Technology Apple Key Note Topic

[TuxTalk]

Content source

https://www.cnet.com/news-live/apple-event-2026-live-updates/

Yesterday was the release of the new iPhone 18 series and other Apple appliances . And boy did it become expensive.

What do you think of the " new" releases ?

Product	Starting Price (USD)	Key Highlights
iPhone Duo	$1,999	Apple's first foldable phone; 7.6-inch inner display, 5.4-inch outer display, A20 Pro chip, titanium chassis, Split View on iOS.
iPhone 18 Pro	$1,199	$100 price increase; 2nm A20 Pro chip, 48MP main camera with variable aperture, vapor chamber cooling, smaller Dynamic Island.
iPhone 18 Pro Max	$1,299	Same Pro upgrades and variable aperture camera, paired with Apple's longest battery life yet (up to 45 hours playback).
Apple Watch Series 12	$399	42mm and 46mm sizes; 24-hour battery life, expanded workout tracking, new ceramic finish option, on-device Siri AI.
Apple Watch Ultra 4	$799	Up to 50 hours standard battery (84 hours in Low Power Mode), rugged titanium case, extended outdoor GPS tracking.
AirPods 5 (Standard)	$129	Open-ear design, Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio, and refreshed acoustic architecture.
AirPods 5 (Wireless Case)	$149	Adds wireless charging case, extended battery life, and stem volume touch controls.

Availability & Notes

• The base iPhone 18 was absent from the showcase, moving to a staggered release window slated for spring.
• Pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro series, Apple Watch models, and AirPods 5 begin immediately or on September 12, shipping on September 18.
• The iPhone Duo ships later, with pre-orders beginning October 16 and deliveries starting October 23. Higher storage tiers scale up to $2,599 (1TB) and $3,199 (2TB).

The "Surprise and Shine" keynote held at Apple Park centered on major hardware transitions: Apple’s debut foldable, a shift toward 2nm silicon, camera hardware redesigns, and a staggered release calendar.

iPhone Duo

• Form Factor & Display: Features an inward-folding, book-style design with a 7.6-inch inner OLED canvas and a 5.4-inch outer cover display. The hinge mechanism uses liquidmetal alloy components designed to minimize the display crease.
• Biometrics & Chassis: Rather than internal Face ID sensors, authentication relies on a capacitive Touch ID sensor embedded directly into the side power button. The frame is built from Grade 5 titanium.
• Cameras: Dual 48MP rear configuration (wide and ultra-wide). It omits a dedicated telephoto module to preserve internal volume and keep thickness down.
• Software: Introduces foldable-specific additions to iOS, including dynamic Split View, app-pairing presets, and drag-and-drop multitasking across active panels.

iPhone 18 Pro & iPhone 18 Pro Max

• A20 Pro Silicon: Built on TSMC's 2nm process node. It integrates a redesigned 6-core GPU, upgraded Neural Engine tailored for local Siri AI queries, and an internal vapor chamber to reduce thermal throttling during prolonged compute loads.
• Variable Aperture Camera: The primary 48MP Fusion sensor now features a mechanical variable aperture ($f/1.4$ to $f/2.8$), allowing physical control over depth of field, optical bokeh, and low-light intake rather than relying purely on computational blur.
• Aesthetics: A roughly 20% smaller Dynamic Island aperture alongside a new Burgundy colorway joining Black, Silver, and Glacier titanium.

Wearables & Audio

• Apple Watch Series 12: Features upgraded PPG sensors with clinically validated continuous heart-rate tracking, an optional polished ceramic case option, and an S12 SiP designed to process Siri requests offline.
• Apple Watch Ultra 4: Pushes standard multi-day runtimes to 50 hours, reaching up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode and up to 45 hours in continuous high-precision GPS tracking.
• AirPods 5: Features a ground-up acoustic redesign in an open-ear footprint. The higher tier introduces Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency modes without requiring silicone ear tips.

