John Ternus has used his first launch as CEO to unveil a new lineup, including Apple’s first folding iPhone, the A$3,499 iPhone Duo (not dubbed the Ultra despite speculation). But Australians will have to bide their time for chance to snap up a foldable.
Key Takeaways
- Apple introduced the iPhone Duo, its first folding iPhone, at A$3,499.
- The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max were also announced, at A$2,099 and A$2,299.
- Both Pro models get a variable aperture camera, a first for iPhone.
- The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at A$649 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 at A$1,349.
- AirPods 5 start at A$219 and get noise cancellation for the first time in an open-ear design.
- Everything goes on sale on 18 September except the Duo, which arrives 23 October.
- iOS 27 lands 15 September, with the new Siri AI in beta from 14 September.
- There is no standard iPhone 18. Apple has held it until next year.
- This was Ternus’s first launch since replacing Cook on 1 September. He joined Apple in 2001 as a product design engineer and ran hardware engineering from 2013.
Topline
At his first launch event since taking over from Tim Cook, new CEO John Ternus unveiled the iPhone Duo, a double-screen foldable that opens like a book into a display close to the size of an iPad mini.
It is the first time in 19 years and 19 generations that Apple has changed the fundamental shape of its most important product, and at A$3,499 it is the most expensive iPhone ever sold in Australia.
Apple’s arrival, seven years later than the likes of Samsung, is the bet that it can do to foldables what it did to the smartphone itself. It is also Ternus’s first test as chief executive, handed to him in his second week in the job.
iPhone Duo
The Duo is a book-style foldable. Closed, it runs a 5.4-inch outer display that Apple says delivers 90% of the screen area of the iPhone 18 Pro. Opened, the 7.6-inch inner display is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Both screens share the same aspect ratio, so content scales between them without reformatting.
The inner display carries a nano-texture finish, which Apple says reduces glare and minimises how visible the crease is. Apple has not claimed the crease is gone. The hinge is built from more than 100 components, with a 3D-printed titanium cover, and the body is grade 5 titanium. It carries an IP68 rating.
Face ID is out. Touch ID sits in the side button, working whether the phone is open or shut, and the device can also be unlocked with an Apple Watch. A FaceTime camera sits under the inner display and stays hidden when not in use.
The rear system is a 48MP Fusion Main camera with a 2x telephoto and a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide, the same ultra wide as the Pro models. There is no dedicated telephoto lens. The folding design drives several camera features that don’t exist elsewhere in the range, including a live preview on the outer screen so subjects can see themselves being photographed.
Inside is the A20 Pro, the same chip as the Pro models, with a dual-battery design running one cell on each side. Apple quotes up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display and up to 44 hours on the outer.
It comes in two colours, star white and night sky, and is eSIM-only worldwide. Apple Pencil support arrives later this year.
Every other product announced goes on sale on 18 September. The Duo doesn’t reach customers until 23 October, with pre-orders opening 16 October.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
The headline change is the camera. The 48MP Fusion Main camera gets a variable aperture, a first for iPhone, using six laser-cut blades that shift between settings. It adjusts automatically for depth of field and light, and photographers can set any of four apertures manually through new Pro controls in the Camera app, alongside shutter speed, white balance and a live histogram.
Apple has also added Reference Image, which signs sensor data at capture and develops an unalterable version of the photo through Private Cloud Compute. It sits alongside the main image in Photos, so a viewer can compare the two and see whether the shot has been edited. It’s opt-in.
The Dynamic Island is smaller and now displays three Live Activities at once. Face ID stays.
The A20 Pro is built on a 2nm process, with a 6-core CPU, a 7-core GPU that Apple says is up to 40% faster than the A19 Pro, and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine. A redesigned vapour chamber with three times the surface area of the iPhone 17 Pro drives what Apple claims is a 40% gain in sustained performance.
Battery runs to 34 hours of video playback on the Pro and 43 hours on the Pro Max. The Pro charges to 50% in around 15 minutes.
It comes in four finishes – black, silver, glacier and a new burgundy.
Apple Watch Series 12
The Series 12 gets a rebuilt sensor array, which Apple calls the Health Sensing System, paired with the new S11 chip. Heart rate is now measured every five seconds throughout the day. Heart rate variability is captured up to 24 times more often than before.
