New iPhones are officially on the horizon.
Apple has announced its next product event will take place Wednesday, September 9. The event is slated to kickoff at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET and Apple has given the event the tagline “Surprise and Shine.” The announcement was accompanied by a short animation of the sun shining through a translucent Apple logo.
Surprise and shine! It’s almost time for the #AppleEvent, on Wednesday, September 9! pic.twitter.com/SLkIcNmLwP
— Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) August 26, 2026
What Will Apple Announce at its Surprise and Shine Event?
Apple is rumored to be doing its iPhone launches a bit differently this year. At the September 9th event, it’s rumored that Apple will only announce the next generation of its Pro iPhones—the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, alongside the very first foldable iPhone, rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra. The September event is also said to include the launch of the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.
As for the iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2, Apple is said to be holding off on those launches until Spring 2027.
iPhone 18 Pro
Rumors point to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max keeping the updated design first released last year. The main upgrades on these models are expected to be a new variable-aperture camera, a smaller Dynamic Island, and the inclusion of Apple’s next generation C2 cellular modem.
A variable-aperture camera would give the iPhone 18 Pro similar control over the look of photos and video as a dedicated full-size camera, allowing finer control of how much light the lens allows in and the softness of out of focus areas (bokeh).
The Foldable iPhone (iPhone Ultra)
The rumored “iPhone Ultra” would be Apple’s first folding iPhone. It is said to be a book- or passport-style foldable with a squat overall design, titanium frame, a roughly 5.5-inch outer display, and opening up to reveal an inner display of around 7.8 inches. The unique design would make the device more pocketable with an inner display ratio that is better suited for watching widescreen video than taller foldable designs.
Apple Watch 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4
These are not expected to be major design updates over the current models with Apple rumored instead to be updating the internals and adding new health features.
