With all the fanfare around the iPhone Duo, you could be forgiven for thinking that's the only new iPhone to have launched this month. However, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will be available from tomorrow, and while neither handset sports a sexy second screen, there's now a way to add one.

Ugreen has introduced what it calls the Magic E Ink Screen Case for both of the Pro models, and as well as provide traditional protection it adds an additional display to the rear of the phone.

You get a full colour E Ink display, as the name suggests, which can be used to show photos stored on your iPhone. You sync the case to the device and can then send digital images to the extra screen.

That's about it, to be honest. It's more a way of customising the case with your own artwork or pictures, so hardly a replacement for the additional display on a Duo, but it's a bit of fun and looks decent enough.

It was announced on Ugreen's Weibo feed alongside several other iPhone accessories, so we're not entirely sure how much it costs or even it'll make its way to other regions outside China. But there do seem to be different colour options to match the new iPhones, including a burgundy version.

The other add-ons and accessories include a super tough screen protector, which is claimed to survive a drop of up to three metres, and a 45W fast charger designed specifically to work with iPhone.

Again, we don't yet know if they'll make it to the UK, US or Europe. Here's hoping.

The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 / £1,199 and will be available to buy from tomorrow, Friday 18 November. The iPhone Duo will be available to pre-order from 16 October, with sales starting on 23 October 2026.

As long as you have an iPhone 11 or newer, including the iPhone SE 2nd generation, then iOS 27 will work on your handset. That means phones up to seven years old can benefit from a range of new features.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will ship with iOS 27 when they go on sale on Friday 18 September. For older phones, however, you will need to go into your settings to accept the upgrade for the time being.

How to upgrade to iOS 27

To try it for yourself, simply go to Settings > General > Software Update. You may see two options, the first to upgrade to iOS 26.7, and then lower down, an option to upgrade to iOS 27. You don't need to upgrade to iOS 26.7 first, you can just select the iOS 27 option.

Even though this is a full release, it's still recommended to do a backup of your phone before you start the update. This can be done using your iCloud Backup, or by connecting your phone to your computer.

You'll ideally want to have your phone plugged in to a power source and using WiFi before starting the update too. The iOS 27 download is just under 23GB in size, so will take a long time over a data connection.

What are the big changes on iOS 27?

The big change with iOS 27 is the introduction of the new Siri AI, the next generation of Apple's voice assistant, which now goes way beyond just voice control. Siri AI is integrated into every part of iOS 27, providing contextual responses and suggestions to make tasks quicker and easier.

The voice responses have a more conversational tone and allow follow-up questions or it to take the context of what you're doing at the time. Siri AI is now also available in its own app, which means you can review past conversations and pick them up again at any time.

Siri AI will also provide quick actions for you to help speed up tasks. for instance, in messaging it may offer to set a reminder or a calendar event for something you're planning. Meanwhile, the call context can bring up booking references from emails while you're calling your hotel or enquiring about a flight.

Other big changes include improvements to the photo editing features, with new extend and reframe features, as well as an improved image cleanup, to help you remove unwanted elements of a picture. Image Playground has also been expanded to offer more features.

Liquid Glass has an a refresh and there are stronger child safety features, so you can control exactly what your kids access on their phones.

Full list of compatible models

• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11
• iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)

While that’s punchy (putting it politely, given Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 is £400 cheaper and equally cute in its format), here are a few reasons why the iPhone Duo might justify its cost, having seen it in the flesh at Apple’s September event last week.

The screen solves a big foldable phones problem

Every folding phone before the Apple iPhone Duo has suffered from the same problem: shiny, plasticky inner displays that feel far cheaper than their prices suggest, show every fingerprint, and reflect at every opportunity.

But the iPhone Duo borrows the nano-texture matte coating from the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro for the internal panel, and the difference is night and day.

Reflections are dramatically reduced, smudges are far less visible, and the crease down the middle all but disappears under normal lighting – something even excellent rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 still haven't managed.

The software doesn't feel like an afterthought

Many folding phones treat the external screen and the internal display as two separate experiences bolted together. Apple's approach with the iPhone Duo is considerably smoother and more fluid, resulting in a much more polished interface.

Whoever designed the animation that flows between the inner and outer displays deserves a pay rise. But more than that, content moves seamlessly between the 5.4-inch outer display and the 7.6-inch inner screen.

The keyboard adapts to whatever orientation you hold the Duo in (even when half-folded), and there are plenty of tricks for propping the phone up too, from playback controls to intentional reflections when watching Netflix.

Multitasking works properly too, with side-by-side apps you can pin together as a pair to reopen later, making for a great trick.

The build quality feels like a premium device

At just 5.2mm thick when unfolded, the iPhone Duo could easily have felt flimsy. Instead, my early impressions were of a reassuringly solid titanium frame and great weight distribution. It’s also a lovely, pocketable format that is a pleasure to use both folded and unfolded.

There is an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, too, a feature previously offered only by Google's Pixel Pro Fold in this category. It means you won't need to wrap cotton wool around the Duo when drinks are around or when you head to the beach.

There are some clever camera tricks

The Duo’s camera department has some compromises: it drops to two rear cameras instead of three, as on the iPhone 18 Pro models, and it has no dedicated telephoto lens or variable aperture. However, like many folding phones, Apple has also leaned into features unique to having two screens.

The first is a live preview on the cover display, so your subject can see the shot you’re taking and pose accordingly – similar to what you’ll find on other folding phones, such as Samsung’s. But the second is my favourite.

Kid Cue pops Snoopy on the cover display to win over anyone reluctant to smile when you’re taking their picture. There’s also an AI-driven Smart Take mode that fires off a burst of shots and automatically selects the best-timed frame.

There’s not one, but two, Dynamic Islands

Along with the camera, there are a couple of other compromises in the iPhone Duo. One is Touch ID instead of Face ID, and the other is the absence of an Action Button.

Despite the lack of Face ID, though, Apple has carried Dynamic Island – the feature that originally launched on the iPhone 14 Pro back in 2022 – over to both the external and internal displays, offering quick access to music, timers and live activities no matter which screen you're using.

On its own, Dynamic Island might not justify the $2,000 / £2,000 price tag, but pair it with the great software, premium design, and matte internal display, and you have a foldable well worth your attention.

Meanwhile, for the iPhone, it took 10 years for Apple to move the home button from below the screen, with 2017’s iPhone X marking a new era for the series.

Well, the iPhone Duo is another era-defining moment for the iPhone. It might have taken Apple several years longer than others to join the foldable phone party, but after spending time with the iPhone Duo at Apple’s September event, it seems the company learned some valuable lessons while waiting. Here’s what I loved about the iPhone Duo and what I thought was missing.

A premium, pocketable design

When closed, the iPhone Duo behaves exactly like a shorter, slightly stockier version of a normal iPhone, with a 5.4-inch cover screen that's compact enough for one-handed use.

It offers a similar format to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Xiaomi 18 Fold, with an asymmetrical design that rounds the right-hand corners while keeping the left corners square. This might split opinion, depending on whether you’re a fan of symmetry, but I was pleased not to see a carbon copy of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 even though I love that phone, too.

Unfold the iPhone Duo, and you're greeted by a 7.6-inch panel that approaches iPad mini proportions, all packed into a chassis that measures just 5.2mm at its thinnest point and has IP68 water and dust resistance.

It’s the thinnest iPhone Apple has made, even thinner than the iPhone Air, which was the talk of the town last year for its slim profile.

That slimness could easily have made it feel fragile, but that wasn’t the impression I got when I played with it during Apple’s event. The titanium build felt solid and well-balanced in the hand, whether open or closed, and in whatever orientation I used it.

Functionally, the placement of the Touch ID button worked well during my time with the iPhone Duo, though I wasn’t convinced by the position of the volume controls, which sit along the top edge. No doubt you’d get used to them, but I’d rather they had been on the right edge, alongside the Touch ID power button and the Camera Control. And as you’ll read in a second, I’m disappointed by the lack of an Action Button.

A distinguishable display finish

What I was far from disappointed by, however, was the texture of the internal screen. Rather than the plasticky, reflective coating typical of most folding phones (something I really dislike about them), Apple has applied nano-texture – the matte, glare-resistant finish that’s been an option on its MacBook Pro and iPad Pro ranges since 2024.

It results in far less glare, a crease that's tricky to spot unless you really look for it, and a surface that is nowhere near as fingerprint-prone as rival folding phones. It immediately separates the Duo from its competitors, and I won’t be surprised if future generations of folding phones go the same route, if only to help hide the fold line.

The nano-texture finish is lovely to use too, being smooth under the finger. While blacks might not be quite as deep as you’ll see on the glossy plastic displays, this wasn’t something I noticed when navigating the interface. There’s also a Dynamic Island on both the external and internal displays, which I was thrilled to see, and Apple Pencil support is coming, allowing you to use Apple’s stylus for notes or drawing.

Software built for the format

The interface is where the iPhone Duo really stands out, though. Some foldables feel like they just stretch to fill a bigger canvas when open, without much thought (usually just adding another column and being down with it). Apple's software transitions between the two Duo displays with real polish, helped by the animation that appears when moving from open to closed and back again.

Content picks up exactly where you left it when moving between the outer screen and the larger one (or vice versa). The on-screen keyboard adjusts intelligently around the hinge, and propping the device up in a tent-like position triggers a couple of tricks.

When locked, it goes into standby, showing the time, date or your photos, as standard iPhones do when locked and charging. When watching content, playback controls appear in the bottom half of the display. For Netflix, when these disappear, software-generated reflections of what you are watching appear until you tap again to bring back the controls.

Running two apps side by side felt intuitive too, with a handy option to bookmark that pairing for quick access later by tapping once in the centre to lock the two apps together, and tapping again to unlock them.

Not without compromises

It's worth noting though that the iPhone Duo isn't a clean sweep. Face ID has been replaced by Touch ID. It's a change Apple says keeps screen unlocking consistent across both displays, but longtime iPhone users may miss it.

You can unlock the Duo with an Apple Watch, but that requires you to have Apple’s smartwatch, and it’s still not the same as simply glancing at your phone for authentication, whether unlocking, paying with Apple Pay or opening Passwords.

There’s also no Action Button, as I mentioned, which will likely irk anyone (like me) who’s built it into their daily routine. On the camera front, the Duo skips a dedicated telephoto lens entirely, relying instead on a cropped zoom from its main sensor, similar to the iPhone Air.

You do at least get the ultra-wide camera here, unlike the iPhone Air, but despite its price being nearly double that of the iPhone 18 Pro, you aren’t getting the same advanced camera system (which now includes variable aperture on the Pro).

Early verdict

Based on what I have seen so far, the iPhone Duo feels like a considered first attempt at a foldable phone rather than a rushed response to market pressure. The screen finish alone addresses a problem the entire foldable category has struggled with for years; the software feels tailored rather than adapted; and the design is premium and dust-resistant.

Whether that's enough to justify a starting price north of £2,000 / $2,000 will depend on how badly you want a folding iPhone. However, my first impressions strongly suggest Apple arrived late yet has largely delivered with the iPhone Duo.

Apple has extended access to its satellite features, meaning those with an iPhone can continue to enjoy the peace of mind that there will be an emergency connection when you're off the grid.

Apple designed the suite of satellite features for emergency connectivity, originally allowing users an SOS function, but evolving the service to include roadside assistance and messaging.

The service launched in 2022, initially with a two-year trial period, but Apple keeps extending it – including a new extension that was quietly added with the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro.

Sitting at the bottom of the press release for the new phone is a footnote that says: "Apple is extending free access to satellite features for an additional year for existing iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 users."

So that trial seems to be turning into a standard feature, although the fact that Apple is referring to it as an extension leaves it with the option for a paid-for service in the future.

How does Apple's satellite service work?

Apple's iPhone communicates with Globalstar satellites and was one of the first consumer satellite offerings in a smartphone. Of course, satellite calling already existed, and devices like Garmin's InReach were offering satellite communications back in 2011, but Apple generally helped start a new era of satellite connectivity.

That's not quite the end of the story: while satellite connectivity offers limited features right now, there's a bigger push for non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to expand coverage to areas that don't have traditional masts to provide greater connectivity.

With the adoption of NTNs by traditional mobile carriers, it might be that blanket coverage is more widely available, reducing the need for bespoke SOS functions. Simply put, once satellites are offering 5G themselves, you might never find yourself without mobile signal.

T-Mobile in the US has already partnered with Starlink, while the O2 Satellite service in the UK is available as a Bolt On for £3 a month. It's not a perfect solution: you need line of sight to the sky and there's limited bandwidth, but we're at the start of the move into space connectivity with a lot of development coming over the next five years.

