Apple Announces 'Surprise And Shine' iPhone 18 Pro And Foldable September Event

Apple just announced its "Surprise and shine" event will take place on September 9, 2026, at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. History suggests the company will unveil a new generation of iPhone and Apple Watch models in two weeks. The keynote is set to take place at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.

Unlike past keynotes, there are two key differences for this one. John Ternus takes over as Apple CEO on September 1st, which means this will be his first keynote as the head of Apple. The second change is that rumors point to Apple only announcing the Pro lineup of its smartphones and a new foldable phone, pushing the iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2, and even the iPhone 18e to early September.

If you're waiting for the iPhone 18 lineup to launch before you buy an older model, there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't wait for this keynote to get an iPhone 17. However, Apple is rumored to be introducing some of its most highly-anticipated new releases in years, including the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, the foldable iPhone (rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra), Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4. Recent reports briefly suggested that Apple's leaked AirPods with a camera could launch as soon as next month, but that seems to have been postponed to early 2027.

The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to look similar to their predecessors, but with a few notable changes. Besides bigger camera sensors, these iPhones are expected to come in new colors, including a new Cherry color set to replace the current Cosmic Orange. Apple is also rumored to introduce a camera with variable aperture for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, once again making a camera feature exclusive to the bigger model.

Both devices should have the A20 Pro processor, the company's C2 5G modem overseas (and a Qualcomm version in the U.S.), and increased battery life. Rumors also suggest that this iPhone could cost over $200 more than its predecessor, although it's unclear if Apple is going to raise prices while starting the Pro models at 512GB of storage or if it's going to get more expensive but with the same 256GB of storage. In 2025, Apple killed off the 128GB versions of its phones so it wouldn't have to raise prices, even though users were paying $100 extra for the base model.

Still, the star of the event should be the foldable iPhone. With a passport-like design, this device should look similar to the recently-released Galaxy Z Fold 8. It's expected to have 12GB of RAM, Apple's A20 Pro chip, Touch ID support instead of Face ID, and two main camera sensors instead of three. The device is also expected to cost at least $2,000.

For the Apple Watch Series 12, Apple has been rumored to bring back a ceramic version, which would, most likely, replace the current titanium model for the non-Ultra models. Besides that, the new Apple Watch is expected to introduce a chip to improve performance and Siri AI. In 2025, DigiTimes said that Apple Watch Ultra 4 could get a major redesign with "a significant upgrade to sensing functions." However, we still don't know what the next Apple Watch Ultra will look like.

In the past, rumors pointed to a new design for the regular Apple Watch, including a new band pattern, but Apple has kept consistent for a decade now. Still, this might actually be a big year for the Apple Watch, as the company has watchOS 27 will not support several old models, which could indicate big changes are around the corner.

Last but not least, Apple could use this September event to announce the iOS 27 release date. In the past, Apple offered the Release Candidate version of the software right after the keynote, with the official version coming a week later. This year, alongside iOS 27, Apple will launch iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27, with most of these updates focused on the new Siri AI and revamped Apple Intelligence features.