Apple’s 2026 Event: iPhone Duo Leads a Packed Lineup of New Hardware

Apple’s September 2026 event delivered several familiar annual upgrades, but one product changed the shape of the entire presentation: iPhone Duo. Apple’s first foldable iPhone moves the company into a category it has watched from the sidelines for years, pairing a pocketable outer display with the largest screen Apple has ever put in an iPhone. Around it, Apple also introduced iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.

The result is an unusually broad hardware refresh, but Duo is clearly the headline act. It is not simply an iPhone with a hinge. Apple has reworked parts of iOS 27 around two displays, multitasking and flexible positions, while using the same A20 Pro platform as its conventional flagship phones. Here is every major product Apple showed, with iPhone Duo first and in the most detail.

iPhone Duo: Apple’s first foldable is the main event

iPhone Duo is a book-style foldable built around a 5.4-inch outer Super Retina XDR display and a 7.6-inch inner display. Closed, Apple describes the device as roughly passport-sized; opened, it becomes the thinnest iPhone the company has made and provides a screen designed for reading, video, games and more serious multitasking. Both panels use the same aspect ratio, which is intended to make content move between them without an awkward change in proportions.

The inner panel also gets a nano-texture finish intended to reduce glare and reflections. The chassis uses grade 5 titanium and a precision hinge, with star white and night sky as the two launch finishes. Instead of Face ID, Duo uses Touch ID in the side button. That is a notable break from Apple’s recent premium iPhones, but it also avoids needing the usual Face ID hardware arrangement in a much more tightly packaged folding design.

A version of iOS built for two screens

The bigger change may be software. On iPhone Duo, iOS 27 introduces Split View so two apps can run side by side, while supported apps can also open two windows at once. App pairs can be saved for quick return, and Apple says third-party apps including Netflix, Zoom and Slack are already adapting their interfaces for the folding format. StandBy can work on either screen and does not require the phone to be charging, which makes the half-open device useful as a small desk display.

Apple Pencil support pushes Duo further toward compact-tablet territory. That combination of a 7.6-inch canvas, split-screen apps and stylus input gives the phone a different role from a normal Pro Max: the point is not only to make a large phone smaller in a pocket, but to make an iPhone expand into a workspace when needed.

A20 Pro, dual batteries and the camera system

Inside, Duo uses A20 Pro, Apple’s new 2-nanometer flagship chip, alongside the company’s C2 cellular modem. Apple says the thermal system uses a custom vapor chamber, while the battery is split across both halves of the phone. Its published figures reach up to 31 hours of video playback using the inner display and up to 44 hours using the outer display. When both screens are used equally, Apple quotes up to 24 hours of use per charge. Fast charging can reach 50 percent in around 20 minutes by cable.

The camera system includes 48-megapixel rear cameras, with the foldable body creating some new shooting positions. The design can stand partly open without a separate tripod, and the outer screen can be used in ways a conventional slab phone cannot replicate. Those possibilities are promising, but they remain product claims and demonstrations for now; TechCravers has not tested iPhone Duo, so durability, crease visibility, camera quality and real-world battery life still need independent evaluation.

In Sweden, iPhone Duo starts at 26,995 kr and will be offered with 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB of storage. Pre-orders open October 16 at 14:00 Swedish time, with availability beginning October 23. That makes it significantly more expensive than the iPhone 18 Pro line, so the folding display and new form factor have to justify a substantial premium rather than simply replace the Pro Max.

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: camera control takes priority

The conventional flagship line is now iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The biggest camera change is a 48-megapixel Fusion main camera with variable aperture, giving photographers more direct control over how much light reaches the sensor and how depth of field is rendered. Apple has also added new Pro controls in the Camera app and reduced the size of Dynamic Island.

Both phones use A20 Pro and a next-generation vapor chamber designed to sustain performance for longer. Apple quotes up to 36 hours of video playback for iPhone 18 Pro and up to 45 hours for Pro Max. Storage starts at 256 GB and now extends to 2 TB, while the launch colors are black, silver, glacier and burgundy.

Swedish pricing starts at 16,495 kr for iPhone 18 Pro and 18,495 kr for iPhone 18 Pro Max. Pre-orders opened September 12 and the phones go on sale September 18. Apple did not introduce a standard iPhone 18 at this event, leaving the Pro models and Duo to define the new iPhone range for now.

AirPods 5: active noise cancellation reaches the base model

AirPods 5 bring active noise cancellation to Apple’s most affordable current AirPods. Apple claims the new open-ear design removes up to 50 percent more external noise than AirPods 4 with ANC, helped by a redesigned multiport acoustic architecture and updated Adaptive EQ. Transparency mode, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, head-gesture Siri controls and Live Translation are also part of the feature set.

There are two versions. Standard AirPods 5 cost 1,695 kr in Sweden. AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case cost 1,895 kr and add wireless charging, on-stem volume adjustment and longer battery life. Apple rates that version for up to five hours of playback with ANC enabled and up to 22 hours including the case. Both versions are available from September 18.

Apple Watch Series 12: more frequent health sensing

Apple Watch Series 12 centers on a new Health Sensing System and S11 chip. Apple says the redesigned optical and electrical sensors allow heart rate measurements every five seconds throughout the day, alongside more frequent heart-rate-variability readings. A new readiness score combines recent activity, training load, vital signs and sleep into a daily score with guidance ranging from rest to being ready for harder effort.

Battery life remains rated at up to 24 hours for normal use, but outdoor workout tracking rises to as much as 10 hours. Charging is faster too: Apple says 15 minutes can provide up to 12 additional hours. Series 12 comes in 42 mm and 46 mm sizes, with aluminum, titanium and new ceramic configurations. Swedish pricing starts at 4,995 kr, with retail availability from September 18.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: longer endurance for the adventure model

Apple Watch Ultra 4 takes the same new Health Sensing System and S11 platform into Apple’s 49 mm titanium adventure watch. Its emphasis is endurance: Apple lists up to 50 hours of everyday battery life, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode and as much as 45 hours of outdoor workout tracking. A 15-minute charge is rated to add up to 18 hours of use.

Ultra 4 also gains the new readiness and health features arriving across the Watch line, plus Siri AI and forthcoming Audio Intelligence functions. In Sweden it starts at 9,995 kr and goes on sale September 18. For existing Ultra owners, the battery and health-sensing changes are likely to be the most consequential parts of the upgrade rather than a radical redesign.

A launch defined by the iPhone Duo

Apple’s annual Pro phone, Watch and AirPods updates are substantial, but iPhone Duo changes the conversation. It gives Apple a genuinely new iPhone form factor, creates a reason for iOS to support phone-sized multitasking, and introduces a device that sits somewhere between an iPhone Pro Max and an iPad mini in how it can be used.

The unanswered questions are equally important. A foldable lives or dies by hinge durability, display wear, the visibility and feel of its crease, app behavior and battery life under mixed use. None of those can be settled from a launch presentation. What is verified is that Apple has finally entered the foldable market with a premium, highly differentiated device — and at 26,995 kr, it is asking buyers to pay accordingly.

Where to find it

• Apple iPhone Duo
• Apple iPhone 18 Pro