For now, those with an older iPhone can rest assured that the emergency SOS functions are still available and you still don't have to pay for them.

Although Apple didn't mention it during its iPhone Duo launch presentation, the release date for iOS 27 has been officially revealed.

It appears in the footnotes under the press release for the iPhone 18 Pro, but will be made available for all supported iPhones before that device is made available. It'll be downloadable from next Monday 14 September, in fact.

This includes the new Apple Intelligence features, which will be available for "users with an Apple Intelligence-enabled device set to a supported language". That includes devices in English-speaking countries, plus multiple other regions and languages across Europe and the rest of the world.

The new Siri AI is slightly different. While also available from 14 September, it will launch in beta form for English-language devices only. Apple will then roll out the AI-powered assistant in French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish from October.

Is iPadOS 27 coming too?

It hasn't yet been confirmed, but it is more than likely that iPadOS 27 will also roll out on Monday for iPads, with Apple's other operating systems potentially joining it. Some of them have been known to be staggered in the past though, such as macOS.

As for the new iPhones, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models will be available to pre-order from Saturday 12 September, with an on-sale date of 18 September.

Apple's first foldable iPhone – the iPhone Duo – will follow, with pre-orders opening on 16 October for a 23 October release date.

All of the new iPhones will come with iOS 27, Siri AI and Apple Intelligence pre-installed.

Apple has announced the iPhone Duo at last. Previously dubbed the iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra in speculation over the last year, it is the company's first foldable smartphone and it's everything we expected and more.

A similar shape and size to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, the iPhone Duo is small and squat but has a 7.6-inch 4:3 OLED display when unfolded. This allows for better viewing of video content and is more like an iPad mini than a traditional book-style folding device.

There are some caveats to the new form factor. It only has two camera units on the rear, without the telephoto lens you'll find on the new iPhone 18 Pro, and it doesn't support Face ID. However, you do get Touch ID on the power button and when open, this is the slimmest iPhone ever made (even thinner than last year's iPhone Air).

Also, you do still get a FaceTime camera behind the inner display, with a small lens in the top right of the front screen too.

The software has been tweaked especially for the device, to seamlessly work across the front display and its unfolded equivalent. There are multitasking capabilities, app swiping to swap between screens and dedicated features that work when the device is partially folded or when set down on a desktop.

The outer screen is 5.4-inches and has the same aspect ratio as the inner version. While the build quality is typically Apple – grade 5 titanium has been used for the frame, with ceramic on the back and front.

We're yet to see the display ourselves, but Apple claims that it has one of the strongest bendable displays in the industry. And it suggests that the crease is almost eliminated.

In terms of the other specs, the Duo runs on the A20 Pro chip, much like the iPhone 18 Pro also just announced. It also includes a vapour chamber to keep the chip cool, as well as a C2 5G modem for cellular reliability.

Battery life is claimed to be up to 22 hours when using both screens simultaneously, while fast charging (through USB-C) allows for 50% charge in just 15 minutes.

There are two cameras on the rear, with the main camera capable of up to 4K 120fps video recording, and the 48-megapixel Fusion ultrawide is the same as on the Pro models. As mentioned though, there is no telephoto here.

It will also run Siri AI and the latest Apple Intelligence, of course. And one extra surprise is that the foldable will be compatible with Apple Pencil post launch. That's a big win for those with the stylus already.

The iPhone Duo will be priced from $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,499 for the 256GB model (as previously rumoured) with larger storage options up to 2TB becoming available too. Pre-orders open on 16 October for a 23 October release date.

Apple opened its 9 September event by dropping straight into its unveiling of the iPhone 18 Pro, confirming a few weeks of leaks by showing off two striking new colours for the new phone.

It'll come in burgundy and glacier, the latter being an icy blue, along with the more traditional silver and black options that have been around for years.

In wider design terms, the phone's a clear case of continuity – it looks extremely similar to last year's 17 Pro, with a shelf on the rear again housing that triple camera unit. Those cameras have been given a nice upgrade, though, while the Dynamic Island has also shrunk down to be smaller than ever.

Unsurprisingly, the showcase of the phone was dominated by explanations of how Siri is evolving in its new "Siri AI" iteration. Apple showed how it can interact with apps and services to give you more voice control than before. It also showed a far more expressive and customisable voice model, something that Siri's been crying out for for years.

Of course, that AI upgrade goes hand in hand with a new chipset powering the phone, the A20 Pro. Seeing Apple talk in terms of "compute" requirements does underline how AI lingo is going mainstream, but the details are important here. The chip is built on a 2-nanometer infrastructure, a big step, and has upgraded CPU and GPU performance.

In practice, that'll mean more power in graphically demanding situations like gaming, but also improvements in AI performance in image generation. Hopefully that means Apple's AI editing tools get a little quicker.

Under the hood, we got a look at a new thermal management system that should help the 18 Pro keep cooler and therefore more performant – a whacking great vapour chamber, something that's becoming increasingly popular as a solution in flagship phones.

For the first time, Apple also talked about its battery tech changing, with the "largest increase ever" between two generations of iPhones. It didn't explicitly say this was down to silicon carbon technology, but it might expand on that at some point.

The new 48MP main shooting lens on the iPhone 18 Pro has a new variable aperture control system that should make it a little more customisable and controllable. This is the closest we've seen Apple get to just sticking a traditional camera lens in its phone, and we'll be fascinated to see how it performs. It'll be a great addition for photography nerds, as will newly expanded controls in the Camera app (which might kill some third-party apps overnight).

Of course, we knew that the phones would also get a price hike – and that was confirmed by a new price for the 18 Pro at $1,199 in the US, and the 18 Pro Max at $1,299. In the UK, as was predictable, we're getting a worse deal – the 18 Pro is £1,199, and the Pro Max is £1,299. Those are chunky £100/$100 hikes. Still, pre-orders start on 12 September, with an on-sale date of 18 September.

We've been live-blogging about that all day long ahead of its 18:00 (BST) kick-off time. But Ternus' second-ever 'Tweet' – on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter – was a biggie.

The new CEO only joined X on 1 September, to coincide with his new role, with a simple 'hello' message and nothing more – until now. His second post is far more telling, as it's in animated video form:

I think what we're looking at here is the much-rumoured variable aperture of the incoming iPhone 18 Pro Max – a feature said to be exclusive to this phone alone in this year's line-up.

That's because, look closely, and you'll see the opening to that light source has six sides. In a lens formation that's precisely what a six-blade aperture looks like.

And a six-blade aperture is ideally designed to physically adjust, pushing and pulling the aperture petals to adjust the opening size – and the amount of light let in to expose the sensor.

If you re-watch the animated video's closing moments, you'll see what appears to be that aperture shrinking in size. One of the key reasons for a smaller or wider opening is to control the light and how that will affect an image – a wider opening will deliver more background blur, for example, further exaggerated in a longer focal length.

That's why it's been long rumoured that Apple's Portrait mode was likely to get an upgrade from a variable aperture lens. And this could be the first glimpse we have of just that.

It's not the first time this kind of technology has been deployed in a smartphone. Xiaomi did it with its 14 Ultra handset a couple of years ago – which we described as "a photographers' dream".

Others have already taken to the web to cast other theories, though. "Vision Pro 2?" queries someone in the X thread, among a swathe of memes and AI-generated videos for your amusement.

One thing is clear, though: Apple hasn't – or, moreover, didn't – tease product releases in this way. But this is 'The New Apple', with Ternus at the helm, so could be a hint of more changes in its practice to come.

I've not even mentioned the folding iPhone – whether named as Ultra or Duo is now up for debate – up to this point, so the tease-and-distract method certainly has its own value...

Apple's biggest event in a generation took place on 9 September, with the new CEO, John Ternus, revealing the brand's first-ever folding phone: the iPhone Duo.

There was more, too, with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max debuting a six-blade variable aperture as part of their camera functionality.

A new Apple Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4 were revealed, plus the latest AirPods 5 mean that all current range Apple 'buds offer noise-cancelling (ANC).

The key headlines are below, with the original live blog below, where we followed the event along live, step by step, throughout the day. Dig in and enjoy!

The biggest headlines

• Apple finally joins the foldable fray with iPhone Duo – a passport-sized entry
• Here's when your iPhone gets iOS27 & Siri AI – it's sooner than you'd think
• iPhone 18 Pro refines the 17 Pro, ditches Cosmic Orange, adds new colours
• AirPods 5 bring bigger battery, better noise-cancelling and live translation
• Apple Watch Series 12 official: The 6 new features worth knowing about
• Apple Watch just got a major upgrade with Health Age and AI coaching
• New Apple Watch checks your heart rate 60 times more frequently
• Apple didn’t announce Home Hub – but clues suggest it's coming

Re-watch Apple's 'Surprise and Shine' event below

Original live blog continues below:

It feels like this Apple event has been a long time coming. Today, 9 September 2026, marks a step change for the Cupertino giant.

That's because the now company Chair, former CEO Tim Cook, has paved the way for a new leader, in CEO John Ternus, to take to the stage for his first full keynote.

That might not profoundly affect everyday customers, of course, but what's expected to launch today will – as Apple, finally, is set to reveal its first folding iPhone.

The iPhone Ultra won't be the only star of this show, though, with rumours of a new camera for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, an amped-up iPhone 18 Pro, and absence of base iPhone 18.

There are also more products expected across Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV 4K and HomePod – although those are far from guaranteed, with the focus expected to be on the foldable, and a mini event to follow in the near future likely.

So, follow along via the live feed below from 18:00 in the UK – that's 13:00 EDT, 10:00 PDT – or stay tuned ahead of time, as we'll be live and bringing you the latest rumours and reveals in the run-up to Apple's big 'Surprise and Shine' event.

We have been writing and discussing Apple's first foldable iPhone for many months – years, even – and it's mainly been called the iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra in that time. However, it seems that the internet speculation was wrong.

While Apple is almost certainly going to reveal the device later today, the names we've been using have seemingly been incorrect.

According to Bloomberg's resident Apple expert, Mark Gurman – who is generally right about these things – the foldable will be called the iPhone Duo, instead.

This is backed up by fellow trusted leaker, Ice Universe, who posted an "iPhone Duo" teaser on his X feed.

To be honest, the name allegedly chosen doesn't sound like an Apple product. It's more Microsoft, which used a similar name for its own, ill-fated foldables in the early 2020s. But there was also some who suggested that calling the new iPhone "Ultra" would also be misleading.

It's believed that it'll have a lower spec camera unit than the iPhone 18 Pro, with the telephoto lens missing. And it's also thought that it'll cut Face ID from the equation, being that it'll be so slim when unfolded.

Those omissions mean that while you gain a fold-out screen, the new iPhone can hardly be called the best of the best. It'll be different rather than superior.

Someone might want to tell the accounts department that though, as Gurman also suggests that the starting price will be $2,000 (£2,000, if Apple's pricing convention continues as normal).

That's actually less than some reports and leaks have claimed, although it is also said that the 2TB model could rise to as much as $3,000.

Setting the entry point at $2K (rather than the tipped $2.5K) does allow Apple to better compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, however. Samsung's similarly-sized starts at $1,899 – just $100 less – so the difference could be forgiven by many.

It'll be more stark in the UK, of course, as Samsung doesn't match prices like-for-like over here – the Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at £1,699 – and there are discounts at networks already. But it could have been much worse.

We'll find out for sure in just a few hours, when the Apple event kicks off. T3 will be covering all the news live and throughout the day, so stay with us.

Dubbed "Surprise and Shine", the event will be the first hosted by new CEO John Ternus and should debut the much-talked about iPhone Duo – Apple's first foldable phone. You can watch it live below.

In addition, we should see the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, Watch Ultra 4, and AirPods 5. There'll be a whole lot about Siri AI too, as it'll arrive with iOS 27 in the coming days.

So, expect a jam-packed show with maybe a surprise or two along the way.

Here are all the details.

When will the Apple iPhone Ultra event start?

Apple will stream its iPhone launch event today, Wednesday 9 September 2026.

As is tradition, it will kick off at 10:00am PDT, local time for Apple's HQ in Cupertino.

Here are the start times for your location:

• US West Coast: 10:00 PDT
• US East Coast: 13:00 EDT
• UK: 18:00 BST
• Central Europe: 19:00 CEST
• India (New Delhi): 22:30 IST
• China (Beijing): 01:00 CST (10 September)
• Japan (Tokyo): 02:00 JST (10 September)
• South Korea (Seoul): 02:00 KST (10 September)
• Australia (Sydney): 03:00 AEDT (10 September)

How to watch the new Apple iPhone launch event

You can watch the event stream live right here (via the video further up this page).

Alternatively, you will be able to watch it on Apple's own website, or through Apple TV devices.

