This week on the "Cult of Mac" podcast: Apple's Surprise and Shine event is in the books! The iPhone Duo is real, and John Ternus did great.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
Apple CEO John Ternus and a team of Apple executives are expected to host the company’s “Surprise and Shine” special event today, Wednesday, September 9th, at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT.
Apple’s event will be webcast from the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California.
During Apple’s event, MacDailyNews will offer live notes on this page below.
You can watch the event live right here:
Live notes from Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” special event in reverse chronological order:
• End of event.
• Ternus: “Thank you for joining us. Have a great day.”
• Ternus recaps today’s announcements
• AAPL: 310.63, -5.60, (-1.77%) @ 2:16:21 PM EDT
• iPhone Duo commercial being shown
• Available: October 23rd
• Pre-order: October 16th
• Starts at 1999 256GB; up to 2TB available
• Apple has made two cases: iPhone Duo Folio and iPhone Duo Case
• iPhone Duo is the perfect selfie camera – use the best cameras and still see the outer display
• Dual capture in FaceTime – share both simultaneously
• Center Stage front camera
• Supports Texture and Grain control
• 4K 120 FPS video
• iPhone Duo Camera system: 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide Main Camera and 2X optical quality Telephoto
• All-day battery life, up to 31 hours of video playback (inner display); 44 hours (outer display)
• iPhone Duo is eSIM-only worldwide
• Apple’s advanced C2 Modem: 5G mmWave support in US
• Peak performance for on-device AI immediately; up to 35% higher sustained performance than iPhone 17 Pro
• Powered by A20 Pro
• Titanium pate at the bottom of display for increased durability
• Multilayer lamination display
• iPhone Duo – custom nano-texture finish for display – minimized crease visibility
• Myriad apps are being updated for iPhone Duo
• Can be your perfect bedside clock
• Standby mode available even when not charging
• Can use iPhone Duo partially folded
• Works in Portrait and Landscape (like iPad)
• Split view multitasking
• Ceramic Shield on back, Ceramic Shield 2 on front display
• Grade 5 Titanium frame
• Two colors: Star White and Night Sky
• Can unlock iPhone Duo effortlessly with Apple Watch
• Touch ID integrated into the side button
• Apple Pencil capable on either display
• 5.4-inch outer display
• iPhone mini spotted off in a corner weeping silently to itself
• iPhone Duo makes new experiences possible
• iPhone Duo and iOS 27 redefine what an iPhone can do
• System reacts when you fold our turn to side or flip it over
• As you most betwen displays, the software seamlessly transitions
• iOS 27 adjusts to fit iPhone Duo
• Very pocketable when closed
• Aerospace-grade titanium fram
• Impressive battery system
• Thinnest iPhone ever when opened
• Hinge mechanism – custom variable torque control
• Fluid transitions between opened and closed – faceTime camera behind the display
• Largest iPhone display ever designed
• Similar size to your passport
• Apple redefines the experience of using a foldable smartphone
• Introducing iPhone Duo
• Ternus: “There is one more thing”
• AAPL: 312.57, -3.65, (-1.16%) @ 1:52:03 PM EDT
• Series 12 commercial shown
• Pre-order today, available September 18th
• Ultra 4 starts at $799
• Series 12 starts at $399
• Apple Watch Ultra 4 Black and natural titanium
• Apple Watch Series 12 Titanium in gold and silver
• Apple Watch Series 12 ceramic available in white and blue
• Apple Watch Series 12 Aluminum: Space Gray, Black, Light Gold, Dark Bronze
• Apple Watch offers thousands of face and bad customizations
• New S11 chip – Always-on processor, faster CPU, faster GPU, and faster Neural Engine
• Live Rewind and Siri Recap coming later this year in beta
• New Siri Modular Face for Apple Watch
• Audio is not recorded or stored, Apple cannot listen
• Siri recap: Uses ambient listening to take notes of meetings, lectures, etc.