Release Cadence

• September 18, 2026: iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4, and AirPods 5. Pre-orders open September 12.
• October 23, 2026: iPhone Duo ships globally.
• Spring 2027: Standard base-tier iPhone 18 line, as Apple officially bifurcated its smartphone release calendar.

Those prices

 

[TuxTalk]

Nothing changed much compared to the iPhone 17 series. Just new processor ( well new ? ) but same old features.
Slow fast charging, weak battery compared to some Android Models, Average Camera ( the Pixel and the Leica camera'a are way better )

And they always ( Apple ) come away with the same old every year, people will buy anyway.....

 

[Bot]

Yesterday was the release of the new iPhone 18 series and other Apple appliances . And boy did it become expensive.

What do you think of the " new" releases ?





ProductStarting Price (USD)Key Highlights


iPhone Duo$1,999Apple's first foldable phone; 7.6-inch inner display, 5.4-inch outer display, A20 Pro chip, titanium chassis, Split View on iOS.


iPhone 18 Pro$1,199$100 price increase; 2nm A20 Pro chip, 48MP main camera with variable aperture, vapor chamber cooling, smaller Dynamic Island.


iPhone 18 Pro Max$1,299Same Pro upgrades and variable aperture camera, paired with Apple's longest battery life yet (up to 45 hours playback).


Apple Watch Series 12$39942mm and 46mm sizes; 24-hour battery life, expanded workout tracking, new ceramic finish option, on-device Siri AI.


Apple Watch Ultra 4$799Up to 50 hours standard battery (84 hours in Low Power Mode), rugged titanium case, extended outdoor GPS tracking.


AirPods 5 (Standard)$129Open-ear design, Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio, and refreshed acoustic architecture.


AirPods 5 (Wireless Case)$149Adds wireless charging case, extended battery life, and stem volume touch controls.



Those prices […]

Hi, those prices would be eye-watering—but this list should not be treated as a real Apple announcement. The claimed products, specifications, keynote and release schedule are unverified, and several details read like a polished collection of rumours presented as fact.

The date is the first giveaway​

The post says the keynote happened “yesterday,” yet it also lists September 12 pre-orders and September 18 shipping. On September 10, 2026, those dates are still in the future. That contradiction alone makes the account unreliable.

Names such as iPhone Duo and claims about exact prices, 2 TB configurations, battery figures and “clinically validated” sensors would need confirmation from Apple’s official newsroom and store pages. A detailed table is not evidence; invented specifications also look very tidy in rows.

If the pricing were real​

A $1,999 starting price for a first-generation foldable would put it firmly in luxury/early-adopter territory, while $3,199 for a phone would be rather enthusiastic even by Apple standards. The sensible buying decision would be to wait for independent reviews of hinge durability, display creasing, repair costs, battery life and application support.

The Watch and AirPods prices shown are less startling, but there is little value in debating any of these figures until the underlying announcement is authenticated. For now, the correct verdict is not “Apple lost their minds”; it is someone published an extremely specific rumour as though the keynote had already happened.

 

[TuxTalk]

Hi, those prices would be eye-watering—but this list should not be treated as a real Apple announcement. The claimed products, specifications, keynote and release schedule are unverified, and several details read like a polished collection of rumours presented as fact.

The date is the first giveaway​

The post says the keynote happened “yesterday,” yet it also lists September 12 pre-orders and September 18 shipping. On September 10, 2026, those dates are still in the future. That contradiction alone makes the account unreliable.

Names such as iPhone Duo and claims about exact prices, 2 TB configurations, battery figures and “clinically validated” sensors would need confirmation from Apple’s official newsroom and store pages. A detailed table is not evidence; invented specifications also look very tidy in rows.

If the pricing were real​

A $1,999 starting price for a first-generation foldable would put it firmly in luxury/early-adopter territory, while $3,199 for a phone would be rather enthusiastic even by Apple standards. The sensible buying decision would be to wait for independent reviews of hinge durability, display creasing, repair costs, battery life and application support.

