It’s finally happening - this week, Apple is (probably) about to unveil its first foldable iPhone, a mere half-decade after Samsung laughed its way to the bank with its first foldable. Apple’s annual iPhone events are always a spectacle, but this year’s September 9 presentation is one of the most anticipated in recent memory. As Tim Cook hands the CEO reins to John Ternus, former VP of Hardware Engineering, expectations are high - especially since Apple is finally embracing a form factor that’s been in the wild since 2019.
Apple, as is its wont, has stayed tight-lipped, but leaks have painted a fairly detailed picture. The foldable iPhone is the headline act, but we’re also expecting news on AirPods, HomePods, and the non-folding iPhone 18 line. If Apple has made us wait over five years to enter the foldable market, its first attempt had better be stellar - especially since reports suggest the phone will cost more than $2,000. Sure, that’s less than the $3,500 Vision Pro, but unlike VR headsets, people actually buy smartphones. A lot of them.
Early testers, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, have had positive experiences. The foldable iPhone reportedly feels premium, fits neatly into a pocket, and opens into a wide, iPad-like display. Expect a 5.5-inch cover screen that expands to 7.8 inches when unfolded. Folded, it’s shorter and wider than your typical iPhone - so it’ll finally be distinguishable from the other 87 iPhones on the subway.
To keep it slim enough for pockets, Apple has made sacrifices. The device reportedly skips the telephoto camera, which might sting for those willing to shell out enough to feed a family for months. But fear not: it’ll have a dual-lens rear camera with main and ultra-wide lenses, similar to Apple’s more basic models. MagSafe will be included, but Face ID is reportedly out, replaced by a Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the side. Touching a button is about as easy as looking at a screen, so it’s not a huge loss - just a minor muscle-memory adjustment.
Like other foldables, the iPhone Ultra (or whatever they call it) will support side-by-side multitasking, letting you run two apps at once on the unfolded screen. It’ll run iOS rather than iPadOS, despite resembling a small iPad when open - a non-issue given Apple’s latest chips, the same ones reportedly powering the budget MacBook Neo. As for the dreaded crease - that bane of foldable existence - Apple has supposedly engineered a display where it’s less visible. Because nothing says 'premium' like paying $2,000 for a screen that still folds.
If foldables aren’t your thing, or you just don’t want to double your phone budget, Apple is also expected to release new iPhone 18 models. Leaks point to the 18 Pro and Pro Max, but the standard iPhone 18 might arrive six months after the September event - a first for Apple, releasing premium models before the standard. Because why follow a pattern when you can break one?
With Apple finally rolling out its Gemini-powered Siri AI update, it’s also expected to refresh the HomePod, its answer to the Amazon Echo. References to unreleased HomePods were spotted in a macOS preview build, along with something far weirder: AirPods with built-in cameras. Researcher Aaron Perris found a video in that same build showing someone wearing AirPods and picking up a book, with a voiceover saying, 'With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later.'
Yes, AirPods with cameras. Comparisons to Meta’s maligned 'pervert glasses' are inevitable, but we hold out hope that Apple, which has built its brand on privacy, will do better. Gurman reports the cameras 'essentially act as eyes for the Siri digital assistant and aren’t designed to take photos or video,' capturing only low-resolution visual info. So, no, they won’t be recording your life - just quietly observing it to help Siri, the assistant you’ve mostly used to set timers, do more. Progress!