Macworld
Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event might be the most anticipated iPhone keynote in 10 years. It all kicks off tomorrow morning, and like you, we can’t wait. So join us as we count down the hours and minutes to the big show with all the latest rumors, leaks, and speculation leading up to the big event on Wednesday morning at 10 am PT.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: How to watchYou can watch the full keynote right here using the embedded YouTube link below or on Apple.com on your iPhone or Mac. The “Watch Now” tab in the TV app on the Apple TV will also show the stream live.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: What we expectApple might have dubbed this the “Surprise” event, but we have a pretty good idea what Apple is going to announce Wednesday morning. Here’s what we expect to see:
iPhone Ultra: Apple is almost certain to launch its first folding phone this week. We’re expecting a passport-style design with a 5.5-inch cover display and a near-8-inch inner display when opened.
iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: We expect a similar design with a faster chip and a better camera system, possibly including a variable-aperture lens for the first time.
Apple Watch Series 12: The latest Apple Watch update will reportedly be a minor refresh with a new chip, all-day heart-rate tracking, and maybe the return of a ceramic finish.
Apple Watch Ultra 4: Like the Series 12, the Ultra 4 is expected to be a minor refresh largely focused on a new chip tuned for Siri AI.
AirPods 5: Apple is rumored to be launching a new pair of low-end AirPods, but we don’t know much about them.
Smart home: It’s less likely that Apple’s rumored smart-home hub arrives at this event, but we could see an updated Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: Live blog2 mins ago, By David Price
One More Thing… but what?
“We have great respect for these words,” said Tim Cook in 2017, “and we don’t use them lightly.” Those words, of course, were One More Thing.
That little phrase has signalled the arrival of some of Apple’s most iconic products and services, including the iMac G4, the MacBook Pro, FaceTime, the Apple Watch, Apple Music, and the iPhone X. Will it be uttered this year, and if so, what will it herald?
We discussed this on the podcast, and figured it would be a nice moment if new CEO John Ternus got the chance to utter those immortal words as part of his debut. (Debut as overall event host, that is. He’s spoken in individual segments before now.) The most obvious product to get the One More Thing treatment is the iPhone Ultra, but a bigger surprise would be the arrival of Apple’s long-rumored smart home hub. Either would work.
But Macworld readers put forward other ideas. At the less serious end, jimrock reckoned “It’d be really sick if he announced a $2,000 monitor stand” while Adam Moran proposed “One more thing: Now shipping iPhones with a charger.” Hashtag courage.
Moving on to things that could happen (but won’t), Rob K put forward “One more thing: iPhone Air 2 with 6,000 mAh silicon carbon battery, three cameras, and no stupid fold.” And Tower Lord suggested “AI-driven smart glasses. Minus the creep factor found in Meta glasses. Instead, true spatial computing. The ultimate personal computer.” Get rid of the AI part and we’re on board.
And finally, a note of sanity from Mike: “One more thing was Steve’s thing. Can we please stop measuring every CEO against Steve and let them be their own leaders?”
The last guy to say those three little words.Apple
Link copied SHARE1 hour ago, By Michael Simon
All eyes on the crease
When Apple (allegedly) unveils its first folding iPhone tomorrow, Greg Joswiak or whomever gets the honor of announcing the phone on the stream, will talk about the displays, interface, cameras, design, and anything else Apple feels is worth highlighting. What they probably won’t spend a lot of time talking about is the crease.
Ever since Samsung’s first folding phone arrived, the center display crease has been an issue. It’s gotten better over the years, but it’s still the biggest hurdle for new customers to overcome. Even on the newest phones, you can see it when it’s opened and feel a little valley while using it. It’s flies in the face of Apple’s pursuit of perfection and likely the reason why we haven’t gotten a folding iPhone until now.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple had devised a way to overcome the crease with a combination of ultra-thin glass (UTG) and an optically clear adhesive that allows “the folding area to be locally thinned at the bending axis to improve bendability.” Samsung’s newest flagship phone features a display with a 60-micrometer UTG layer, which is likely a similar material to what Apple will use.
No folding phone has been able to completely eliminate the crease. Will Apple be the first?