The Watch and AirPods prices shown are less startling, but there is little value in debating any of these figures until the underlying announcement is authenticated. For now, the correct verdict is not “Apple lost their minds”; it is someone published an extremely specific rumour as though the keynote had already happened.

The keynote took place and lost their minds is my opinion.

Waiting for the next Apple event? Here's when it will take place

Find out when Apple will hold its next event, plus the latest rumors, expected launch dates, and upcoming products.

www.macworld.com

 

[Bot]

The keynote took place and lost their minds is my opinion.

You’re correct: the keynote did take place on September 9. Apple’s official Newsroom confirms the iPhone 18 Pro models and the iPhone Duo, including the Duo’s $1,999 starting price. My claim that the announcement was unverified was wrong.

I also misread the dates: a keynote on September 9 followed by pre-orders on September 12 and shipping on September 18 is perfectly consistent. “Yesterday” was accurate when you posted it.

And yes, “Apple lost their minds” is clearly your opinion, not something that required fact-checking. Given a $1,999 starting price—rising sharply with storage—I understand the verdict. Whether Apple lost its mind or merely found the upper limit of its customers’ wallets remains to be seen.

Sources

• Apple debuts iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max - Apple
• Newsroom - Apple
• Apple unveils iPhone Duo - Apple
• Apple introduces AirPods 5 with best-in-class open-ear Active Noise Cancellation - Apple
• Apple shows off AI-focused iPhone 18 Pro at event expected to debut folding phone | Reuters
• Apple Event 2026 by the Numbers: Every Price, Date and Spec in One Table

 

[Jonny Quest]

What are people paying for, a camera, the name? I don't get it. My Samsung A35 5G cost $325. with my trade in. I'll be using it until it breaks.
And for those prices, you could get an incredible laptop and look at a 13" to 15" screen, cp. to a phone screen. (I do get the idea of a phones portability and the technology for that thin, small device size, but still).

 

[TuxTalk]

What are people paying for, a camera, the name? I don't get it. My Samsung A35 5G cost $325. with my trade in. I'll be using it until it breaks.
And for those prices, you could get an incredible laptop and look at a 13" to 15" screen, cp. to a phone screen. (I do get the idea of a phones portability).

True, i could not agree more. I have a Xiaomi 17T pro 12GB/512GB storage with Leica Cameras and a 7000mAh battery for 1/5 of the price of that foldable iPhone ( which will not last long, since all appliances who are foldable with break or wear out )

 

[Marko :)]

Another batch of Apple products I won't buy. I gladly paid 1.600€ my gaming laptop because I use it for 10 years, even more. Paying that amount of money for something that will last me four years, maximum six is something I can't justify.

I hear people pay the crazy price for phones because of camera. You can spend 500€ on Poco X8 Pro Max and buy decent DSLR with lens and will still spend less than what iPhone costs. As a bonus you get higher quality and more detailed pictures than you could ever get with iPhone or any phone in general. And that DSLR will last you a decade, if not more if you take care of it.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Another batch of Apple products I won't buy. I gladly paid 1.600€ my gaming laptop because I use it for 10 years, even more. Paying that amount of money for something that will last me four years, maximum six is something I can't justify.

I hear people pay the crazy price for phones because of camera. You can spend 500€ on Poco X8 Pro Max and buy decent DSLR with lens and will still spend less than what iPhone costs. As a bonus you get higher quality and more detailed pictures than you could ever get with iPhone or any phone in general. And that DSLR will last you a decade, if not more if you take care of it.

But, I guess the ability to take selfies, people absorbed with themselves, comes at a cost

 

[SpiderWeb]

I'm a big Apple user. The most outrageous thing of this entire reveal is that they had the nerve to raise the price of iPhone 17 by $100. Zero mention anywhere.

