Apple Event 2026 | The Verge

Where to preorder the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

2026-09-14T10:16:25-04:00

Which color suits you best? | Photo: Nilay Patel / The Verge

The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are almost here. Announced at Apple's September 2026 "Sunrise and shine" event alongside the iPhone Duo and other new gear, the two upgraded phones feature the faster A20 Pro processor with more GPU power as well as more neural cores for AI-related tasks, plus some welcome improvements to the camera.

The phones will arrive on Friday, September 18th, and preordering one is never a bad idea if you want to ensure you get the color and storage capacity configuration you're seeking. Speaking of, preorders are officially open.

The 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 for the 256GB model, and goes all the way u …

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Where to preorder the Apple AirPods 5

2026-09-11T11:32:03-04:00

The new AirPods 5 in their charging case. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

The Apple AirPods 5 are bringing active noise cancellation to the masses, and they're now available for preorder at a variety of retailers. They'll officially launch on September 18th, the same day as the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, as well as the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.

There are two versions this time around, just like with the last-gen model. The standard $129 model adds active noise cancelation, which was previously only found on the more expensive $179 AirPods 4 with ANC models. They're available from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Apple. The upgraded $149 model features a wireless charging case, longer battery life, and touc …

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Why Apple’s next computer should be for the smart home

2026-09-13T18:11:08-04:00

An Apple Home computer could combine a Wi-Fi router, an AI-powered smart home hub, and local storage into a single device. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

John Ternus didn't mention Apple Home once during his first keynote as Apple CEO. But he did open by describing an "intelligent personal hub" that prioritizes local processing, protects your privacy, and integrates with all your other devices, apps, and services. While Ternus was talking about the iPhone - not a new smart home device - what he spelled out is exactly what I want to see Apple make: an intelligent home hub, a computer for your home.

Rumors suggest Apple's first smart home hub with a screen is imminent. While that's long overdue, it's likely to be more interface than infrastructure, a device that can run your home locally but s …

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Apple addresses iPhone Duo copycats

2026-09-11T10:41:04-04:00

John Ternus, Apple CEO, holds an iPhone Duo at the launch event. | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Apple was far from the first company to announce a passport-shaped folding phone this year, but that doesn't mean it wasn't copied. As my colleague Dom Preston already explained, it's almost impossible to keep product development secret when Apple and its competitors all share the same global suppliers.

Apple's new CEO John Ternus and head of marketing Greg 'Joz' Joswiak addressed the topic during an interview with TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff and Mark Spoonauer of Tom's Guide.

"People knew through leaks that we were working on a foldable," said Joz. "Unfortunately, they got the aspect ratio, and a lot of coincidental instances of people fin …

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Where to preorder the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4

2026-09-11T14:04:16-04:00

The iPhone Duo was the unequivocal star of Apple's "Surprise and shine" event, but not for people who were mostly paying attention for news on wearables. Thankfully, Apple had a lot to share about its new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. There's no update to the SE model for 2026, which isn't necessarily a bad thing (the SE 3 rules). Also, no price changes either, which can't be said for the entire iPhone lineup.

While both new watches look similar to their predecessors, there are a number of updates under the hood that might intrigue some people enough to warrant a preorder. My colleague Victoria Song got hands-on with both smartwatches …

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How the iPhone Duo compares to other folding phones

2026-09-10T11:17:14-04:00

The Apple iPhone Duo features a passport-style folding hinge. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Apple's foldable phone is finally here - well, almost. The iPhone Duo, coming October 23rd, follows in the footsteps of past folding devices from Android phone makers like Samsung, OnePlus, and Google, with a $1,999 price tag that sits just above the Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 8.

While its hardware bears similarities to its competitors, the iPhone Duo is one of a few models that takes a passport-like approach. The aspect ratio is the same on the inside and outside screens, and it's even usable with some apps while partially folded. The interior screen has a special outer layer, which along with its hinge design, makes the interior …

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The variable aperture isn’t the cool part of the iPhone 18 Pro’s camera

2026-09-10T10:08:06-04:00

The iPhone 18 Pro’s triple camera setup with a variable aperture in the main (bottom) camera. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Apple always makes a big show of the latest cameras in its phones, and the major talking point of the iPhone 18 Pro is about the new variable aperture. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have an adjustable mechanical iris in their main camera modules to let more or less light into the sensor, allowing users to shoot at f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4. You can, of course, let the camera select your aperture automatically, but the manual aperture control comes along with other new pro controls allowing you to dial in shutter speeds, manual white balance, and even manual focusing.

I was at the iPhone keynote at Apple Park, and I got to briefly u …

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There aren’t AirPods with cameras yet and I hope it stays that way

2026-09-09T19:00:04-04:00

New AirPods Pro with cameras were thankfully not announced at the September Apple event. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

September Apple events are always a swirl of information and new, exciting products, and today's was no different. Apple announced its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max; active noise cancellation (ANC) is now on the cheapest AirPods model, the AirPods 5; and a Siri Recap feature comes to the Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4. But missing were the AirPods Pro with cameras that have been rumored throughout the year and, according to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, are delayed until 2027. I'm happy about that and I hope we never get them.

I have too many concerns about a company - any company - putting cameras a …

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The black iPhone Pro returns

2026-09-09T18:37:51-04:00

Black is back. | Photo: Nilay Patel / The Verge

Apple has seen reason: It has a black model in the iPhone Pro lineup again.

Last year, Apple went bold with its colors for the iPhone 17 Pro, offering a flashy orange, a shiny silver, and a dark blue. Don't get me wrong, they looked nice. But there was no black (or dark gray) for the first time since the start of the iPhone Pro lineup, which Apple first introduced in September 2019 with the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

I care about this because I always buy the black phone. I learned my lesson with the iPhone 6: I got it in gold to mix things up and came to regret it. I don't need something flashy - I need a phone that blends into the backg …

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The incomplete history of Duo devices

2026-09-09T18:23:35-04:00

Apple announced the company's first device with a folding screen today, the iPhone Duo, but that's where the firsts end. The Duo is not only far from the first foldable on the market thanks to the efforts of Samsung and Google, but it's also not the first product to be called the Duo.

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs popularized the saying "good artists copy, great artists steal," but will the iPhone Duo's folding screen, which features a custom nano-texture display material to help minimize the visibility of its crease, be enough to make us forget these other Duos that have come before it? Only time, or how aggressively Apple plans to market i …

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