Luke Baker
Link copied SHARE3 hours ago, By David Price
John Ternus and the honeymoon period
Tim Cook chose an interesting moment to resign from the CEO hotseat: September 1, a week before the biggest event of Apple’s year. It’s understood that he did this so that John Ternus could have the fun and credit of announcing the iPhone Ultra himself, and begin his reign on a positive note. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has referred to this as a “massive tailwind” for the incoming CEO.
But Gurman has plenty more to say about recent squabbles and politicking at the top of Apple’s hierarchy, and there could be some complications for the new boss. Read the Macalope’s latest article for all the dirt and some very convoluted metaphors.
Link copied SHARE4 hours ago, By David Price
iPhone Ultra, or iPhone Fold?
Sad to say for an event with the word surprise in its tagline, but there don’t seem to be many mysteries left concerning the foldable iPhone. With one notable exception: its name.
In the early days, most pundits referred to the rumored device as the iPhone Fold for obvious, logical reasons. But in the spring, we all started calling it the iPhone Ultra, even though, features-wise, that doesn’t entirely make sense. And with just one day to go until the announcement, case makers still can’t decide between the two options, with some plumping for Fold and others for Ultra in their pre-launch marketing materials.
And this all assumes that Apple won’t pull a last-minute switcheroo and go for iPhone Duo or iPhone Folio instead.
Over on our sister site Tech Advisor, Emma Rowley discusses the thorny question of the foldable iPhone’s name.
Link copied SHARE6 hours ago, By David Price
Will you fold?
Last year, the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air competed for the title of Apple’s flagship handset. The Air was certainly more interesting, but the Pro Max was a far better specced, more powerful phone (not to mention more expensive). But this year there will only be one clear winner: the iPhone Ultra. Will you yield to temptation and pay what’s likely to be more than $2,000 for Apple’s first foldable smartphone?
One commenter on our YouTube channel is leaning towards no.
“If I was purchasing an iPhone and an iPad at the same time, then I would consider the Fold as it might work out cheaper than buying two separate devices,” writes christopherclarke6184. “But I am happy with my iPad M4 and iPhone 17 Pro Max so won’t be upgrading for a while… unless Apple has something special I may need. I’ll still be watching the show, though.”
Apple will be hoping for strong interest from the early adopter crowd, but given that this is an entirely new market for the company and a very high price, moderate sales may be enough in the short term.
Link copied SHARE8 hours ago, By David Price
Who is John Ternus?
One big difference this year is that the main host will be Apple’s new CEO, John Ternus, rather than Tim Cook. Ternus is a relative unknown to members of the public, and Apple fans will be keen to see how he handles hosting duties. Will he be a showman, like Steve Jobs? Quietly professional, like Cook? Or something new and unique to himself?
That’s not to say we’ve got no idea how he’ll carry himself in a presentation. As head of hardware Ternus spoke at multiple keynotes and product launches in the past, including the iPhone reveal last fall. His manner was very positive, with lots of superlatives, while being unafraid to delve into technical detail. But acting as main host is a different assignment, so we may see a new side to him on Wednesday.
In the meantime, read Alex Blake’s piece on the new boss, in which he describes Ternus as “the perfect CEO for this Apple era.”
John Ternus: A man with a passion for hardware.Apple
Link copied SHARE12 hours ago, By Michael Simon
Folding iPhone color options will be unique
Our sources report that Apple will offer the iPhone Ultra in just two colors for its debut. The first is silver, which we expect from a new iPhone, but the other is a little different: Dark Blue. Apple regularly offers its iPhones in various shades of blue, of course, but it’s rare for a brand new model to arrive in anything other than black and white.
Link copied SHARE17 hours ago, By Michael Simon
No time for Tim
According to Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter, Tim Cook won’t make an appearance in this year’s keynote. While he reports that he will be at Apple Park for the event, Cook has officially and completely handed the reins to Ternus, who will be the face of the Surprise and Shine event.
