Apple’s foldable iPhone Ultra headlines a packed fall lineup at September 9 event
Photo by Austin Chen on Unsplash.
- Apple will hold its iPhone event on September 9 at its Cupertino campus.
- A foldable iPhone Ultra and two Pro models lead the lineup, with no base iPhone 18 until spring 2027.
- Global smartphone shipments will drop 16.7% in 2026 to just over 1 billion units.
Apple affirmed it will hold its annual iPhone event on Wednesday, September 9 at its Cupertino campus. A foldable iPhone and two new Pro models are headlining a fall rollout of more than 15 new devices.
The invite says “Surprise and shine” and has a 10 a.m. Pacific start. Apple shows the same date and time on its events page.
Touch ID replaces Face ID on the book-style handset
The iPhone 18 won’t be coming this fall. Apple is holding off until spring 2027 to launch its cheaper models.
That leaves the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone for the September event. All three will be powered by Apple’s A20 Pro chip, based on a 2-nanometer process.
The Ultra is Apple’s first new form factor since the iPhone X debuted in 2017. The book-style device spans about 5.5 inches when closed and 7.6 inches when open and is wider than it is tall.
The phone will lose its telephoto camera and use Touch ID instead of Face ID.
The only model rumored to get a variable-aperture rear camera upgrade is the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Otherwise, the Pro models are pretty much the same as last year’s iPhone 17 Pro.
AirPods 5, an Apple Watch Ultra 4, and an Apple Watch Series 12 round out the September event.
Three Macs are anticipated in October. They are an M6 MacBook Pro, a revamped M6 iMac, and a premium MacBook Ultra with an OLED touch screen.
Apple got a head start on August 25, announcing a new Mac mini and Mac Studio that go on order ahead of a September 22 launch.
Shipments drop 16.7% as memory prices climb 300%
The tvOS 27 and HomePod 27 betas recently added a toggle for an “Apple Intelligence Report.” No shipping Apple TV or HomePod can run Apple Intelligence today.
The latest Apple TV 4K is from October 2022, and the HomePod mini is from October 2020. This fall’s refreshed models are expected to have new chips that can run Siri AI.
Also coming are a HomePod 3, a HomePod mini 2, and a first-party smart home camera.
Global smartphone shipments will drop 16.7% in 2026 to just over 1 billion units, the steepest yearly decline the industry has posted, Cryptopolitan reported.
NAND and DRAM prices have climbed more than 300% year over year. Average selling prices rose 27.6% to $581.
This year, the foldable category will grow 12.6% to 22.9 million units.
The Apple foldable will sell over 10 million units in its first year and will take about 40% of global foldable shipments by 2027, at an average price of about $2,550. That is about $400 more than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, which goes for $2,099.
The iPhone 17 was the best-selling smartphone worldwide in the second quarter of 2026, with 6% of unit sales. The 17 Pro Max and 17 Pro took the next two spots.
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FAQs
When and where is Apple's next event?
Apple will hold its iPhone event on Wednesday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time at its Cupertino campus.
How much will Apple's foldable iPhone cost?
The average selling price is expected to be about $2,500 to $2,550, roughly $400 more than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, which starts at $2,099 in the United States.
Will there be a regular iPhone 18 this fall?
No. Apple is skipping the standard iPhone 18 in the fall and waiting until spring 2027 to launch its more affordable models, leaving the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and foldable Ultra for September.
Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
Randa Moses
Randa Moses is an editor and reporter at Cryptopolitan covering tech, AI, robotics, crypto, scams, and hacks. She has worked in the crypto space since 2017. She held roles at Forward Protocol, AmaZix, and Cryptosomniac. Randa holds a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Bradford.