The new feature is readiness, a daily 0-10 score drawing on activity, training load, vitals and sleep, with one of four recommendations attached: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready or Go For It. It updates through the day.
Battery holds at 24 hours, with outdoor workout life up to 10 hours.
Aluminium comes in dark bronze, black, light gold and space grey. Titanium in radiant gold and natural. Ceramic returns in pearl white and night blue.
Apple Watch Ultra 4
The Ultra 4 gets the same Health Sensing System, S11 chip, readiness score and Audio Intelligence features as the Series 12.
The difference is endurance. Everyday battery life runs to 50 hours, or 84 in Low Power Mode. A new Extended Workout mode tracks 25 hours with full GPS and heart rate, and Max Extended Workout stretches to 45 hours, which Apple notes is enough for a 160km race. Fifteen minutes of charging adds up to 18 hours.
In terms of colours, it comes innatural and black titanium only.
AirPods 5
Active noise cancellation comes to Apple’s open-ear AirPods for the first time. Apple says the AirPods 5 remove up to 50% more external noise than the AirPods 4 with ANC, using a new multiport acoustic architecture.
Live Translation is now across the entire AirPods line. Siri Interactions let users answer with a nod or a shake of the head.
The A$249 version adds a wireless charging case, on-stem volume control and five hours of playback with ANC on, up from four.
Siri AI and iOS 27
Siri AI rolls out in beta on Monday, 14 September, in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish following in October. iOS 27 arrives as a free update on Tuesday, 15 September, running on iPhone 11 and later.
Apple describes Siri AI as able to draw on personal context across messages, emails and photos, act on what’s on screen, and answer general questions. A new Siri app keeps conversation history synced through iCloud.
Australian pricing and availability
iPhone Duo from A$3,499. Pre-orders 11pm AEST Friday 16 October, on sale 23 October.
iPhone 18 Pro from A$2,099. iPhone 18 Pro Max from A$2,299. Pre-orders 10pm AEST Saturday 12 September, on sale 18 September.
Apple Watch Series 12 from A$649. Apple Watch Ultra 4 from A$1,349. Pre-order now, on sale 18 September.
AirPods 5 A$219, or A$249 with wireless charging case. Pre-order now, on sale 18 September.
Accessories: iPhone Duo Case A$119, iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand A$199, both ordering from 16 October. Pro TechWoven Case A$99, Clear and Silicone Cases A$79.
Apple’s Australian trade-in program currently offers between A$55 and A$1,150 in credit, with an iPhone 16 Pro Max valued up to A$1,150.
Afterpay Pay Monthly is available on the Pro models and the Ultra 4 through Apple Stores in Australia, with 6, 12 and 24-month terms on the iPhones.
What Australians won’t get at launch
Hypertension notifications will not be available on the Apple Watch Series 12 or the Apple Watch Ultra 4 in Australia when they go on sale. Apple says additional regulatory clearances for the feature on these models are still in process, with availability expected later this year.
The feature is available on earlier Apple Watch models in Australia.
Why prices went up
Both Pro models are A$100 more than their predecessors. The iPhone 17 Pro launched here at A$1,999 and the Pro Max at A$2,199.
Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal before he stepped down that further price increases were unavoidable, describing the surge in memory chip costs as a hundred-year flood. Manufacturers have been diverting memory production toward AI data centres, pushing component costs up across the consumer electronics industry. Apple has already raised prices on MacBooks twice this year, in March and June.
Tangent
This was Ternus’s first launch since replacing Cook on 1 September. He joined Apple in 2001 as a product design engineer and ran hardware engineering from 2013.
Cook led Apple for 15 years and stays on as executive chairman. Apple’s share price rose more than 2,000% during his tenure, and the company shipped more than 3.1 billion iPhones from 2011, according to Financial Times analysis. The iPhone now accounts for about half of Apple’s revenue.
The pressure on Ternus is AI, where Apple is widely seen as trailing Microsoft and Google. “There’s no product in the world better designed to be your intelligent personal hub than iPhone,” he said at the event.
OpenAI is developing its own personal AI device, having acquired Jony Ive’s design studio in May. Ive designed the original iPhone.
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