Catch up on Apple event live updates (CNBC)
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Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone, the $1,999 Duo, plus new iPhones, Watch and AirPods. The bill keeps climbing, and Apple’s own stock didn’t love the show.
Based on reporting by CNBC — read the original for the full story.
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Apple used its biggest launch event of the year to save the headline act for last: the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone. Before that, new CEO John Ternus introduced the iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5 and Apple Watch Series 12, making his first big stage appearance as Apple’s chief executive.
The Duo starts at $1,999 and goes on sale Oct. 23. Apple pitched it as the answer to the awkward foldable-phone problem, with Ternus saying other models feel like “two phones awkwardly stuck together.” The device is about the size of a passport, with both internal and external screens, a 7.6-inch inner display, a side-button fingerprint sensor and a titanium case. Apple also said its iOS software was redesigned to make better use of the two screens, including running two apps at once and supporting Pencil.
Pricing was the other big theme. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, both $100 more than last year’s versions. The new colors are glacier and burgundy. Apple said the higher prices reflect a global component squeeze, especially for memory, and noted it raised Mac and iPad prices over the summer too.
The company also used the event to push deeper into custom chips. The A20 Pro, made on TSMC’s 2-nanometer process, powers the iPhone 18 Pro line and is meant to speed up on-device AI. Apple said it delivers up to 20% faster CPU performance, up to 40% more GPU performance and a 50% jump in memory bandwidth. The new C2 modem, built in-house for the Duo, is 50% faster than Apple’s previous modem, uses 15% less energy and adds U.S. 5G mmWave support.
Apple Watch Series 12 kept its price at $399 and up, but added Audio Intelligence, which can record and rewind conversations and then summarize them, plus a new Siri Recap feature. AirPods 5 arrive at $129, or $149 with wireless charging. Apple also pushed an AI version of Siri that it says works with more than 300,000 apps. Markets, though, were less excited: Apple’s stock spent almost the entire presentation in the red.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
Apple is leaning hard on “AI” to make a pricier phone era feel like progress, which is exactly what every mature gadget company does when the bill comes due. The real story here isn’t the foldable gimmick; it’s that Apple thinks people will pay more for tighter integration, and so far Wall Street didn’t clap along. That’s usually a decent smell test.
Read more about this at: CNBC