All the news from Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine’ event

Apple announced the next version of the rugged and durable Apple Watch Ultra at today’s “Surprise and shine” event.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 features a design that’s nearly identical to last year’s Apple Watch Ultra 3 but is powered by Apple’s new S11 processor, which replaces the aging S10 chip first introduced with the Apple Watch Series 10 in 2024. The S11 will bring some much-needed performance improvements to the Ultra 4 ahead of Apple’s upcoming watchOS 27 release that will include the smarter and more capable Siri AI assistant announced at Apple’s annual WWDC conference earlier this year.

Apple is launching its next iOS 27 update on Monday September 14th. The headline feature is Siri AI, the delayed AI-powered overhaul of the Siri assistant. Siri AI is rolling out with iOS 27 as a beta, available initially for English-only devices. Apple says support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish is coming in October.

Siri AI isn’t the only big feature in iOS 27, though. Apple is adding a new Liquid Glass opacity slider that lets you pick between a clearer UI or a more frosty one. A lot of built-in apps are also getting new icon designs, with subtle tweaks to colors.

Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 12 at its September 9th product launch event, coming one year after the Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3. The highlight feature is Siri AI-powered Audio Intelligence with sound recognition. It includes a “live rewind” feature that allows users to replay recently detected audio and transcribe it. There’s also a Siri Recap feature that uses “ambient listening” to take notes on audio from your watch.

The new watch is powered by a new S11 chip and comes in space gray, black, gold and bronze, as well as black and white ceramic. It starts at $399 and launches September 18th, with preorders starting today.

Today, Apple announced the AirPods 5, updates to the AirPods 4 series that was first released in 2024. Apple says the new buds feature “best-in-class open‑ear active noise cancellation.”

The AirPods 5 are redesigned with a new acoustic architecture, upgrades to adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) with 50 percent better noise reduction than the AirPods 4, and improved sound.

Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at its event on Wednesday. The 18 Pro and Pro Max come in deep black, silver, “glacier,” and burgundy, with color-matched back glass. They also have a new A20 Pro chip and purportedly the longest battery in an iPhone. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 for 256GB, a $100 increase over the iPhone 17 Pro, while the 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299, also for 256GB. Both models will be offered in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations. Preorders begin on September 12th ahead of availability on September 18th.

During Wednesday’s presentation, Apple highlighted how the new phones are well-equipped to work with Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, including Siri AI’s more expressive voices.

It’s not just time for any old Apple event, but one that’s expected to usher in a new era for the company. This is the first iPhone keynote to be led by Apple’s newly anointed CEO John Ternus, and all signs and rumors have been pointing to it being the one that also debuts a foldable iPhone. Ternus has already billed this as “a huge launch . . . that’s going to be phenomenal.” What bigger and flashier way to step into the limelight than with a new halo product of an iPhone?

We’re also likely to hear about OS updates, Apple Watches, and possibly some AirPods. But this might be an unconventional event in more ways than one. It’s also possible the standard iPhone 18 won’t come until the new year — leaving just the pricey Pros and folding phone to be announced. And with RAMageddon raging on, there’s a chance everything will be more expensive this time around, too.

Apple’s September 9th launch event could be one of its biggest in years. It will be Apple’s first event since John Ternus took over as CEO on September 1st, stepping in for Tim Cook, and will likely feature the first models in Apple’s iPhone 18 lineup. That could include the long-rumored foldable “iPhone Duo,” coming just a couple months after Samsung debuted its own passport-style foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Check out our iPhone 18 live blog, and these possible highlights to keep an eye out for.

Apple is almost certain to launch its first foldable iPhone tomorrow, seven years after Samsung’s Galaxy Fold initially went on sale. And while Apple might be a few years late to the party, the run-up to this launch proves that new CEO John Ternus has inherited a company that’s as influential as it’s ever been.

Tomorrow’s iPhone event is likely to be a little different than what we’re used to. For one, the arrival of some iPhone 18 models will likely be delayed — the Pros will be available first, but the regular 18 is supposedly set to launch early next year instead. But leaks and rumors have consistently suggested that Apple will instead pair the release of its Pros with the first foldable iPhone, which is likely to be short, squat, and wide, about the size and shape of a passport.