Link copied SHARE19 hours ago, By Roman Loyola
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: Podcast preview
On the newest Macworld Podcast, Michael Simon and Jason Cross talk about what to expect at Apple’s Surprise and Shine iPhone event. What iPhones will Apple release? How will John Ternus do in his first keynote as Apple CEO? And will there be a “One more thing”? Get ready for the event by tuning in to the podcast.
Link copied SHARE20 hours ago, By Michael Simon
Cases, cases everywhere
The iPhone Ultra doesn’t exist yet, but you can find cases all over social media. It’s worth noting that case manufacturers don’t get information from Apple ahead of events, but they pay very close attention to the rumors and some probably have their own sources in the supply chain. Are they real? We’ll know in just a couple days.
Link copied SHARE22 hours ago, By David Price
Surprise? What surprise?
Apple has given this week’s showcase the tagline “Surprise and Shine.” But what’s the big surprise? Apple’s September events are among its most predictable, almost always revolving around new iPhones and new Apple Watches, and sometimes new AirPods.
- September 2025: iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods
- September 2024: iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods
- September 2023: iPhones, Apple Watches
- September 2022: iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods
- September 2021: iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads
Is John Ternus going to spring a surprise in 2026? After asking this question on TikTok we’re unconvinced by the idea of an Apple alarm clock (sorry), but another reader’s proposal of a “tabletop Pixar light robot personal assistant with Siri” is a little more plausible. That sounds a lot like the rumored smart-home hub which Apple has been working on for years, and could make an appearance this week. It could even turn up as One More Thing at the end and make for a fun encore.
But ultimately the most likely outcome is that, as far as Apple is concerned, the widely expected foldable iPhone counts as the surprise. To those of us who live in the Apple rumor bubble the iPhone Ultra (or iPhone Fold) now looks like virtually a sure thing for Wednesday’s presentation, but to the wider community it’s far less well known. And officially, of course, it doesn’t even exist. Surprise!
Link copied SHARE24 hours ago, By David Price
We (probably) know the new colors
Apple loves to launch at least one new color for each iPhone generation. Partly this allows the company to prune the colors which sold poorly the year before and experiment with alternatives, but the main advantage is that it allows customers to show off the fact they’ve got a new phone, even if the design is otherwise the same. Those who bought the iPhone 17 Pro in Cosmic Orange last year got some major bragging rights.
Perhaps surprisingly, the wildly popular Cosmic Orange is expected to be dropped from the range this year. The two new finishes are a little less garish: a dark-red/burgundy wine color, expected to be branded as Dark Cherry, and a light blue. Macworld exclusively revealed these colors in the summer.
If you’d like to see more of the new finishes, take a look at this leaked video, which appears to show demo models of the iPhone 18 Pro (in blue) and 18 Pro Max (in Dark Cherry).
yeux1122 on Naver Link copied SHARE1 day ago, By Michael Simon
iPhone pre-orders might start on Saturday
Generally, Apple opens up pre-orders for all the new iPhones and Apple Watches on the Friday following the Apple event at 5am PT. However, with 9/11 falling on Friday this year, it’s likely that Apple will delay the launch one day out of respect for the anniversary. Pre-orders instead are expected to begin on Saturday at midnight PT.
Link copied SHARE1 day ago, By Michael Simon
No iPhone 18 this week
In case you haven’t been following the rumors, Apple isn’t expected to launch a new iPhone 18 this week. That means the iPhone 17 will be on shelves alongside the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus for another six months. This would be the first time (other than the budget SE and e models) that Apple has spilt the new iPhones into separate launches and could create some serious FOMO for annual updaters.
Link copied SHARE1 day ago, By Michael Simon
Read our 100% real keynote leak*
Just like last year, we’ve gotten our hands on Apple’s iPhone event keynote script ahead of the big reveal, and we’re sharing it all with you: the bad jokes, clever marketing, outrageous prices, and big surprises. Read it all before it happens.
*May not be real
Link copied SHARE1 day ago, By Michael Simon
Follow along with all the latest updates
Welcome to the Surprise and Shine live blog! You don’t need to wait till Wednesday to get up to speed on everything Apple’s releasing. Over the next two days, we’ll share rumors, features, roundups, thoughts, reader comments, and lots more. Stay right here for everything you need to know.
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