 2022, primarily because I thoroughly enjoy TouchID over FaceID. Many folks on here persist that FaceID is so much better than TouchID. And now several of you are excited about TouchID coming back to iPhone. 😂
Regarding colors, @Mr Grieves, do you remember what ketchup looks like? Burgundy is a darker shade of red, with a touch of brown in it. It is a vibrant, yet darker red, vibrant light ketchup, darker light barbecue sauce, but more red than brown. I hope that helps. Also, purple is, the best, color.
Hands-down. 😎👍
Brian, Brian, Brian...
That is a fantastic description of burgundy. Breathtaking, in fact. You're very good at this. I'm stunned.
I have my SE of the same ventage, I think, 3gen. And I do prefer the fingerprint reader. *sigh* I reluctantly feel I will give that up for a new model soon, assuming iPhones actually stay at the listed price point.
Purple is a powerful color. I have hazel eyes and can turn them very green with purple, like shockingly green. It's just that many shades of purple are just too strong for my palette. Lavender is probably the strongest shade of purple that could work overall. From there some of the odder sounding cool purples, like cool periwinkle and other flower named colors, cool plum, soft mauve also. Sometimes I wear earrings, so that's close enough to the eyes to have the effect.
I love various colors of yellow and orange with blue shades, However, I found out long ago I can't have the yellow and orange near me, like clothing, because it just blasts people in the eyes, same with some of the reds. They don't even see me, just the orange shirt. They're OK in small amounts as Pastels and dusty, so maybe a phone like that might be OK near me. But I think that orange they use on the iPhones is way too bold, and people would just see the phone, not me.
But ya, if they had a purple iPhone, I might get it. It's not easy being me. 🤣
@OldBear
You forgot Royal Purple, good sir. 🤨