What to expect

The main focus this year will undoubtedly be on Apple's first foldable phone – commonly referred to as the iPhone Ultra, but seemingly arriving as the "iPhone Duo". So much has been written and said about it that it would be a major shock if it didn't appear.

There will also be an iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max announced, although we expect to have to wait until early next year for a new standard iPhone 18 model.

In terms of smartwatches, we understand the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 will be unveiled, along with new AirPods – the AirPods 5, at the very least.

Oh. and there will be plenty about iOS 27 and Siri AI, which will soon be available for existing devices as well as the new ones.

We'll be watching along like everyone else, of course, and covering the whole shebang live. Why don't you join us?

With Apple due to host its annual iPhone launch event tomorrow, it comes as no surprise that the rumour mill has gone into overload – especially where the company's first foldable is concerned.

We've seen an official case manufacturer reveal its new, related products early, and now there are reports on iPhone Ultra pricing. But before I continue, I suggest you sit down. And maybe call your bank manager.

An online leaker, EVDownunder, claims to have discovered the pricing details for the iPhone Ultra from a source within Vodafone Australia. As expected, it's a lot higher than many would have hoped.

According to his X post, the 256GB model will cost AU$3,699 at launch, the 512GB version will be AU$4,199, and the 1TB AU$4,699.

In comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at AU$2,199 in the country – so the difference is profound.

Using today's exchange rate, the 256GB iPhone Ultra will cost the equivalent of £1,970 / $2,663 if the leaked prices are correct. However, Apple doesn't really work that way. I'd expect it to be around $2,500 in fact, and considering the firm translates its prices like-for-like in the US and UK, you can expect to pay around £2,500.

Step up the storage sizes and it could run anywhere over £3K.

And sadly, for those hoping the leak turns out to be wrong, this matches previous estimations from seasoned analysts and Apple experts. Being an early adopter in Apple world has never come cheap.

It'll really come down to pre-order deals and network price plans, I feel. Or maybe the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is looking more attractive by the day.

We can't be sure until new CEO John Ternus takes to the stage tomorrow. T3 will bring you all the news (and confirmed pricing details) as they're revealed.

We have one more sleep before Father Apple brings some lovely new iPhones and Watches down the chimney, but that hasn't stopped case and accessory manufacturer ESR Tech from revealing its own new lineup early.

It has posted a video clip on its X feed that shows the iPhone Ultra, along with a selection of new cases that it claims will be essential for your new £2K+ foldable.

It has provoked one X user, Pedder, to repost it with the tag: "ESR: What NDA?"

In all honesty, considering just how many leaks, images and videos there are out there now, this is a small drop in the ocean. But considering ESR makes a vast selection of Apple (and Samsung) add-ons, it's a good indication of what to expect from a source that should be in the know.

In all likelihood, the iPhone Ultra in the post is a dummy unit. Indeed, the camera depth on the rear looks wrong in one of the shots – the lenses protrude too much, in my opinion.

However, considering everything else that's been released about Apple's new foldable to date, we can pretty much take it as read that this is near to the real deal.

If you also take a scroll through ESR Tech's other recent X posts, you'll also get a glimpse at the Dark Cherry iPhone 18 Pro Max and a black variant of the iPhone Ultra. The brand will no doubt also have Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 bands and cases available too.

And while Apple might be none too pleased about it, there's no doubt that this helps ramp up the hype even more. Tomorrow's event will be significant enough, being as it'll mark the debut of John Ternus as CEO, but throw the company's first foldable into the mix and it's turning into an unmissable keynote for tech lovers.

The iPhone 18 Pro should be announced on 9 September with a design that's expected to be the same as the iPhone 17 Pro. But a new video gives us a closer look at this year's unique colours, even though these aren't real retail units.

The video shows the phone in Dark Cherry and Sky Blue, two new colours that are generally agreed upon for the next-gen iPhone. That's what raises some doubt about this leak – why isn't the third colour shown?

It might be that no one can decide if it's going to be black or silver, so rather than get it wrong, sticking to the most strongly-rumoured colours might seem like a safer bet.

With the iPhone 18 Pro expected to be the same overall design as the iPhone 17 Pro, much of the focus of these devices has been on the colour. We're sure it will have the A20 Pro chip and there could be a variable aperture on the Pro Max model, but from a design point of view it's expected to be much the same.

The phones are said to be dummy units, with the video originally appearing from Lanzuk on Naver, but shared on X.

This isn't an isolated appearance: it appears that some Russian retailers are showing off these dummy units in advance of the announcement. The second video shows them on a table with a sign that translates to "touch the future now".

If nothing else, this gives us a good sense of the general look and feel of the new phones, but as we outlined above, they're basically the same as the previous iPhone model.

Apple is expected to have a bumper launch over in Cupertino, with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Ultra, Watch Series 12, Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 all expected to be announced this Wednesday.

For anyone who hasn’t been following the news – or maybe just missed it amid the flurry of Mac announcements last week – it will be the first time the new CEO, John Ternus, takes to the stage at Apple Park, rather than former CEO Tim Cook.

But the “Surprise and Shine” event has raised one big question: will an iPhone 18 launch this year, or will it all hang on the foldable Ultra model? The rumour opinions differ, so here's a breakdown of what to expect this week:

First folding iPhone

I’m not convinced the “surprise” in the event tag refers to the first folding iPhone, because at this point it’s been so heavily rumoured that it would be more surprising if it wasn’t revealed.

That said, everything about it so far has only been a rumour, so I suppose the surprise could be what Apple’s first foldable iPhone actually brings to the party – and how it stacks up against the competition.

Speculation suggests it will have a similar format to the recently announced (and adorable, might I add) Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 – which features a squarer, wider build than the best folding phones previously.

What colourways will Apple offer in the folding iPhone? What camera capabilities will it offer? Indeed, how intuitive the software will be? Those will all come as potential surprises – and that's what keeps it exciting.

Here’s hoping there’s a hero colour rather than just black and white (the first folding iPhone deserves to be as recognisable as the iPhone 17 Pro was last year).

I also hope Apple has a trick up its sleeve for the folding iPhone that makes the Steve Jobs Theatre react the same way it did when Apple revealed Dynamic Island in 2022. That was actually a surprise – and a good one, too.

No standard iPhone 18?

Another key moment might not be what is revealed, but rather what isn't.

Apple has released a new standard iPhone every year – and in September since 2012 (ignoring "that year" of 2020 anyway) – for the last 19 years. But there’s a good chance this year will be the first time it doesn’t.

Last year, despite the iPhone Pro models featuring a new design, the iPhone 17 stole the show, offering a wide range of upgrades, from an Always On Display to a better ultrawide camera.

If Apple does launch a folding phone, it may not want to overshadow it with a 'cheaper' device. It’s hard to convince people to buy a £/$2,000+ phone when there is another new one at a third of the price.

The iPhone 17e launched in March 2026, just 6 months after the iPhone 17. It’s possible Apple will push the standard iPhone 18 into that launch window instead, allowing the folding iPhone and the iPhone Pro models plenty of time to “shine”.

While this has long been rumoured, it would be a genuine surprise not to see a regular iPhone in its September reveal slot for many years. The general consensus, however, is that the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models will arrive.

First iPhone with a mechanical aperture

The Apple iPhone 18 Pro models will need to pull something pretty special out of the bag to compete with a folding iPhone.

As I mentioned, the iPhone had a redesign last year, so that’s unlikely to happen for a second year in a row, aside from a couple of new colour options, while a bump in speed alone probably won’t be enough to prompt anyone with a 17 Pro to upgrade.

But the Pro has always been about the camera and performance, and there’s speculation that the 'shining light' on the invite could indicate a mechanical aperture for the first time on an iPhone.

That's been rumoured for a couple of years now – though it’s said this feature may only come to the iPhone 18 Pro Max, which would be a shame for those who prefer the smaller Pro model. Who knows, maybe there will be three Pro models.

Following the invite, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggested that the bright light could suggest a variable aperture, adding weight to the idea. If true, it would allow you to manually adjust the aperture, similar to a mirrorless camera, allowing for better control of depth of field.

Gurman also suggested that the blue could indicate a Sky Blue colour for the iPhone 18 Pro, matching the MacBook Air.

What else is expected?

Of course, Apple’s September event is never short of announcements, so while I think the above will be the key moments – "surprises" might be a bit of a stretch – I’d also expect to see more later this year and into next.

An Apple Watch Series 12, an Apple Watch Ultra 4, and updated AirPods 5 are all obvious upgrades.

I don’t think this will be the year for AirPods with built-in cameras, however, and while I think the HomePod with Display could be mentioned as a ‘One More Thing’ moment, I’m not convinced this week's event will see that happen.

Nothing will be known for sure until the event itself, but at least there isn’t too long to wait. I’ll be there to report on the latest, so keep your eyes on T3 for my first impressions and thoughts, direct from Cupertino.

Apple is preparing to launch the iPhone 18 Pro next week and while the design is expected to be generally the same as the iPhone 17 Pro, there's one detail that hasn't yet been nailed down: the colour options.

The iPhone 18 Pro colours are still a topic for debate. We've already seen leaks for colours such as Dark Cherry (or Burgundy) and Sky Blue, but beyond that, it's not clear whether we're getting a black phone or a silver phone.

Currently, the iPhone 17 Pro comes in the hero Cosmic Orange, Deep Blue and Silver. It might suggest that for a complete change, Apple will offer the iPhone 18 Pro in Black.

As highlighted by 9to5Mac, online leakers do not agree on what the third colour will be. Fixed Focus Digital took to Weibo to share images and supporting the idea of moving to a black phone, although then goes on in the comments to call it "greyish".

But that's not the important part: Fixed Focus Digital distinctly says that "the second from the left is most likely not available" - which refers to the silver device.

But then Sonny Dickson has come forward on X, sharing an image of three SIM trays, including Dark Cherry, Sky Blue and, you guessed it, Silver. Now, bear in mind that Apple dropped the SIM card tray for US models with iPhone 14, so these could be from other global models – but there's no black in sight.

That leaves us not knowing the colour that the iPhone 18 Pro will be available in. The Dark Cherry and Sky Blue seem pretty certain at this point, but we're still debating whether the third phone will be black or silver and we're only 7 days from the launch.

The iPhone 18 Pro might be overshadowed by the folding iPhone that's expected at the event, but we're expecting to see Pro and Pro Max versions with the same design as previously, but powered by the new A20 Pro chip.

We're expecting more capacious batteries and changes to the camera. There could be new hardware in the camera, with rumours of a variable aperture, although whether this is limited to the Pro Max or both the Pro models remains to be seen.

The new phones will run iOS 27, come with Siri AI and likely some new features – although older models will benefit from many of the incoming software changes.

As for the prices, we're braced for an increase in sizes for the new models.

Steve Jobs famously said "nobody wants a stylus" when revealing the original iPhone in 2027, making a swipe at business-focused devices like the Palm Pilot and Windows-powered PDAs that all came with a stylus.

But it seems that Apple has been testing a Pencil that would work with the iPhone Ultra, its first folding phone, expected to be unveiled at an event next week.

The Apple Pencil is said to be "stubbier" than the version already available for the iPad, and able to magnetically attach to the side of the phone for storage and charging.

However, according to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg - who says he has "zero doubt" that this has been prototyped and tested - doesn't think Apple will release it.

There's a couple of reasons for that, starting with design. Having a Pencil attached to the side of the device is awkward - especially if you're going to be opening and closing and putting it in your pocket, where it will almost certainly detach.

The display surface also has to be considered: folding screens are softer and more prone to marking than traditional glass displays and a stylus could make that worse. Then, of course, we have Steve Jobs saying that nobody wants a stylus, making the point that the interface should be optimised for touch.

Apple won't find itself at a disadvantage here either: Samsung dropped support for the S Pen on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and it wasn't restored for the Galaxy Z Fold 8. That's thought to be because Samsung wanted the device to be thinner and removing the supporting digitising layer made this possible.

So it seems that an Apple Pencil for the iPhone Ultra was considered and then, probably, abandoned. Gurman says that it's "unlikely that Apple will actually launch this accessory".

Apple's September launch looks like it will give us the iPhone 18 Pro alongside the new folding iPhone. Rumours have suggested that Apple will save the regular iPhone 18 for early 2027. What we're really going to be looking for is some exemplary use cases for the new iPhone to make best use of the big display.

The new iPhone will probably be joined by new Apple Watch models, while new AirPods could also make an appearance.

Luxury phone customiser Caviar has already revealed its iPhone Ultra models, weeks before Apple's official launch. And it even lets you pre-order your device right now. The only caveat is that you'll need at least $13,840 (just over £10K) in the bank to secure one.

