Apple iPhone Duo launch event: The 5 biggest announcements

The iPhone 18 Pro also has an A20 chip that the company says comes with a “huge gain” in performance, as well as a claimed battery life of up to 36 hours of video playback on the iPhone 18 Pro and up to 45 hours on the iPhone 18 Pro Max. There’s a new Dynamic Island as well, which can show up to three live activities at once.

Both phones support Apple’s “most advanced” on-device AI model so far, with the company’s AI-upgraded Siri supporting more than 300,000 apps. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, and the Pro Max starts at $1,299 and will have a new 2TB option. They come in black, silver, burgundy, and glacier when they launch on September 18th.

Apple brings ANC to the base AirPods 5

Apple is bringing active noise cancellation (ANC) to its cheapest AirPods model for the first time. The company says the AirPods 5 are more durable and come with 50 percent more noise reduction than the previous generation. They cost $129 and offer up to four hours of listening with ANC turned on (or up to 20 hours with the charging case).

Additionally, Apple is launching a pricier, $149 AirPods option with on-stem volume control, up to five hours of battery life with ANC, and a wireless charging case. Both models will be available starting September 18th.

Apple’s latest smartwatches put Siri on your wrist

Apple is launching a new “Siri Recap” feature that will use the built-in microphones on the new Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4 to take notes on your daily conversations. You can ask Siri questions about the transcripts and save them to the Siri app. There’s a new “Audio Intelligence” feature that uses on-device AI to detect certain sounds like sirens or a doorbell, too.

Apple’s upgraded Watch Series 12 now measures your heart rate every five seconds using a sensor that has “larger, more power-efficient green LEDs.” The device will also sample heart rate variability as often as every five minutes. You can also access “personalized guidance” from Apple Intelligence inside the company’s redesigned Health app, which now includes a new “Longevity” tab to assess your health across sleep, movement, heart health, and other metrics.

The Watch Series 12 will offer up to 24 hours of battery life, while the Ultra can now last over two days without a charge, according to Apple. The Watch Series 12 will start at $399 or $899 for a ceramic option , while the Watch Ultra 4 starts at $799. The devices will launch on September 18th.

iOS 27 arrives on September 14th with Siri AI

Apple’s big iOS 27 update is nearly here, with Siri AI arriving as a beta for devices set to English, allowing the more conversational assistant to take action across your apps. Aside from this feature, iOS 27 also includes a way to adjust the opacity of Liquid Glass, new icon designs, extra-large widgets, and new volume settings for ringtones, alarms, timers, and alerts.

More in: All the news from Apple’s ‘Surprise and shine’ event