Breaking down Apple's 2026 launch event
Cult of Mac editor and publisher Leander Kahney recaps Apple's 2026 launch event that featured the company's first-ever foldable iPhone.
Apple on Wednesday unveiled a highly anticipated foldable version of the iPhone along with other consumer tech devices embedded with artificial intelligence in the first major product event under the leadership of new CEO John Ternus.
Wednesday's event marked the first major product launch since Ternus stepped into the top job at Apple after former CEO Tim Cook stepped down at the end of August after 15 years leading the company.
Ternus has worked at Apple since 2001, primarily in its product design and hardware engineering teams, and brings deep knowledge of key products like the Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods to the role.
The two Apple veterans joked about the transition during the event, with Cook appearing in a video about how to start the presentation that ended with a closeup of the former CEO saying, "Not me. That's your guy," and pointing back to Ternus.
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Apple CEO John Ternus and Apple's vice president of industrial design, Molly Anderson, show off the new iPhone Duo during an Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on Sept. 9, 2026. (Karl Mondon / AFP via Getty Images)
Leander Kahney, editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, spoke with Gxstocks following Apple's event and said that Ternus does a "very good job of putting a human face on the big corporation that is Apple."
"He talked a lot about the team, about the people behind the products and what a privilege it was to be able to lead the team, and he thanked them at the end," Kahney said. "I think that's something Steve Jobs used to do, and it's a good continuation of that, to acknowledge that he's not just the one guy – that he might be the face of Apple, but it's definitely a big team of people behind him."
Here's a look at some of the key topics discussed during Apple's event.
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iPhone Duo
The new iPhone Duo, which is foldable and offers the largest ever iPhone display, will come with a starting price of $1,999. Duo's 7.6-inch display is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and when opened is also the thinnest iPhone. It comes with storage options from 256 GB to 2 TB, and serves as Apple's entry into the foldables market that has been dominated by Android devices.
The Duo's folding system is made of more than 100 small precision components, and Apple said that it used AI algorithms during manufacturing to match each hinge with its best-fit housing to ensure perfect alignment.
The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable smartphone. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I think it's going to be really popular," Kahney said. "It combines portability with the big screen. Performance seems to be fantastic. It looks like it's a really good phone for gaming and for productivity, of course, for working on the go. The cameras look pretty good – they're obviously not the best cameras, but they look plenty good enough for all those everyday uses."
Kahney added that the selfie feature was a "very clever" use case, as it allows users to not have to rely on a camera when setting up a group picture and will instead wait until people are in the picture and begin taking pictures automatically.
The Duo will be available starting on Oct. 23, with pre-orders opening a week earlier at 5:00 a.m. PT on Oct. 16.
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Apple CEO John Ternus speaks during the keynote address at Apple’s "Surprise and Shine" event at the company's corporate headquarters, Apple Park, on Sept. 9, 2026 in Cupertino, California. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
Apple ecosystem
"The key thing with Ternus was talking about the Apple ecosystem," Kahney said. "Being a product guy, he's worked on all of these different things – the Apple Watch, the iPad, the iPhone. And this is Apple's strength, I think, having an ecosystem of products that complement each other and work well together."
"They had new phones, new AirPods, new Apple Watches – all of them powered by AI," Kahney said. "AI, of course, is going to have a massive impact on the kind of experiences and the kind of things you can do with watches, with tech products, and they seem to be well-integrated."
Apple unveiled AirPods 5, which have "industry leading" active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, hands-free Siri AI and live translation, the company said. The devices start at $129.
Apple unveiled the AirPod 5 Hero headphones on Sept. 9, 2026. (Apple Inc.)
The Apple Watch Series 12 boasts an updated health sensing system, including higher-frequency heart rate and heart rate variability measurements. Those updates pair with a redesigned Health app to track users' workouts, sleep, heart rate and more. The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399.
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The Apple Watch Series 12 offers new AI features. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Artificial intelligence
AI features were a notable focus in the latest products Apple rolled out at the event, and Ternus himself said that if you were designing a new product from scratch that would serve as an AI-powered personal hub, it would look a lot like the iPhone.
"There's no product in the world better designed to be your intelligent personal hub than iPhone," Ternus said. "As your personal hub, your iPhone can do so much more for you because it understands your context. This includes your calendar, your relationships, your routines, the most private details of your daily life."
Ternus said that Apple Intelligence runs on devices whenever it can to protect users' data, calling it "personal intelligence that's actually personal," and outlined how AI is making the company's products more capable.
"From Siri becoming more capable and more personal across your Apple products, to meaningful health insights with Apple Watch, to powerful new AirPods, features like live translation, and so much more," Ternus said.
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Kahney noted the Apple Watch's live rewind tool, which can provide subtitles for conversations and summarize important discussions for reference.
"It's very smart for Apple to take an Apple Watch, which a lot of people wear these days, and layer in those kinds of AI features without coming up with a whole new product," Kahney said.