In fact, you'll need considerably more if you want to order the "Liquid Metal" custom iPhone Ultra – it starts at $18,840.

That's for the 256GB model, which Caviar predicts will be launching alongside 512GB and 1TB editions. But don't worry though, you can get yourself a bit of a discount if you order with crypto currency. That pretty much tells you the audience it's aiming at.

The case features bespoke "sculptural lines" to create a sense of "continuous motion", and is made from sterling silver. It is finished with a mirror polish, to give it that added bling.

Caviar has made a name for itself by customising popular smartphones and other tech with premium materials and finishes. And it often reveals its latest products before they've actually launched for real. In this case, it has likely used CAD diagrams and manufacturer specs to create its own dummy units, with the full production models to be built once the device itself is on the market.

There are also iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max variants available on the site, too.

Alongside the Liquid Metal iPhone Ultra, the brand lists special editions in gold, silver, leather and titanium. There's a "Jobs" version as well, with Steve Jobs signature engraved on the rear as a "tribute to the man who defined Apple's identity".

However, if you're not really an Apple kind-of person, but still have a filthy bank balance, there are also heavily customised versions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 available.

The Scarface and Godfather foldables are plated in 24-karat gold and feature the faces of Al Pacino as Tony Montana, and Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone respectively.

Or you can opt for a Lionel Messi Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra for just over $13K. No, really.

We don't have long now until Apple finally lifts the lid on its first foldable phone. The iPhone Ultra has been rumoured for months (if not years) and is almost certainly going to be the main focus of the company's annual September launch presentation.

We expect that to take place around 9 September (with an on-sale date likely a couple of weeks later), and it's becoming ever more clear that this could be a groundbreaking new direction for the brand.

Indeed, it is reported that several people have seen the foldable already, and are giving it glowing reviews. Bloomberg's resident Apple expert, Mark Gurman, claims to have spoken to them and they've been largely positive.

"People who have tried the Apple model like how it fits in a pocket, the feel and durability of the advanced hinge mechanism, and the new iPad-like app layouts that take advantage of the larger internal display," he writes in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter.

They also waxed lyrical about its use as a "camera viewfinder", but there's a caveat – it also lacks a telephoto lens.

No telephoto on the iPhone Ultra

That could sway those considering upgrading from an iPhone Pro or Pro Max model. The Pro phones will be refreshed at the same time – with the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max expected – and if the photography tech is of particular interest, either might be a better bet.

As Gurman also states, considering the iPhone Ultra is predicted to cost at least $2,000 / £2,000, it could deter those looking for the best hardware, rather than the most innovative.

The similarly sized and shaped Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which also launch recently, is about $300 / £300 cheaper. And while that too lacks some of the camera features of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, it reflects that in the price.

Still, this is a new category for Apple and will undoubtedly appeal regardless of some omissions. Yes, the cut-back camera could irk some, while the reported lack of Face ID might be lamented too, but the form factor could be more than worth it.

We'll find out for sure in the coming weeks.

The new Apple Foundation models that power this new system have been built with Google Gemini but run on-device or via a private cloud. The data is only ever used for requests and never stored; it also can’t be accessed even by Apple.

The foundation models are deeply integrated across the operating systems and cover language, images, voice and text. This means that it can interact with you through every part of the operating system and almost every application.

More than just a voice assistant

Siri now has its own app in iOS 27 and across all of this year's new platforms. This allows you to revisit past conversations you’ve had, pick them up again, and start new ones. You can also still access Siri through the voice prompt of ‘Hey Siri’, by clicking on the Siri floating symbol or by holding down the main button on the top right of your phone.

Siri now has a more conversational interaction and allows you to ask follow-up questions or react to context. So if you’re in your messages, mail or music, you can easily ask questions around what’s in front of you for Siri to answer.

This same technology follows across iPadOS and even MacOS, where you can use the Spotlight tool to engage Siri and even use visual intelligence by selecting an area of the screen to reference.

Better image editing

The advances in Apple Intelligence aren’t limited to just Siri. The photo editing tools are now also powered by AI to deliver more advanced adjustments and generation. Firstly, the clean-up tool can remove larger objects, with more accurate results. There are now three options for the process, with ‘fast’ using on-device processing and ‘high quality’ using private cloud computing. There’s also an ‘auto’ option which will pick the best option depending on your current data connection.

A new ‘extend’ tool allows you to generate content beyond the edges of the photo for when you want to zoom out or change the ratio of the image. Meanwhile, the ‘spatial reframing’ tool lets you virtually adjust the angle that the picture was taken from, keeping the subject in the same place but changing the background. Both of these functions make use of private cloud computing for the full image generation.

These functions don’t just work on newly taken photos; you can apply them to older pictures in your library, even those not taken on an Apple device. The tools are also available directly in the lock screen wallpaper selection, so that you can better adjust your images to fit.

Image Playground gets more real

One area I’m quite excited about is the expansion of Image Playground in iOS 27 and beyond. This contains new generative models to enable it to produce a range of new image styles, including photorealistic images. This is achieved using private cloud computing and images contain IPTC metadata and hidden SynthID watermarks to show it’s been digitally generated.

As before, you can pick from people in your photo library (including multiple people) or from individual photos. The results can be output in different image ratios, such as landscape, portrait or square. While you can’t pick from your labelled pets in your library, you can take an individual picture of your pet and use that as a basis.

Notifications and context

Two new Apple Intelligence features are designed to save you time and help you avoid missing updates. Call context can surface helpful information when you’re on a call or messaging. So confirmation details for a hotel or flight booking can be easily surfaced without searching through past emails, and quick actions from messages can be set as reminders in a single click.

Notify Me is a function within Safari that can be used to stay up to date on changes within your favourite websites. The function can be set to check back monthly, weekly, daily or hourly, and you can ask it to look for things like a price change, a new feature or service or a registration or ticket sale opening. You could even set it to tell you when T3 writes something new about Apple – though expect daily updates!

Premium benefits

All the Apple Intelligence features will be made available to all users when the new versions of the software launch later this year, though initially in a beta form. There will, however, be some limits on the number of operations you can perform each day. Those with iCloud Plus memberships will have higher limits and will therefore be able to perform more AI operations.

This is a similar setup as we’ve seen with Google Gemini and ChatGPT, so it’s no surprise Apple is also adopting it. I also suspect those who will want to use it the most will already have one of the higher iCloud tiers, for all the other benefits it gives, so those hitting that daily limit should be minimal.

Historically, Apple has released its new line of iPhones in early September and this year is likely to be no different. New iPhone 18 models are expected, along with iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max handsets, as well as a possible iPhone Fold.

If you want to try out some of the new iOS 27 features, you can download the public beta on your phone today. Our article shows you exactly how to do it.

The Apple iPhone X was a huge deal when it launched back in 2017, much like the folding iPhone will be this year if it finally arrives. It marked the 10th anniversary of the iPhone and was the first major design change of that decade, too. It removed the Home Button at the bottom of the screen, for starters.

As a result, the iPhone X was the first iPhone to introduce Face ID, albeit with a notch at the top of the display rather than the neat and tidy Dynamic Island we have today.

What can we thank the iPhone X for?

It also reintroduced a more premium material for the iPhone again, opting for stainless steel over the aluminium frame we had seen on the iPhone 6, 7 and 8.

You could even argue that it was the device responsible for the Pro models we know today. It normalised the idea of a more expensive iPhone alongside the regular options and paved the way for the iPhone 11 Pro, which launched two years later after the iPhone XS.

It's safe to say, then, that the iPhone X wasn’t just any regular iPhone. But despite that, its time is up. Not from a software perspective – that happened back in 2022 with iOS 16 being the last software build to be supported – but from a parts perspective.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple has updated its “Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty” support article, and the iPhone X has been added to the obsolete product list. It was moved from the vintage product list.

That means Apple has discontinued hardware service for it, so service providers can no longer order parts.

Usually, products appear on this list about seven years after they are released. The vintage list of products is said to be for devices between five and seven years old, and while parts are still available to service these, they are limited.

With the iPhone X now coming up to nine years old, it’s had a good run, so it’s not too surprising to see it move to obsolete. It also leaves a great legacy behind, so we look forward to what the 2027 iPhone brings for the twenty-year anniversary.

Let’s just say it has some big shoes to fill.

Apple should soon announce its annual iPhone launch event, currently rumoured to be taking place on 9 September, but there will be one this missing this year – the iPhone 18.

It is widely expected that the next Apple presentation will unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and long-awaited iPhone Ultra. However, we'll more than likely have to wait until early next year for the standard model (as well as an iPhone Air 2).

That will disappoint some, with the price of the iPhone 18 Pro maybe proving too rich for those more budget conscious. Thankfully though, it looks like patience will be rewarded, with at least one industry expert predicting a couple of significant upgrades worth waiting for.

Analyst Jeff Pu has a decent track record of predicting Apple's intentions and he suggests that the iPhone 18 will arrive with Pro-level features.

Big upgrades heading to iPhone 18

According to 9to5Mac, which claims to have seen his latest research notes, there will be a notable change to the Dynamic Island, which will first be seen on the iPhone 18 Pro in the next few weeks.

The 18 Pro is said to be getting a smaller Dynamic Island to cut down on the screen-busting cutout. Its functionality will remain the same, but the pill-shaped black bar will be less obstructive when not in use (such as with the new Siri AI).

In addition, Pu claims the iPhone 18 could come with a healthy RAM boost, even during the global components crisis. He believes it will be upped to 12GB of RAM – 50% more than on the iPhone 17.

That's likely to ensure the phone works well with the new Apple Intelligence and Siri AI features coming with iOS 27 next month. It should also make the device more speedy to use generally.

It would also be a significant differentiator between the iPhone 18 and expected iPhone 18e model also expected early next year. That's tipped for 9GB of RAM.

Another renowned analyst, Ming Chi-Kuo predicted the standard model would come with 9GB, but that never made much sense – why not just buy the 18e in that case?

We'll probably have to wait a bit longer to see how this all pans out, with the iPhone 18, Air 2, and iPhone 18e currently tipped for next spring. However, at least we have Apple's first foldable to keep our attention first.

With less than a month left, Apple should soon announce the date it'll host its annual iPhone launch event and we'll finally get to see the much-rumoured iPhone Ultra. We certainly hope so, as the speculation is going overtime right now.

The latest concerns its front-facing cameras, of which there are claimed to be two, one on the outer display, one on the inner. And it's said that they'll be oddly placed – for an Apple device anyway.

That's because trusted leaker Ice Universe posted a brief video of alleged screen protectors for the forthcoming foldable on his X feed, and they reveal a couple of interesting aspects.

First, the camera hole on the outer display is in the top-right-hand corner – a first for Apple. Every other iPhone has had its camera, notch or Dynamic Island in the top centre. In addition, the camera on the inner display is also said to be ranged to one side.

This latter placement makes more sense – Apple would need to keep the sensor as far away from the hinge.

As 9to5Mac suggests, the manufacturer of the accessories could have got it wrong, or used its own guesswork, but Apple has never made anything like the iPhone Ultra before, so all bets are off.

The other odd element of the protectors is that they show a weirdly shaped display – round corners on one side and flat on the other. However, Ice Universe suggests this could be to protect the glass, but the display underneath might be rounded on each corner.

The hinge would have to have a flat edge, of course.

Some commenters actually like the idea of an irregularly-shaped iPhone though, with @NevamiZ going as far as knocking up a concept.

Whatever the outcome, we're sure the iPhone Ultra will prove to be a real talking point. And if you want to get an idea of the sort of thing it'll be capable of, you only need to check out our review of the similarly shaped and sized Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.

As for the rest, we'll know for sure in just a few short weeks.

During WWDC in June, Apple announced a number of new features coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch later this year, when the new software is released. The software will be iOS 27 for iPhone, iPadOS 27 for iPad, macOS Golden Gate for Mac and watchOS 27 for Apple Watch, and they are expected to arrive in their final form at some point next month.

But if patience is a virtue you don’t possess, you can sign up for Apple’s beta program, which lets you download the public betas of the software for each device and try out the new features before they officially arrive. For iPhone, we’re currently on iOS 27 public beta 3, after it was released at the beginning of this week.

What does iOS 27 public beta 3 add?

The headline addition in public beta 3 is Siri's voice customisation option, which was present but greyed out in earlier beta builds – it's finally been switched on.

You can now tweak how fast and expressive Siri sounds, choosing between two base voices. However, the feature is restricted to the iPhone 17 Pro models and iPhone Air, as it requires on-device processing (and that needs the A19 Pro chip). If you are running the beta on an older iPhone, you won’t see this option appear.

