Apple unveiled its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max smartphones, AirPods 5 earbuds, and Apple Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4 smartwatches during a keynote on September 9, 2026, presented by John Ternus in his debut as the company's new chief executive.
The event is best remembered for Ternus's announcement of the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable smartphone, due to go on sale October 23. But before revealing that long-awaited device, Ternus also introduced four other new products going on sale September 18: the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, the AirPods 5, and the two new Apple Watch models.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
There is no standard iPhone 18 for now, at least not yet. In its place, Apple's new flagship line is the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which closely resemble last year's iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. The phones come in four colors: a new burgundy shade the company is promoting as this year's signature color, following orange the previous year, plus glacier, silver and black.
Both models run on Apple's new A20 Pro chip, the first built on a 2-nanometer process, and offer improved battery life of 24 hours for the Pro and 30 hours for the Pro Max. The Pro has a 6.3-inch screen and the Pro Max a 6.9-inch screen. Both feature an upgraded Dynamic Island that can now display three activities at once, such as music, GPS navigation and Safari, instead of just one.
Apple focused much of its pitch on photography. The two phones introduce a variable aperture, which the company called its biggest camera improvement in years. The system uses a mechanical diaphragm made up of six small blades that open or close over the 48-megapixel main sensor to control how much light reaches it, improving low-light performance and depth of field. A new Pro mode lets users adjust white balance, and Apple also added new Photographic Styles presets. The phones also introduce Apple Reference Image, based on the SynthID standard, which authenticates photos at the moment they are taken so they cannot be mistaken for AI-generated images.
Both models cost 150 euros more than last year's Pro and Pro Max, a rise Apple has attributed to higher chipset prices. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at 1,479 euros for the 256GB model, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at 1,629 euros for the same storage.
AirPods 5
Apple also refreshed its earbuds with the AirPods 5, which it says offer the best active noise cancellation on the market for an open-ear design, a claim that will likely be impossible to verify independently. Apple says the new earbuds bring up to 50% better active noise cancellation than the AirPods 4, along with an improved Transparency mode and a redesigned sound architecture intended to make listening more personalized and immersive.
The AirPods 5 come in two versions: a standard model and one with a wireless charging case compatible with Qi chargers, the same standard used by Apple Watch chargers. That version, priced 20 euros higher, also adds touch controls on the earbud stems. The AirPods 5 cost 149 euros for the standard version and 169 euros for the wireless-charging-case version.
Apple Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4
The new Apple Watch Series 12, available in sidereal grey, black, light gold and dark bronze, keeps the same design and 24-hour battery life as its predecessor but adds new health features powered partly by Apple's new S11 chip and artificial intelligence. A new rear optical sensor lets the watch take heart rate readings every 5 seconds in the background and measure heart rate variability every 5 minutes to track physiological stress.
Apple Intelligence processes that data to estimate how ready the wearer is to handle their day and take on a workout, based on recent activity, training load, vital signs and sleep.
The watch also gains what Apple calls audio intelligence, which uses its microphones to recognize sounds such as a doorbell or an alarm, a feature aimed at people with hearing loss. A new Live Rewind function can replay the last 15 seconds of an ongoing conversation and transcribe it instantly to text on screen; the feature, which can be turned off, can also identify songs through Shazam.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4, which Apple describes as its ultimate watch for sport and adventure, gets the same health system and audio intelligence along with improved battery life of more than two days, or up to 18 hours with GPS in use. The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at 449 euros, while the Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at 899 euros.