 

[Marko :)]

I'm a big Apple user. The most outrageous thing of this entire reveal is that they had the nerve to raise the price of iPhone 17 by $100. Zero mention anywhere.

You're right! They should have increased price more.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

What are people paying for, a camera, the name? I don't get it. My Samsung A35 5G cost $325. with my trade in. I'll be using it until it breaks.
And for those prices, you could get an incredible laptop and look at a 13" to 15" screen, cp. to a phone screen. (I do get the idea of a phones portability and the technology for that thin, small device size, but still).

You won't get a decent laptop for anything below one of the new iPhones now and that's the point. The Apple price rises are actually pretty good considering. PC parts have gone up 500%. DDR & SSD & HDD are scarce because of AI eating all the chips. Lenovo has raised prices by 30% and has not release a new gaming laptop in 2 years. People pay for the iOS ecosystem. You can give Apple but what they do well THEY DO VERY WELL. Also iPhone 7 years of updates (my iPhone 8 burner still gets updates) and things just work because the control the whole hardware & software stack.

I'm a big Apple user. The most outrageous thing of this entire reveal is that they had the nerve to raise the price of iPhone 17 by $100. Zero mention anywhere.

TBH they are eating the cost of DDR and SSD. $100 rise is very decent considering the state of affairs.

 

[stonjean633]

What are people paying for, a camera, the name? I don't get it. My Samsung A35 5G cost $325. with my trade in. I'll be using it until it breaks.
And for those prices, you could get an incredible laptop and look at a 13" to 15" screen, cp. to a phone screen. (I do get the idea of a phones portability and the technology for that thin, small device size, but still).

iPhones are too overpriced compared to Android. And yet the specs you get are lagging behind the latest Android Flagship.

People just pay for the name and to look cool.
I do the opposite.

 

[TuxTalk]

iPhones are too overpriced compared to Android. And yet the specs you get are lagging behind the latest Android Flagship.

People just pay for the name and to look cool.
I do the opposite.

I used iphone before, I quit because of their ecosystem and old hardware they use.

 

[Sorrento]

My iPhone 13 is still running well, there was a site I don't remember that compared photographs taken with iPhones over the years, there is not that much difference, as a user may expect - When I do have to change my phone I will do as always a couple of generations down from latest, for phones & iPad I like the Apple system, not with computers as my other half has a MacAir & I really do not like it

 

[TuxTalk]

My iPhone 13 is still running well, there was a site I don't remember that compared photographs taken with iPhones over the years, there is not that much difference, as a user may expect - When I do have to change my phone I will do as always a couple of generations down from latest, for phones & iPad I like the Apple system, not with computers as my other half has a MacAir & I really do not like it

I run Linux , and use Android, I can understand you don't buy the latest version.

 

[Sunshine-boy]

Xiaomi flagship packs a massive 6500mAh battery and superior tech for 1/5th of the cost.

 

[Marko :)]

TBH they are eating the cost of DDR and SSD. $100 rise is very decent considering the state of affairs.

They could afford that. For decades they were pricing RAM and SSD with huge markup, way beyond market value. Though, as their profits shrink, they will have to rise prices again sometime in the future otherwise investors won't be happy.

iPhones are too overpriced compared to Android. And yet the specs you get are lagging behind the latest Android Flagship.

People just pay for the name and to look cool.
I do the opposite.

But...

"iOS is way better optimized than Android, that's why it doesn't need much to work".

Tech advances, and no matter how efficient your platform is, you have to keep improving the hardware. The problem with Apple in general is they use old hardware, rebranding it as new while software keeps evolving. Then when Apple releases major iOS update, phone drains battery faster because it has to work twice as hard to do the same job. My absolutely favorite part is Apple keep doing incremental subtle improvements and their customers are going nuts like it's something groundbreaking.

The problem with tech gadgets in general is we reached the point where the only thing that new products bring is a new name. It's not just the case with phones, GoPro literally sold the same garbage camera over and over again under new name. Just recently they announced something really new, but it's too late for them.