Elsewhere, as detailed by the MacRumors YouTube, Apple has introduced testing of Live Recognition, a new accessibility tool that uses the iPhone’s camera to identify and describe your surroundings in real time.

Photos gets a toggle for star ratings, letting you rate your favourite shots, while Control Centre now shows your cellular signal strength alongside Wi-Fi at the top of your screen.

There’s a neat new trick for AirPods owners too, with a handy Adaptive Audio slider (in the Liquid Glass style, of course) for balancing transparency and noise cancellation.

Reminders also gets a redesigned Liquid Glass icon, while the Lock Screen gets black icons at the bottom of the screen, switching from transparent to help them show up better.

You can sign up for the public beta on Apple’s beta website. However, if you’d rather wait, iOS 27 is expected to launch around the same time as the new iPhone models, usually in early September.

Although we're still awaiting official confirmation, Apple will host a launch event next month where it will undoubtedly reveal at least three iPhone models – the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and the much-rumoured iPhone Ultra foldable.

However, that won't be the end of its iPhone launch plans. It will follow those up with three additional devices over the coming months, with an additional three devices being spotted in iOS 27 code.

References to the six unreleased iPhones were found in the latest developer beta (iOS 27 beta 5) by Macworld. It claims to have found a lineup of internal codenames – V62, V63, V64, V67, V68, and V69 – in system files "related to the iPhone's battery drivers and Battery Intelligence features".

These codes are thought to directly relate to the iPhone Air 2, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone 18, iPhone Ultra, and the iPhone 18e respectively.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have long been thought to be scheduled for the September launch event, along with the iPhone Ultra. However, speculation has long suggested that Apple will delay its other devices this year.

The iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 will follow early next year, it's claimed. While the iPhone 18e will likely arrive in spring, much like its predecessor. The trio could all launch at once, in fact.

We don't know much more about each phone, with no extra details found in the code so far. But the staggered release could make for an interesting few months for Apple fans, that's for sure.

When will Apple's September event take place?

We don't yet have an official date for Apple's next event, but the current thinking is that it will take place on Wednesday 9 September 2026 – that's according to Bloomberg's resident Apple expert, Mark Gurman.

As for pre-orders, although Apple tends to open orders on the first Friday after its events, the US will be marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, as it'll be 11 September at the end of that particular week.

It'll be more likely that pre-orders will start the week after this year. Or we might even have to wait a little longer for the iPhone Ultra, for example, as the RAM and components crisis has made production schedules hard to predict.

Either way, if you already have an iPhone capable of the new Apple Intelligence features – ie. the iPhone 15 Pro and up – you'll be able to download the full release of iOS 27 and get arguably Apple's biggest suite of software upgrades in years. That could keep you going while you wait.

We’ve been waiting over two years for Apple’s new personalised, AI-powered Siri to arrive. The company first revealed it during WWDC 24, but following a number of delays, it never fully launched. Little was said about it at WWDC 25, but then at WWDC 26 this year, Apple showed off the new assistant in all its glory. It was better than many expected.

Rebranded as Siri AI, the new assistant will launch with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate and watchOS 27 when they arrive – likely next month alongside the new iPhones.

However, not all devices compatible with the new software will support Siri AI.

Your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch need to be able to support Apple Intelligence for Siri AI, and as 9to5Mac points out in a report, even then, some features, like the ability to customise Siri AI’s voice, will only be available on selected hardware.

What devices are compatible with Siri AI?

These are the models that will support Siri AI across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro – at least at the start.

• iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone 16 and 16 Plus
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
• iPad Pro (M1 chip and later)
• iPad Air (M1 chip and later)
• iPad mini (A17 Pro)
• All Mac models with Apple silicon (M1 chip and later, and A18 Pro chip)
• All Vision Pro models
• Apple Watch Series 9 and later
• Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later
• Apple Watch SE 3

Note that Apple Watch needs to be paired with an Apple Intelligence supported iPhone to run Siri AI.

Here’s where the complications come in, though.

For some Siri AI features, including the ability to change the pace and expressivity, you will need specific devices. According to Apple, that's the “iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPad models with M4 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, Mac models with M3 and later and at least 12GB of unified memory, and Apple Vision Pro (M5)”.

So while Siri AI is almost here for older devices, it might be time to upgrade anyway.

There are some big changes coming to the iPhone with iOS 27 when it launches later this year. There's Siri AI for starters, which I’ve found surprisingly helpful in my first beta experiences.

However, alongside the more contextualised Siri are updates to native apps, including new icons for Maps and Photos, a slider to increase or decrease the Liquid Glass effect, and new photo editing tools.

What will Captured by Me offer in Photos?

Look a little deeper into the Photos app though, and there are improvements coming here too. Shared albums and slideshows are being tweaked within iOS 27, but as spotted by 9to5Mac, there is also a new Captured by Me feature that effectively acts as a camera roll.

As its name suggests, this feature will present any photos or videos that you yourself have taken on your iPhone. You won’t see any screenshots or photos friends have sent you in this section, nor any other content, so there will be no dog memes or random screenshots you’ve snapped while doomscrolling.

The Captured by Me feature can be found in the Utilities section of the Photos app, and it’s present in the latest iOS 27 beta if you want to try it out for yourself.

There is also an option to filter by Captured by Me in the iOS 27 Photos app. If you tap on the Library tab at the bottom of the Photos app and then the filter icon in the top right (three lines), you will see Captured by Me appear in the list. Tap on that, and you’ll find all the photos and videos you’ve ever taken with your iPhone’s camera.

Apple hasn’t revealed exactly when the final build of iOS 27 will be released, but if previous years are anything to go by, it should be early September, alongside the launch of the new iPhones.

As mentioned though, if you can’t wait that long to try out the Captured by Me feature, you can download the public beta of iOS 27 now.

At the end of July, Apple rolled out a new subscription service to help you get your hands on the latest iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch. The catch is that, for now at least, it's a US-only affair.

Called Apple Upgrade, the scheme is essentially a device leasing plan. Rather than paying the full price upfront or spreading the cost through a traditional instalment plan, eligible customers pay a monthly fee to use a device, with the option to swap it for a newer model, buy it outright, or hand it back once the term is up.

The scheme is backed by buy-now-pay-later specialist Klarna and covers Apple's core hardware lineup. It's restricted to the latest models though, and not all of them are available (sorry MacBook Neo).

The iPhone and Apple Watch can be leased over 12 or 24 months, while Mac and iPad are available on 24- or 36-month terms. We assume that's because these devices are more expensive.

How much do devices cost on Apple Upgrade?

Entry pricing starts at $17.99 a month for iPhone, $11.99 for Apple Watch and iPad, and $24.99 for Mac. The exact amount depends on the model you choose and whether an old device is traded in to bring the cost down.

Those old devices can be an Apple device, as you would expect, but you can trade in an Android phone too.

Anyone signing up to Apple Upgrade will need to go through a soft credit check that Apple says won't affect your credit score. You should get approval within minutes, whether applying online or at a physical Apple Store, and there are a couple of perks available within the scheme. These include the ability to earn cashback through Apple Card if you use that for payment.

Notably, the launch spells the end of the road for the older iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments scheme in the US, both of which are being retired now that Apple Upgrade is live.

Which devices are included in the Apple Upgrade program?

Apple’s Upgrade program includes the latest Apple devices, including the iPhone 17 models, Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. You can also use it with the MacBook Air (M5) and iPad Pro (M5).

The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, Apple Watch SE, MacBook Neo, Mac mini, iPad (A16), and Studio Display are not currently available as part of the Apple Upgrade program.

Will Apple Upgrade launch in the UK?

Apple is yet to mention whether it will be bringing the Apple Upgrade leasing scheme to the UK or anywhere else outside the US. The official announcement doesn’t mention international availability, and there's no confirmed timeline for a wider rollout either. Sad times.

There's is some hope, however. Apple's AppleCare One protection bundle launched stateside first before reaching UK, France, Germany and Australia a year later, so hopefully the Apple Upgrade program could follow the same playbook.

For now, UK buyers wanting to spread the cost of a new Apple device will need to stick with existing options, such as 0 per cent finance deals through Apple's retail partners or standard carrier contracts. Apple itself offers the Flexible Finance Account option for now.

For the last couple of months, there have been no end of reports on the rumoured iPhone Ultra. We’ve seen everything from dummy leaks to give us an idea of what it could look like, to specification rumours to let us know what we can expect in terms of things like screen sizes.

Most reports of late haven’t focused on whether Apple will launch a folding phone (that much appears to be clear) but on when. And there have been a few about its release date, with claims that could be significantly delayed, slightly delayed, or barely delayed at all.

Will the iPhone Ultra be delayed, or won't it?

Now it seems to be been flipped again. A report on DigiTimes (via 9to5Mac) suggests the delay could be back on.

DigiTimes writes that “Foxconn is now carrying out 'final mass-production adjustments' for the device”, which could lead to "production hurdles".

However, there is nothing in the report to confirm whether those adjustments are routine or an issue. So unfortunately, we are back to things being a little up in the air.

We're choosing to look at this positively though.

Samsung has just announced its latest folding phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 with a new, wider format. It is widely thought this new shape will be showcased on the iPhone Ultra too, offering a squarer phone when folded and an iPad mini-like aspect when unfolded.

So with Samsung having put its marker down, all eyes are now on Apple and what it will bring to the folding phone space. Sure, the phone might release a little later than the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro XL, to give those devices a chance to sell, but we suspect the “final mass-production adjustments” won’t stop us seeing a folding iPhone this year.

If it is indeed on the cards.

References to a battery health feature deep in the iOS 27 beta code have given a big hint to Apple's future folding phone plans with a reference to "batteries". That pluralisation might seem like nothing, but it could point to the split cell arrangement of batteries in a folding phone.

Apple is thought to be preparing its first folding phone, generally known as the iPhone Ultra. Traditionally, the battery in book-type folding phones is split in two, so there's a cell in each half of the phone to make the best use of space.

That's led MacWorld, which found the code, to believe that this references the iPhone Ultra. The code string discovered says: "The batteries in this iPhone are performing as expected".

This is exciting because no iPhone model currently has multiple batteries, so it's thought that this feature might be to support and monitor the split cells in the iPhone Ultra.

This isn't the first time that references have been made to features that a folding iPhone might offer – previously we saw references to fold state and display numbers in the code.

Apple is expected to launch a 4:3 aspect folding phone, shorter and wider than we've seen from most other manufacturers in the past – more like a folding iPad mini.

The iPhone Ultra is expected to sit at the top of Apple's range price wise, above the iPhone 18 Pro Max that it's expected to launch alongside in September. It's said to have a 7.8-inch internal display and a 5.5-inch cover screen.

As is always the case with Apple, it's hard know what the company is planning until launch day, so there's no shortage of speculation out there.

But to play devil's advocate, there's a further explanation that might apply to the use of the word "batteries". Apple is known being rather conservative with its batteries and charging speeds, but one of the things that enables faster charging is a dual-cell battery.

This splits the battery into two storage cells and it allows for faster charging because there's the potential for better heat management. That also typically allows for higher capacity batteries too.

It could be that the reference to "batteries" is this, with Apple planning to support faster charging speeds on future devices with a dual-cell design.

However, with so much speculation pointing to Apple's entry into the folding phone segment – including brands changing their own folding phones to match Apple's plan – it's highly likely that this is, in fact, pointing towards Apple's iPhone Ultra with a battery in each half of the phone.

Apple announced iOS 27 during its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June and with it, several new features that will be coming to compatible iPhones later this year. But you don’t have to wait to try many of those new tricks, the public beta is now available to sign up for and download.

Yes, beta software can be buggy (the idea is that the more people who test and report these glitches, the better the final software should be when it arrives), but if you don’t mind the odd crash or stall, the iOS 27 beta is well worth downloading.

Siri AI is one reason for this – I have been running the developer beta of iOS 27 since WWDC and have been very impressed with what Siri AI has managed to do so far.

It found a restaurant I went to in Barcelona, a recipe my mum sent me in 2023, and told me when I was free for lunch in July. But there are other great features coming with iOS 27 you'll want to try too. Here are three of my favourites.

Clean Up in Photos

Apple released the original Clean Up in 2024, allowing you to remove unwanted objects from the background of photos, like a bin or bench that ruins your shot. It was pretty good, but with iOS 27, it’s much more convincing.

It can remove larger objects and fill in the space more accurately. You can also use it on older images, so if you have a picture from a holiday a couple of months or years ago, with a pesky tourist in the background ruining your otherwise excellent selfie, give it a try and you might be surprised.

Change the way your AirPods sound

AirPods have always sounded pretty decent in my opinion, but the iOS 27 public beta allows you to tweak the way they sound to your preferences.

