What happened at Apple’s September event, how it was presented, and what the developer and attendee reactions were — condensed from John Gruber’s on-the-ground observations.
Apple shot the entire keynote, including its mini-movie cold open, on unreleased iPhone 18 Pros, continuing a practice that began with the iPhone 15 Pro.
Major product announcements included the iPhone 18 Pro, the new foldable iPhone Duo, AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4.
# The event in brief Apple's "Surprise and Shine" September keynote introduced multiple new products and marked John Ternus's first major appearance as Apple's CEO at a product launch. The presentation blended cinematic short films with on-stage segments. The entire keynote was filmed on iPhone 18 Pros, a continuation of Apple's recent practice of shooting its event videos with the current Pro iPhone.
# Presentation and staging
# The Cook-to-Ternus handoff Tim Cook's on-screen cameo functions as a handoff: he voiced the cold-open transition to Ternus and appeared confident and relaxed in that role. Gruber describes Cook's signed phrasing and delivery as fitting for a chairman role, while Ternus showed measured comfort as keynote emcee. Ternus's video appearance included a burgundy shirt, a small visual cue called out in the coverage.
# The product lineup announced Apple rolled out multiple products during the event. Coverage highlights include:
Leaks had revealed much of the lineup beforehand, but the foldable iPhone Duo remained the most-discussed new device afterward.
# What stood out about the show Shooting the full keynote on unreleased iPhone hardware continued a pattern that began in October 2023 with the iPhone 15 Pro and resumed with the iPhone 17 Pro last year, when Apple filmed with the device while it was still on beta software. Using the iPhone 18 Pro to film the presentations functioned as both a technical showcase and a production choice that fed into the event's visual variety.
# Tone and takeaway The keynote combined showmanship and product substance while signaling a leadership transition. On stage presentation style felt like a continuation of recent Apple templates, but the passing of the spokesperson role to Ternus registered as a real moment for attendees and the company's launch cadence.
Apple’s Surprise and Shine event brought the iPhone Duo, AirPods 5, stronger AI features, a new iPhone launch cycle, and more. Here are 8 key takeaways.
Apple shows off new products in its first big product launch since CEO John Ternus took over. We expect new iPhones, Apple Watches and more. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals. )
Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event took place today, and the company introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, the new foldable iPhone Duo , new Apple Watch models, and AirPods 5. It took Apple over an hour to announce everything, but we have an 11-minute recap for those who want a quick but detailed overview of everyt
Macworld At the Surprise and Shine press event today, Apple announced a raft of new products including the iPhone 18 Pro , AirPods 5 , and iPhone Duo … and thanks to pre-launch rumors, surprises were in short supply. Nearly everything was leaked accurately ahead of time. But one product that did manage to spring a few
9to5Mac’s Apple event coverage is brought to you by iMazing : iMazing’s platform for data transfer and device management keeps getting better. Get 20% off iMazing with code 9TO5-SEP26-20OFF. I’m at Apple Park for today’s “Surprise and shine” event, headlined by the rumored announcement of the iPhone 18 Pro and the fold
From three new iPhone models to a Cook-Ternus reunion, here’s what could go down.
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.