Apple has released its 2026 lineup, headlined by iPhone Duo, the company’s first foldable iPhone. The device joins a range of updates across the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods lines that push further into artificial intelligence, health tracking and photo verification.
iPhone Duo opens to a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR display, which Apple says provides 50% more screen area than the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Closed, its 5.4-inch outer display offers 90% of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro. Apple says a custom nano-texture finish reduces glare and minimizes the visibility of the fold crease.
Instead of Face ID, iPhone Duo relies on Touch ID built into the side button, with support for enrolling multiple fingers so the phone can be unlocked in different positions. The body is made of Grade 5 titanium, and Apple says the phone carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Apple Pencil with USB-C support is expected later this year.
The folding design enables features unavailable on standard iPhones. Dual Capture shows front and rear camera feeds simultaneously during FaceTime, and Duo FaceTime lets someone sitting beside the user join a call through the outer display. Other camera additions include Duo Preview, which lets a subject see the shot before it’s taken, Kid Cue, which uses animations to get a child’s attention, and Smart Take, which can automatically capture a photo once everyone in frame appears ready.
iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for 256GB of storage, with configurations up to 2TB available. Preorders begin Oct. 16, and the phone goes on sale Oct. 23.
Software Built Around the Fold
Apple redesigned iOS 27 so content can move between the two displays. Opening the phone lets apps expand onto the larger screen, and users can run two apps side by side — for example, viewing an email inbox and a message at once, or displaying two Home Screen pages simultaneously. Apple showed Zoom and Netflix adapting their interfaces to take advantage of the dual-screen layout.
A Camera Upgrade for the Standard Pro Models
Buyers who skip the foldable aren’t left out of the camera news. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max get a 48MP Fusion Main camera with a variable aperture that adjusts automatically for lighting and depth of field, or can be set manually to ƒ/1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8 or ƒ/4.0.
A separate feature called Apple Reference Image securely signs photo data at the pixel level at the moment of capture, which Apple says can help verify what the camera sensor actually saw — a potential tool for journalists or investigators concerned about AI-generated images.
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299. Preorders begin Sept. 12, with both phones available Sept. 18.
Faster Chip, Longer Battery Life
Apple says the new A20 Pro chip, built on 2-nanometer technology, includes a second Neural Engine for a total of 32 Neural Engine cores, doubling compute power for on-device AI models. The iPhone 18 Pro Max is rated for up to 45 hours of video playback — Apple’s longest battery life yet in an iPhone — and up to 30 hours of general use. Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro can charge to 50% in about 15 minutes with a compatible adapter.
A More Personal Siri
Apple rebuilt Siri to draw on personal context from apps like Mail and Messages and to respond to what the camera sees in real time. A new Siri app on the Home Screen lets users start or return to conversations, which sync privately through iCloud. Siri AI begins rolling out in beta in English on Sept. 14 with iOS 27, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish support expected in October.
Apple Watch Starts Listening — With Limits
Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 introduce Siri Recap, which uses ambient listening to turn conversations into notes with a title, summary and key points. Users control when and where it listens. A related feature, Live Rewind, lets someone double-click the Digital Crown to transcribe the previous 15 seconds of conversation.
Apple says these Audio Intelligence features do not create or store audio recordings, that raw processing audio remains inaccessible even to Apple, and that the system does not identify individual speakers. Transcripts and recaps sync via end-to-end encryption. Both features require Siri AI and will arrive in beta later this year, starting in English.
Health Tracking Gets More Frequent — and More Visual
The new Health Sensing System lets Apple Watch Series 12 measure heart rate every five seconds throughout the day and measure heart rate variability up to 24 times more often than before. Apple says internal testing found the system delivers the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. A new daily Readiness score, drawn from recent activity, sleep and vital signs, is meant to help users decide whether to push their workout or focus on recovery.
A separate Health app feature called Movement Evaluations uses the iPhone camera and on-device, vision-based AI to assess flexibility, strength, balance, movement mechanics and VO2 max, which Apple says could help people track recovery from an injury. Apple says no video from these assessments is recorded, stored or shared.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 gets up to 50 hours of normal use, or up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout mode. Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at $799; both are available to preorder now and go on sale Sept. 18.
Cheaper AirPods With Translation Built In
Apple also introduced AirPods 5 with Active Noise Cancellation, starting at $129 — stronger noise cancellation than the previous generation while keeping the open-ear design. That model offers up to four hours of listening with ANC on and up to 20 hours with the charging case. A $149 version adds a volume swipe control and wireless charging case, extending battery life to five hours per charge and 22 hours total. Both go on sale Sept. 18, with preorders open now.
AirPods 5 support Live Translation and Siri AI; Apple demonstrated the earbuds translating Spanish into English during a live conversation.
What It Means for Buyers
iPhone Duo is the most attention-grabbing announcement, but its $1,999 starting price puts it well beyond an impulse purchase. The AirPods 5, at $129, may end up reaching far more households. Several of the AI-driven features — Siri Recap in particular — raise questions about when devices are actively listening, even as Apple has built in specific privacy safeguards around audio storage and speaker identification. Apple Reference Image, meanwhile, could prove more significant over time as concerns grow about distinguishing real photographs from AI-generated ones.