There is a new Custom EQ setting available with the software, allowing you to fiddle with the mids, highs and lows. The setting will work on AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max 2.

Automatically change compromised passwords

The iOS 27 public beta has a feature that enables Safari to change any compromised passwords for you automatically. This might not sound like a big deal, but I have 500 compromised passwords apparently, and the main reason I have so many is that I haven’t found the spare time change each one in turn.

This feature is therefore enough of a reason on its own to download the new software, for security reasons if nothing else.

How to get the iOS 27 public beta

To download and install the iOS 27 public beta, head to Apple's public beta website.

Once you're signed up, you’ll need to head to Settings > General > Software Update and then choose the ‌iOS 27‌ Public Beta to install the update.

I do recommend backing up your phone though, so you can switch back to iOS 26 should you want to.

If you can't wait for the new features coming when the iPhone 18 models launch this September, there's good news. You don't have to wait any longer!

Apple has just released its first Public Beta of iOS 27 and if you have an iPhone 11 or newer, you can download it now. Public Betas are available without the usual restrictions of the developer Betas, and can be downloaded from the same menu as regular OS updates.

To try it for yourself, simply go to Settings > General > Software Update, and select the Beta updates option. Once this is selected, you will be able to download the public beta. It is recommended to back up your phone before doing this, and note that not all apps will work correctly at first. So if you need access to certain apps, especially for medical use, it's best not to download a beta.

AI Assistant

The biggest change for iOS 27 is the new Siri AI assistant. This is powered by Apple Intelligence but has been built with Google Gemini, so is expected to offer a similar amount of power to the Google system, while remaining safely within the Apple ecosystem.

Siri AI is designed to better answer your queries with a more conversational approach, understand personal context, control features and commands in apps and access a wider pool of topics on whatever comes to mind.

There's now also a dedicated Siri app, where you can review previously asked questions and pick up the thread again, or keep for reference. you can also adjust how Siri sounds more comprehensively, including pitch, speed, tone and accent.

You can also try the new Siri for yourself by heading to Settings > Siri and select "Try the new Siri (Beta)".

More iOS 27 features

In addition to the Siri AI, iOS 27 introduces new photo editing features, allowing you to reframe your shots after taking them, including using the Extend feature, using AI to expand beyond what you actually have taken. The clean up mode has also been enhanced to provide a more accurate object removal process.

Image Playground now goes beyond creating fun versions of your portraits. You can create high quality images of just about anything you can describe in a range of photo styles, including photo realistic options.

Beyond Siri, the new OS can provide suggestions in the form of quick actions from messages and mail, to do things like add to reminders, create a calendar event or search for a photo. The Call context can also provide relevant information such as confirmation codes and booking references from your email while on a call.

There's also stronger child safety features for parents to keep kids safe, with restrictions on time allowances and schedules, and easy adjustments on the go.

The design has also had a refresh, with updates to the look of Liquid Glass , and the system is designed to work faster, with up to 30% faster app launches, 70% faster photo loading and 80% faster AirDrop transfers.

Compatible devices

• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11
• iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)

Anyone remember yo-yos? That’s what it feels like when we write up the rumours surrounding the folding iPhone. Will the iPhone Ultra launch this year? Will it be available to buy immediately? Are there issues with the hinge? Has it entered mass production? All these questions have contradicting answers out there on the web.

For example, it was only the beginning of the week where we reported that while the proposed Ultra is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro in September, it was unlikely you’d be able to get it on day one.

Supply chain analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple will have very limited supply at launch “with 3Q26 shipments at 0.5 - 1 million units”.

All is not lost

But now, a new report by MacRumors claims the iPhone Ultra is back on track to ship in September.

Apparently, Chinese financial title Cailian Press, has spoken to a number of sources within Apple’s supply chain, and they've confirmed the device is in mass production.

This was supported separately by East Money, another Chinese outlet, as well as The Bell, which is based in Korea. The MacRumours report also said that Foxconn, which is typically the assembly partner for iPhone, has been on a mass hiring spree.

Cailian Press revealed sources it had spoken to weren’t aware of any delay and a September window is therefore on track.

We still wouldn’t be overly surprised if you will need to be quick off the mark to make sure that’s the case, though. While Samsung and Google has been making foldable phones for some time now, especially in the case of Samsung, this will still be a first for iOS fans and that could make it more popular than expected.

But it’s good news that we could see the new device sooner than previously suggested. And we’d rather it wasn’t too tricky to buy, as that’s no fun for anyone.

Let’s hope instead that this is the last time we pull our yo-yo up before September, though we suspect there will still be more news on this until things are made official.

Although its products were mostly beige in the 70s and 80s (a colour it called "putty"), Apple has since embraced colour with a passion.

Essentially starting with Sir Jony Ive's crazy ideas to add vibrant hues to iMac cases, the company has since released its products in all manner of colourful themes. Indeed, some of them – such as the most recent Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro – have proved more popular than the standard models.

And the Product Red devices have raised more than $270 million (£201 million) for the fight against AIDS over the last two decades, showing there's more than just an expanded range at stake.

I myself am a sucker for a different colour when it comes to phone and devices upgrades – and I'm looking forward to seeing if Apple does indeed have a scarlet iPhone 18 Pro up its sleeve this year. But until then, it's also worth taking a look back, as seeing the different colours Apple's adopted over the years is a fun and fascinating exercise for lovers of tech design.

Thankfully, Akash Wadhwani and The Data Drop has made it very simple for us to do just that. The site is a cornucopia of intriguing, interactive collections wrapped in gorgeous design – and the latest shows every colour of every Apple device since those infamous iMacs.

Like a virtual museum, it takes us through the history of Apple's most colourful creations, from Mac and iPod to iPhone and Apple Watch. And click on any of the products and you get information on the colour and release date.

It's a great collection – like a Where's Wally (Waldo) for Apple lovers.

And to be fair, it's a beacon of brightness at a time when prices are soaring, stock is shrinking, and tech launches are becoming fewer and farther between.

The only thing we will say though, perhaps it's for the best that Apple ditched that strange baby nappy brown chosen for the second-gen iPod Shuffle. We'd keep it that way.

Apple has overhauled the engine behind RAW photography on iPhone, and the before-and-after examples shown during a developer session at WWDC 26 (via 9to5Mac) suggest it could outperform what dedicated professional cameras produce straight out of the box.

Shooting in RAW means the unprocessed data is saved straight from a camera's sensor rather than a compressed JPEG, which allows photographers to push exposure, colour and white balance much further in editing without the image falling apart.

Apple builds this processing into the operating system itself via its Core Image framework, and the pipeline already knows how to handle the quirks of nearly 800 different camera models, from third-party mirrorless bodies to iPhones’ own sensors.

That pipeline is getting its ninth rework with iOS 27, arriving alongside macOS 27 and iPadOS 27 later this ‘fall’. Apple engineer David Hayward introduced RAW 9 during the session "Enhance RAW image processing with Core Image," describing it as the company's biggest step forward yet in this area.

You can watch the full session on the Apple Developer site should you wish to, but in a nutshell, RAW 9 will see a single machine-learning model handling both sharpening fine detail and stripping out noise, running on the iPhone's Neural Engine chip.

What will RAW 9 be able to do?

The session had some examples to show what RAW 9 would be capable of too, including a Canon 5D Mark III image of a crayon box captured at ISO 51,200, a setting that usually leaves colour data a bit of a mess.

Apple's outgoing RAW 8 engine salvaged the scene to some degree, but RAW 9 cleanly separated out each individual crayon colour, right down to capturing the shine on their surfaces.

In a second example, embroidery yarn shot on a Fujifilm X-T5 presented sharper lettering and far cleaner texture under the RAW 9 system.

That’s not even the best news though. RAW 9 will work with existing RAW photos already sitting on your phone, so when iOS 27 lands later this year, those photos will be able to be reprocessed and you might be surprised with how much better some shots could become.

We’re just a couple of months out from September (we know, the year flown by) and if you follow the technology launch calendar, you’ll know that means a couple of things.

First, we should see some new foldable phones and potentially smartwatches from Samsung soon, with its next Galaxy Unpacked event taking place on 22 July. Second, Google should treat us to some new Pixels, probably sometime in August. And lastly, Apple’s next iPhones should follow in September, and with a little twist to the norm this year, too.

Will the iPhone Ultra launch the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro?

It is widely speculated that Apple will finally introduce a folding iPhone this year – the iPhone Ultra. However, a new report suggests the device may face delivery delays, so it could be tricky to get hold of one.

Supply chain analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) has claimed the folding iPhone will have very limited supply at launch.

“My latest industry survey indicates that assembly shipments for the foldable iPhone in 2H26 will be roughly 7-8 million units, with 3Q26 shipments at 0.5-1 million units, or about 10 per cent of the total," he explained in a report.

"By comparison, estimated 3Q26 shipments of the iPhone 18 Pro / Pro Max total roughly 20-22 million units, significantly higher than the foldable iPhone and already meeting the inventory requirement for an official launch.”

Based on those numbers, it’s fair to say it could be exceptionally difficult to get your hands on a folding iPhone before the end of the year. In his report, Kuo also noted that delivery times could be as much as six weeks and potentially longer.

The device is expected to thinner than the iPhone Air when unfolded, at below 5mm and it is thought to offer a similar shape to the iPad mini when open. According to rumours, the iPhone Ultra could have a 5.5-inch external display, and a 7.8-inch internal display.

For now, there is no official confirmation on whether the folding iPhone will launch this year alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models. If it does, though, it might be worth expecting Apple to take the same approach as it did with the iPhone X to avoid disappointment.

Apple has reportedly increased the number of iPhone Ultra folding phone models in manufacture, as the company expects high interest in the new device. It's said that Apple will manufacture 10 million units of the new iPhone Ultra model.

The revised figure comes from Nikkei Asia (via 9to5Mac), increasing the estimate from the original order for 7-8 million phones. That's almost a 30% increase in the expected numbers that Apple will produce, according to a source close to the company.

The new folding iPhone is expected to land with a high asking price, expected to be around $2,500 (around £1,900, but Apple often doesn't directly exchange prices in different regions).

While the estimates for these devices are increasing, the report also says that Apple is increasing iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max numbers too, while the message going out to suppliers is to forecast "up to 85 million new iPhones for the second half of 2026".

While demand for the new folding model seems to be increasing, it will be dwarfed by demand for the updated iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

In a change to the normal launch cycle, it's been rumoured that Apple will be launching the iPhone Ultra alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September, with the iPhone 18 expected to follow at an event in March 2027.

That will allow Apple to focus on its premium models and drive sales of higher value phones, before the availability of more affordable models the following year. In 2026, the updates to the iPhone 17 were so good, that we said in our review that if you don't need a telephoto camera, then take the iPhone 17 over the Pro.

When the new iPhone models do launch in September, the iPhone Ultra is expected to garner most of the attention, with the iPhone 18 Pro expected to have much the same design as the iPhone 17 Pro, but introduce a few new elements like new colours, a variable aperture camera and new core hardware.

The iPhone Ultra will go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, a wider format of folding phone from Samsung who has dominated much of the book-style folding phone market outside China to date.

The switch in format has seen the iPhone Ultra likened to a folding iPad Mini and it's expected that Apple's experience from iPadOS will help usability on the larger display.

Those of you who keep up to date with your iPhone rumours will know that things are set to change from later this year. While we'd normally expect to see a full suite of new handsets every Autumn, things could be very different this time out.

According to a slew of rumours from the last year or so, the base model iPhone will be left out of the Autumn event. That will leave only the Pro models and the long-awaited iPhone Ultra – the brand's first foldable phone – launched at that event.

Instead, the base model iPhone 18, the iPhone 18e and the iPhone Air 2 are all slated to arrive early in 2027. That could give rise to one of the most phone-heavy release years the brand has ever had, with six models slated to drop.

That would see those three married with another trio in the following Autumn, with the iPhone 19 Pro models and an iPhone Ultra 2. It's a lot to take in, and it also confirms that Apple is anticipating a yearly release cycle with its Ultra device.

Some had called that into question, after the launch of the iPhone Air. That – at least according to these rumours – seems to be on a two-yearly launch cycle, and some predicted that a foldable would follow suit.

The leak also suggests that all three of the models launching in the early part of 2027 will come with no major upgrades to the screen specs. That will disappoint some users, though it is likely a necessary evil to combat price hikes in the wake of the RAMageddon crisis.

Personally, I'm more annoyed about the splitting of the model family. Having the Pro version of a device launch prior to the standard version just feels clumsy and confusing.

Anyone who has been following the Apple story and, specifically, via the technology media will remember "bargate" – the moment in 2010 when a prototype iPhone 4 was accidentally left in a bar and found its way into the hands of Gizmodo.

