A Folding iPhone at Last? What to Expect From Apple’s Surprise and Shine Fall Event

Apple is expected to unveil its fall hardware lineup on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at its Surprise and Shine event, with the spotlight likely shifting away from a standard iPhone release. The company is widely rumored to delay the base iPhone 18 until spring 2027, meaning this September’s announcement will focus on the pricier Pro models and a long-anticipated foldable device tentatively called the iPhone Ultra. This event also carries personal weight for Apple, as CEO Tim Cook announced in April he would step down after nearly 15 years in the role, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus set to take over just days before the event.

The foldable iPhone Ultra, expected to adopt a book-style design similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, is the headline rumor for the September event. Analyst leaks suggest it will open into a mini tablet rather than a clamshell format, but its possible price tag of around $2,000 positions it as a luxury option rather than a mainstream replacement for the base model. That premium pricing may explain why a recent CNET survey found that 75% of US adults do not care about foldable phones. Alongside the Ultra, Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, which are rumored to feature larger batteries, variable-aperture cameras, the new Apple A20 processor, additional satellite connectivity, a smaller Dynamic Island, and tweaked camera islands in colors like light blue, dark cherry, and dark gray.

The new hardware will run on the already announced operating systems, including iOS 27 with a revamped Siri AI, MacOS Golden Gate, and Apple TVOS 27, all of which were previewed at WWDC in June and are expected to launch this fall. On the wearables front, a Series 12 Watch is described as "all but guaranteed" by a CNET wearables expert, though new Apple Watch SE and Ultra models are less likely since they were refreshed in 2025. The Series 12 and a possible Ultra 4 are expected to ship with a new processor, likely named the S12, and could adopt a more energy-efficient screen technology to extend battery life without reducing brightness. Health features like blood pressure monitoring and biometric authentication, such as a Touch ID for the watch, are rumored to be in development, but their public availability remains uncertain.

Apple also faces potential price pressures on its watch lineup, as the company raised prices across its computers and home devices this summer, citing memory chip supply chain issues driven by the AI race, and has also increased Apple Music and Apple TV subscription fees. Watches were excluded from that summer hike, but similar increases from Google and Samsung suggest a higher starting price is possible. The rumored next-generation AirPods, potentially called AirPods Ultra, have generated controversy because they may include a tiny infrared camera designed not for photography but to scan the environment for visual intelligence, or AI, answers. This has drawn criticism from tech enthusiasts who spent the summer panning other AI-and-camera wearables like Meta’s smart glasses, putting pressure on Apple to defend the feature given its privacy-focused reputation.

AirPods typically follow a two-year refresh cycle, so an AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 Pro could appear this fall, building on the success of the AirPods 4 with active noise canceling, which a CNET headphones expert called a technological marvel. Apple-owned Beats 360 headphones may also see a refresh this season. Notably, the extended rollout means the base iPhone 18, iPhone 18E, and a possible iPhone Air 2 are unlikely to be seen until spring 2027, leaving this year’s event to focus on the high-end devices and the company’s first foldable.

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