It ended in criminal proceedings and a lot of ill feeling. And it could be argued that the tech site has never truly been the same again.

Well, as scandalous and shocking as it was at the time (and admittedly, a little exciting), it could turn out to be nothing in comparison with the new, major Apple leak.

As revealed by Reuters, a data breach at one of Apple's main suppliers – Tata Electronics – has resulted in many thousands of files hitting the dark web and slowly winding their way onto the general internet. And many of those contain images and documents about the forthcoming iPhone 18 Pro.

Trusted leakers Evan Blass and Ice Universe have each posted videos of the alleged device, too. And while it hasn't been confirmed whether they were part of the data breach, they do seem official.

Ice Universe calls it the "biggest leak in Apple's history".

The online leaker credits Evan Blass (@evleaks) for the video, but it seems to have been taken down Blass' own feed. He's followed up with another angle instead.

If these are genuinely of the iPhone 18 Pro, it's clear to see that the phone will look almost identical to the current 17 Pro model. That's likely the case with the iPhone 18 Pro Max too.

Ice Universe does even state that the "real star" will be the foldable iPhone Ultra. And that's where Apple will be even more worried.

What else is coming from the huge Apple data leak?

Considering the stolen data dump comprises an estimated 200,000 files, how many of them relate to the iPhone Ultra?

If they start to get out more widely, Apple will have a tricky task in containing the leak – and controlling the narrative.

Some companies wouldn't care that much and embrace the "free" publicity and hype, but that's never been Apple's way. It would rather have some surprises to behold during its iPhone keynote and in many ways, we agree.

It's just becoming harder to do these days – after all, how much of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Unpacked will truly show us something we don't know about its new foldables? And we've seen plenty of other smaller leaks and CAD renders to have a good idea of what everything looks like from both manufacturers.

But there is something to be said about the mystique of a big tech launch – so we hope Apple has at least something else up its sleeve, and doesn't have to spend the next few months firefighting its "biggest leak" in its history.

It seems that RAMageddon is about to claim another victim – and this one is going to hurt millions of us. Fresh rumours and reports over the price of the iPhone 18 Pro suggest it's going to hit consumers in the wallet like never before.

It comes after Tim Cook confirmed that price rises were "unavoidable" across the Apple portfolio. The reason seems clear – ongoing RAM and component shortages arising from the unprecedented needs of AI data centres.

Now, the folks over at the Wall Street Journal have taken an educated guess at the cost of the new handset. That could see a start price of US$1,399 (approx. £1,050 / €1,220 / AU$1,995) for the handset. It's worth noting that Apple often prices its devices to the same number irrespective of location, so the actual figure could be more bleak here in the UK and Europe.

Sticking with the US pricing for ease, that would represent a US$300 price hike over the current entry point for the iPhone 17 Pro. It's going to be a pretty gnarly pill to swallow for consumers, particularly after a few years of miniscule or no rises.

What's more concerning is that it's likely to shape a trend across the wider phone market. It's no secret that Apple's size and influence makes it a bit of a figurehead.

If the cost of an iPhone goes up to account for the RAM shortage, you can bet your bottom dollar that every other phone will also go up to match it. That makes the whole thing less appealing, and could have some really devastating consequences for the market at large.

It feels like an inevitability at this point – particularly as there seems to be no sign of the RAM shortage easing in the near future – but it's still a nuisance for cash-strapped tech lovers.

We've been writing about the iPhone Ultra for more than a year – previously as the "iPhone Fold" – but it's only now that we've realised what it really is. And you know what? It's not actually an iPhone at all.

Nope, while it might still be called iPhone Ultra on release (although that's not confirmed, either), at its heart it's actually a foldable iPad. A foldable iPad mini, to be precise.

Serial Apple leaker Jon Prosser has revealed a set of new renders on his FPT (FrontPageTech) YouTube channel, which show the concept more clearly.

He claims the animated renders are the "most accurate" and up-to-date yet, and they show an inner display that looks more like an iPadOS homescreen than iOS. So, is this an iPhone than opens, or actually an iPad that folds?

It's actually both, of course, but you'll only likely buy one to use that internal screen regularly – after all, why not just buy the iPhone 18 Pro Max if you want a big screen iPhone?

It's raison d'être is to be a bigger screen device that you can fold in half to more easily carry around. So, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I put it to you that it's actually an iPad mini Ultra. Ahem.

All that aside, Prosser's new renders certainly make the device look good – with that (almost) crease-less inner display and a relatively slim build. We're not sure exactly, but it would be good to see some of the more iPad-centric features found in iPadOS creep into the iOS 27 system it is likely to employ – such as Stage Manager and Apple Pencil support.

Prosser also states that it'll only be available in white or black, although it will also be interesting to see the cases Apple could release – how much extra girth could they add?

But, perhaps the biggest question mark that still lingers is on pricing. With Tim Cook saying this week that Apple products will get more expensive due to the RAM crisis, and the iPhone 18 Pro even thought to cost $200 extra this year, will the iPhone iPad mini Ultra break the $2,000 / £2,000 barrier?

Sadly, I think it's inevitable. We'll find out for sure come September.

Tim Cook will soon step down as Apple CEO, with engineer John Ternus set to take over in September, but it seems one of his last jobs before he goes is to confirm a price hike on Apple products.

"Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," Cook told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. "We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."

No other details were shared, including which products that are to be affected, but the move always seemed inevitable.

Component costs have risen to record highs in the last year or so, with the prices of RAM and storage in particular being three to four times more than they were previously.

And sadly, while the focus of the recent WWDC 26 was mainly dedicated to the upcoming launch of Siri AI, it and other AI systems are largely to blame.

Why is AI to blame for the RAM crisis?

The global RAM shortage – often referred to as "RAMageddon" – has been enacted by the rapid rise of AI data centres. They require vast amounts of RAM chips, and so AI companies have been snaffling them up faster than an anteater at a picnic.

It has had a knock-on affect with other components too, including SSD storage, and so many tech products have seen price increases or even cancellations this year. Analytics firm CCS Insights even believes we'll see the mobile phone market shrink by 15% by the end of 2026 as a result.

Apple was initially thought to have safe guarded itself by stockpiling chips prior to the crisis, but is clearly running out of available hardware. And as Cook has confirmed, it will now pass on its costs to consumers.

This could mean that the expected iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max models will be more expensive than their predecessors when they arrive in September. The much-rumoured foldable iPhone Ultra was already expected to be in the $2,000 - $2,500 category.

However, the price increases could start sooner, with existing devices seeing big hikes.

So, if you are after an Apple product and not waiting for its fall (autumn) releases, you should consider taking the plunge now. Or better still, wait until next week and see what the Amazon Prime Day sale has to offer.

Apple announced a new version of Siri during WWDC 26, which drags the voice assistant kicking and screaming into the AI era. And so, after a false start in 2024 following the announcement of Apple Intelligence, a more capable Siri AI will debut with the arrival of iOS 27.

It'll also spell the end of the current assistant, which has seemingly had its run.

We've already tried out Siri AI, which now has a dedicated app, and it promises much greater scope than Siri previously offered. Like Google's Gemini is to Google Assistant, Siri AI is to Siri and that experience is going to be universal across all Apple devices.

It helps Apple reset its position with AI, having struggled to deliver the experience that was originally promised – and when iOS 27 lands, phones from the iPhone 15 Pro and newer will get access to the new and improved Siri AI.

The reason that Apple has taken so long to reach this point is because it basically had to start again. The voice assistant – first announced in 2011 – has become the subject of much ridicule over the years, as rivals like Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant outstripped its functionality.

But that now changes, with Apple's agreement with Google to use Gemini technology a part of the puzzle.

In a recent interview (via 9to5Mac), Mike Rockwell – who now leads the team developing Siri – confirmed that Apple "rebuilt Siri from the ground up, literally, tore it to the ground".

Apple had previously "built a first version of this that was sort of incremental on top of the original Siri that added tool calling, and we had it working. But we didn’t feel it was really delivering on the vision and the experience that we wanted to do".

That means the new Siri is now a completely different beast to the previous version: this isn't the old Siri with bits bolted on: "It allowed us to build a profoundly more capable Siri. So it’s a Siri that has its own application, it’s natively multimodal, it’s privacy from the ground up," said Rockwell.

While Siri will be supported on iPhone models back to iPhone 15 Pro – the same as Apple Intelligence – the very best version of Siri AI, which allows "expressive voices and more advanced dictation" will only be available on iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Those are the models that have 12GB RAM – something that Apple typically doesn't talk about, and doesn't include in the specifications on its product pages. Now, in the AI era, RAM becomes much more important.

It'll also be available on any new iPhone models coming later this year, of course – such as the company's first foldable, the iPhone Ultra.

For those with an iPhone older than iPhone 15 Pro, we expect that "old" Siri will keep plodding on, but a bit like Google Assistant, it will likely stay in place but get no new functionality.

Giving a child a phone or tablet is never an easy decision – the internet is wonderful, but there are many parts of it that aren’t, and it’s difficult to stay on top of our own devices, let alone constantly monitoring our children’s too.

Indeed, the UK government has just announced a ban on social media platforms for under-16s, which comes into affect next year. So the subject is clearly a concern for many.

Apple is one of the brands looking to do something about its own devices.

It already offered a number of new child safety features for its iPhones, iPads and Macs, but those are expanding with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 later this year. From a new Ask to Browse feature to redesigned Screen Time controls, here’s what’s new and why they should make it easier to keep your child safe.

Set up is easier

The starting point for all of Apple's parental controls is a child account, which Apple is making easier to set up.

In my WWDC 26 demo, it took around five minutes to set up a box-fresh device for a child. You are walked through the account creation process step by step, with initial options allowing you to choose to set up a device for someone 12 or younger, a teen aged 13-17, or an adult over 18.

Once a child account is active, age-appropriate restrictions are automatically applied across the system, from blocking adult websites in Safari to filtering out age-inappropriate apps in the App Store.

You can also decide exactly which apps are available on the device from the outset, with the option to start with a minimal set, such as Phone, Messages and Photos, and add more over time as your child grows.

In addition to selecting ‘Allowed Apps’, you can determine ‘Allowed Websites’ and select the rating for what content is allowed, too, like '9+' or ‘Clean’.

Control in your hands

Building on the existing Ask to Buy feature, which requires your permission before a child downloads an app, Apple has introduced Ask to Browse for Safari.

It works in a very similar way: when a child tries to visit a website that hasn't been pre-approved, a request is sent to the parent's device via Apple’s Messages app. You, as the parent, can then approve or deny it from wherever you are. The feature works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Pre-approved websites are clever too. You can make sure something like Times Table Rock Stars (TTRS) is approved, while limiting YouTube by only approving certain channels and YouTubers, for example.

It means the pre-approved website list can be as granular as you want, giving you more control over what your child can and can’t access.

There’s control over contacts, too. It was previously possible to set Communication Limits, allowing parents to select the contacts a child could talk to during specific times. However, with the new software, this feature has been extended.

If a child wants to add a new contact, they first need parental approval with the request coming through in Messages, like Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse, where the parent can then accept or decline.

There’s also a feature called Communication Safety, which already automatically blurred nudity detected in Messages and FaceTime video calls, though sadly not apps like WhatsApp at the moment.

With the new software, this feature will now detect and block gore and violent content in shared images and videos as well, and it is turned on by default for all users under 18. Again, this will work in Apple’s native apps, though there are APIs that would allow third-party apps to adopt the feature.

In the future, I’d love to see Communication Safety expand to look out for bullying or specific words that might indicate bullying in messages, but for now, these features all contribute to making it easier to keep children safer on devices, and that’s great to see.

Easier monitoring

Parental controls on Apple devices have long had Screen Time, but it was somewhat limited. With iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate, there is a new Time Allowance feature that lets parents set separate limits by app category – like Entertainment, Games, and Social Media.

Apple provides age-based starting points drawn from expert research that you can adjust to suit your family.

The redesigned Screen Time dashboard, meanwhile, gives you a cleaner, at-a-glance view of daily usage and the apps your kids are using most.

You can pause device access instantly, in case someone isn’t doing what they are told and they need a time out. On the flip side, you can also extend a limit quickly if your kid needs a few more minutes to finish something or perhaps you are giving them a reward.

Other features coming with iOS 27 include a Screen Time Passcode Notifications alert for parents if the Screen Time passcode is entered on a child's device. This might give you a heads-up if a child is attempting to change their own restrictions.

User Reporting Tools are also being expanded globally, allowing harmful content to be flagged directly to Apple from more countries and regions. And the company has also launched a dedicated website for parents, covering setup guides, recommended settings, and answers to common questions.

Determined teenagers will always find workarounds, and no features replace actual conversations with your children about how to behave online and the dangers of online. But the new tools coming with iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 are considered, easier to set up and maintain than those that came before.

They're certainly a step in the right direction, which I am thrilled about.

We’ve been waiting a while (since WWDC 24, if you’ve been counting), but the new, more personalised and contextualised Siri will finally arrive this year. It comes in the form of Siri AI, and was revealed at Apple’s WWDC26 alongside new Apple Intelligence features, which include new photo editing tools and Suggestions in messages.

I’ve now had a few demos of the new Siri AI, but I have also been playing with it myself on my iPhone 16 Pro Max using the iOS 27 Developer Beta. I must admit, I have been pleasantly surprised so far.

Siri AI actually does what I want

There are a few things I have asked Siri AI to do. I started with asking it to find my Swedish auntie’s marinade recipe that my mum had sent me in Messages. The recipe is in Swedish and my mum sent it as a photo back in 2023.

My prompt to Siri AI was: “Can you find the BBQ marinade recipe I was sent by Mum”. Much to my surprise, Siri summarised the conversation my mum and I had had about the marinade and highlighted a couple of messages at the bottom of the results in the "sources". Tapping one of the two listed messages took me to the photo I needed.

I also asked Siri AI to tell me which dates in July I could do a lunch meeting (turns out I am pretty free in July except a few dates, which Siri listed for me), and I asked Siri AI to create an event every Friday in July from 6pm to 8pm, which it managed without a problem.

When my friend Aaron sent me a message in the Messages app asking if I was free for dinner on a specific date, I asked Siri to check my calendar and find alternatives when it noted a clash. It then constructed a message in a similar tone to the rest of our conversation to respond to him.

Other examples I tested Siri AI with included asking it to pull a packing list from an email I received with information about WWDC, and add it to a Reminder list with a note to pack when I got back to the hotel. I didn’t tell it which hotel but Siri knew.

When I asked it to show me photos from my holiday to Sweden last year, it pulled up all the photos I took, along with ones from this year. And asking it how much I spent on train station parking last month also returned the right result (based on me prompting it with the sender to look for in my email receipts).

There are a few things Siri AI didn’t quite manage, yet

Of course, Siri AI is still very much in beta, and with this come a few dropouts and errors.

While it found the messages with the photo of the marinade I was talking about earlier, it didn’t pull out the photo in its initial response. I had to click on the message from the source, then the photo and then I was able to ask Siri to translate it, which it then did brilliantly.

When I asked it how much I spend on my window cleaning every month, it told me I had a direct debit going out (which it knew from my emails), but despite the email saying the amount, Siri didn’t give me this.

I also asked it for my driving licence number, knowing that I had a photo of it in my Photos, but it didn’t retrieve this surprisingly.

What about the new Apple Intelligence features?

As for the Apple Intelligence features, these seem to work very well. The Reframe feature for photos is very impressive, allowing you to adjust the composition of a shot after you took it.

I got it to reframe a shot of me next to a WWDC sign, and it handled my patterned dress, as well as the translucent sign. Extend also works well, expanding a photo by up to 25% on each side and I had good results with Clean Up too, especially when selecting the "High Quality" option.

Suggestions also work well, with helpful buttons like "Add to Calendar" appearing when someone suggests a date in a message, and the ability to use natural language to describe a calendar invite is much more user-friendly than filling in all the fields separately.

I enjoyed playing around with creating Shortcuts using natural language, too – my test subject Aaron is going to enjoy receiving a message when I leave the Apple Visitor Centre after I finish this story.

A couple of things worth remembering

I use Apple’s native apps, including Mail, Messages and Apple Photos, so I am probably one of the best use cases for Siri AI at the moment.

In the Developer Beta of Siri AI, it wasn’t able to use context from an open WhatsApp chat screen with Aaron to search my calendar for the new lunch date that had been suggested, instead only pulling from the initial message in Messages about dinner.

There will also no doubt be a number of other hurdles Siri and third-party developers still need to overcome.

But from my interactions so far, Siri AI is head and shoulders above the current assistant, which, is quite frankly useless in comparison. It’s taken a couple of years more than I'd have liked, but so far, Siri AI actually seems to be pretty good.

During its WWDC 26 keynote, Apple revealed that iOS 27 will work on pretty much every iPhone released in the last seven years – from the iPhone 11 and up.

However, it has now also been confirmed that the vast majority of them won't be getting all the new features. In fact, only a small handful will support the most powerful on-device Apple Intelligence and Siri AI capabilities.

That's because, as 9to5Mac explains, the more advanced features will require at least 12GB of RAM to operate, while most older iPhone models have a maximum of 8GB. Of those currently available, only the iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air fit that particular bill. Even the iPhone 17 is not powerful enough.

The same is true with other Apple devices. You'll need an iPad running on at least M4 silicon and with 12GB of RAM, or a Mac on M3 with 12GB.

The better news is that most of the new features will work on other models too, although they will require data connections and are likely to return slower results, as they'll need to use Apple's remote Private Cloud Compute services to process commands.

We don't know yet which models those will be, and whether all iPhones will support the remote services. However, it is likely many of the more creative features, such as the enhanced Image Playground, will be included in that category.

When will the new Apple Intelligence and Siri AI launch?

Siri AI will arrive with the full release of iOS 27 – likely in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and new, foldable iPhone Ultra.

It will be restricted to supported iPhones set to English language as default.

Unfortunately, that won't include any devices in the EU. Apple has decided to withhold Siri AI support from users in the European Union on privacy and security grounds, as it gets to grips with the ramifications of the EU's Digital Markets Act.

Many of the Apple Intelligence features unveiled during WWDC will be more widely available across multiple countries.

A developer beta of iOS 27 is available to download now, but it is highly inadvisable to do so unless you know what you're doing. The software can be bug-ridden and missing some other important phone features.

A public beta will follow in July.

Several new features are coming to iPhone when iOS 27 launches later this year, from performance improvements like faster AirDrop transfers (not that I find it particularly slow now) to new child safety features.

The new (and very long-awaited) Siri AI is unsurprisingly a highlight of the upcoming software, along with a few new Apple Intelligence features. So, here are the top five iOS 27 features that really caught my attention during my in-person demos at WWDC 26. They are the ones I'm looking forward to most.

1. A more helpful assistant in Siri AI

We’ve been waiting a long time for the new contextually aware Siri – two years in fact – but from what I was shown, it looks like it might finally be ready to be a helpful personal assistant.

Siri AI is a redesigned assistant powered by Apple Intelligence and unlike the old Siri, it handles open-ended questions, brainstorms ideas, and holds natural back-and-forth conversations.

It understands personal context, surfacing buried emails, old photos, or saved notes with a simple request. It can also take actions across apps like Messages, Music, and Reminders, and tap into the web for up-to-date answers on pretty much any topic.

A new, dedicated Siri app keeps all your conversations synced across iPhone, iPad and Mac, and it can also write drafts and match your personal tone for each recipient you reply to, as long as you have at least two messages with them for context.

2. Clever new photo editing skills

The enhanced photo-editing skills were rumoured before WWDC kicked off, but I’ve now seen them in action, and they are impressive.

A new ‘Tools’ icon appears alongside Adjust, Filters and Crop when you tap to edit a photo. From here, there’s a Reframe feature that allows you to change the composition of a photo – perhaps you got the angle slightly wrong or didn’t notice the sign in the background, for example.

Clean Up, which lets you remove unwanted objects from a photo, has also been upgraded. In the demo I saw, Clean Up was able to remove a chair and large cuddly toy from an image, place a child’s leg in its place and even match the stripy sock from the child’s other leg.

There’s also Extend, which lets you expand a photo by 25% in any direction.

3. Context-aware suggestions

Siri Suggestions bring intelligent, context-aware actions into Apple’s native apps and this is one feature I am really looking forward to see expand.

To start with, in Messages and Mail, quick actions might be suggested based on your conversation, such as adding a calendar event or opening the Photos app to send a photo.

It can also proactively surface relevant information during phone calls, such as pulling up a confirmation code from your inbox while you're on the line with an airline.

It’s taken further with the Shortcuts app, where you can simply describe a task in plain language, and Siri can build a multi-step automation that connects actions across multiple apps. I can see plenty of potential here.

4. Fixing passwords without my input

This is not one to be underestimated. If you have compromised passwords in the passwords app, you’ll have no excuse for not sorting those out with iOS 27.

The Passwords app in the new software takes the hassle out of keeping your accounts secure. It automatically alerts you to any weak or compromised passwords and can update them on your behalf with no manual effort from you required except one quick tap.

5. Personalising Liquid Glass

This one might not seem that exciting, but for those who found the Liquid Glass design of iOS 26 a little hard to read, there’s a new slider in iOS 27 that will help.

The slider can be found in the Appearance section of Settings, and will allow you to personalise how Liquid Glass looks across your iPhone.

It can be dialled anywhere from ultra clear to fully tinted, with the latter making it a little easier to see. The new software also improves the underlying Liquid Glass design itself, with more uniform refraction and better contrast.

Apple has said iOS 27 will be available from this fall (autumn), though there should be a public beta available from July if you want to try some of the new features out beforehand.

It will be compatible on iPhones from the iPhone 11 and newer, but Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features require an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16 model or iPhone 17 model.

The iPhone Ultra is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro in September 2026. That will see Apple with its first foldable phone, but thanks to WWDC 2026 a number of references to the forthcoming device might have surfaced.

The first of these cropped up in the iOS 27 developer beta, which was released immediately after the keynote. That's given some users time to dive through the code and find new references.

Highlighted by 9to5Mac, X user @samhenrigold pointed out that within the code were references to "foldState" and "angleDegrees", as well as a new MobileGestalt key to highlight the number of displays on a device.

MobileGestalt is a system library in iOS that the device can refer to – and in the past, all iPhones have had one display, so there's been no need to find out how many displays there are. In a folding phone, you'd need that information, because there are two.

That perhaps hints that iOS 27 is ready to support a new format of device.

Elsewhere, some users have spotted that iPhone mirroring on macOS can be resized to look like an iPad, with many suggesting this is preparation to support the iPhone Ultra's unfolded display.

While there might not be a need to mirror the iPhone Ultra's main display, it perhaps gives an insight into how apps might shift from the external display to the main internal display.

That's not the only place where this happens: with the introduction of Xcode's Device Hub, apps can quickly be resized, again giving us a good look at how developers might adapt apps for a different display. Of course, this could just be about making apps work better across iPhone and iPad.

Although digging through the details of code and minor references for a hint of iPhone Ultra might seem a little desperate, there's another Easter egg that some are pointing to. I wouldn't go as far as saying this is a smoking gun, but definitely looks like it's designed to get people talking.

Part of the presentation by Stacey Ford takes place in mock workshop environment, with tables filled with tools and devices in pieces.

On a quick pan we pass some of the usual suspects, like an Apple Watch in bits, there's the latest iPhone and then a tray with some thicker devices on them. Some are pointing to these as folding device prototypes.

As I said, it's hardly a smoking gun. The tray in question has a blower brush (common in photography) and what looks like a pocket magnifying glass of some type, so there's sort of a photography theme happening there and very little that looks like an iPhone Ultra.

Still, if you're looking for it, you'll find it, even if it's not actually there.

If you've been around the tech space for a while, you'll know that the near-constant back-and-forth between Apple and the European Union is almost perpetual. The two often find themselves at loggerheads, which has caused some high-profile moments over the years.

Now, it seems to be rearing its head once again. Mentioned briefly at WWDC 2026 and noted in the footnotes of its press briefing, Apple confirmed that the new Siri AI feature would "not be available initially in the EU."

Well, that's a half truth, actually. It'll be available across MacBooks, Apple Watches and Apple Vision Pro, but will be held back for iPad and iPhone users.

Why? Well, it all comes down to the EU's Digital Markets Act. That's nothing new, and is designed to ensure fair competition in digital spaces, but forcing larger technology gatekeepers to follow rules around open app stores, data sharing and more.

Now, that's not too much of an issue for Android phones, where that kind of open functionality has been a feature for years. But Apple has made a big deal of its walled garden design, so it's more of a change there.

According to a press release from the brand, Apple offered a range of solutions to effectively find a middle ground, which were rejected by the EU. That release goes on to regale horror stories about some – notably unnamed – AI agents stealing data and altering files.

Personally, I'm slightly sceptical. While I have no doubts that Apple wants to keep its users walled into its own services, I can't help but feel that these claims are somewhat embellished – particularly with other brands seemingly able to comply.

Still, there's one ray of light for those of us in the UK – it's not set to affect us. The issue only arises for those in the 27 member states of the EU, leaving the UK unaffected.