• Live Rewind lets you see a transcription of the last 15 seconds
• Sound recognition to Apple Watch – can listen to notify you of what’s hapening
• Audio Intelligence makes sense of what your hear using Apple Watch microphone
• iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple Intelligence all work together in new Health app (coming later this year)
• VO2 Max test via iPhone camera – follow instructor on iPhone screen, measured by Apple Watch
• New longevity tab give you deeper insights into your health
• Health Age: a simple way to measure your data vs. your calendar age and how to improve it
• Personalize guidance powered by Apple Intelligence
• Health app is a central and secure repository – all-new design in iOS 27
• Readiness: tells you when to push and when to hold back in workouts (recovery score)
• Updated Heart Rate app
• Apple Watch’s health sensing vs. rivals: Apple Watch has the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable
• Higher freq. continuous heart rate data – every 5 seconds all day long – a 60X increase
• Increase electrode area, redesigned photo diodes; larger, green LEDs
• Advanced sensor array – Health Sensing System
• Both get all-new Apple Silicon
• Apple Watch Ultra 4
• Apple Watch Series 12
• Ternus: ANC is now standard across the entire AirPods lineup
• Pre-order today, available September 18th
• AirPods 5 with all of these extras in $149
• Comes with wireless charing case
• Up to 5 hours with ANC
• Second model has on-stem volume control
• AirPods 5: $129
• More duarale than ever; up to 4 hours with ANC and up to 20 hours with charging case
• Live Translation in AirPods 5
• AirPods 5 are a seamless extension between Siri AI and your iPhone
• AirPods 5 auto adjust between ANC and Transparency
• Transparency is even more natural
• The best ANC in any open ear earbud
• Active Noise Cancelation: 50% more than previous generation
• Personalize Spatial Audio improved
• AirPods 5: Open ear fit, redesigned from the inside for improved audio, adaptive EQ
• New AirPods: AirPods 5
• Ternus returns to talk AirPods
• Pre-order this Friday, available September 18th
• iPhone 18 Pro Mac starts at $1299
• iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1199
• Updated clear case, Silicone case, new wrist strap, new TechWoven cases
• iPhone Handoff – uses same number on multiple iPhones (carrier dependent)
• iOS 27 review
• iPhone 18 Pro/Max offer a Smaller Dynamic Island
• iPhone 18 Pro Max used to shoot today’s special event video
• Photographers will want iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max
• Apple Reference Image: prove the authenticity of a photo taken on iPhone 18 Pro (not available in EU or China)
• Image authenticity: Apple will support AI tagging
• Photographic styles: Texture and grain control
• Smart focus tracking uses on-device AI models to track
• Change white balance, use histogram, manually adjust aperture, adjust shutter speed
• Pro controls: Lets you customize your camera experience
• 4K time lapse
• Cinematic video after you capture video
• Camera system is paired with AI
• iPhone 18 Pro’s 48 MP fusion camera with variable aperture, custom-designed mechanical aperture
• Aperture controls how much light enters the system
• Camera: Biggest camera improvement in years
• Game demos
• Game developers can push further than ever on iPhone
• iPhone 18 Pro provides up to 24-hours usage per charge; 30 hours for iPhone 18 Pro Max
• Battery life: iPhone 18 Pro is smaller, but delivers the same battery life as iPhone 17 Pro Max
• Highest sustained performance on an iPhone – ever
• iPhone 18 Pro has a next-gen Vapor Chamber – significantly improved cooling vs. iPhone 17 Pro
• Brand new thermal design
• Silicon connected directly to Vapor Chamber
• Custom packaging, inspired by M-class chips
• 50% memory bandwidth increase
• 32-cores dual Neural Engine is an AI acellerator
• New Neural Acelerators
• 7-core GPU, 40% faster than A19 Pro
• Super cores are desktop class – fastest in any smartphoen
• 6-core CPU, 2 new super cores / 4 efficiency cores
• A20 Pro is an exceptional chip – brand new 2nm architecture
• Increased access available with “most” iCloud+ plans
• iPhone 18 Pro delivers deeply personal AI
• Siri AI and Apple Intelligence is woven throughout – in Safari, Phone app, Calendar, Camera, etc.
• Siri AI has expressive voices – powered by on-device model
• You can write with Siri AI
• Siri app lets you maintain history and sync across your Apple device ecosystem
• Siri AI has Visual Intelligence and can work with over 300K apps
• 2.5 billion Siri requests made everyday, currently (with the sucky Siri)
• Built for Apple Intelligence, Apple Foundation Models, Siri AI
• Color-matched aluminum and back glass: Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy
• iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
• Most advanced camera system ever
• Longest battery life in iPhone history
• Apple A20 Pro
• Ternus intros next-gen iPhone
• Private Cloud Compute extends privacy to the cloud when needed
• iPhone understands your context; Apple values privacy; personal data stays on-device whenever possible
• Ternus: There’s no product in the world better for personal AI hub than iPhone
• Apple’s goal: To make the best products available
• Ternus talks about inspiration and relentless pursuit of excellence at Apple
• Apple CEO John Ternus 
takes the stage (on video; missed opportunity; better would’ve been live on-stage)
• Narrated at the end by Tim Cook
• Opens with short film Shot on iPhone (shows the quality and versatility of iPhone camera systems)
• AAPL: 313.78, -2.44, (-0.77%) @ 12:55:27 PM EDT
• AAPL: 313.61, -2.61, (-0.83%) @ 12:29:18 PM EDT
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Apple holds its biggest product event of the year on Wednesday, September 9, at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT at Apple Park in Cupertino. The “Surprise and Shine” keynote will be livestreamed on Apple’s website, the Apple TV app, and YouTube. It is also the first major launch under new CEO John Ternus.
The company is expected to skip a standard iPhone 18 this fall and instead focus on premium hardware: the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and its first foldable iPhone, widely referred to as the iPhone Ultra. New Apple Watch models are also on the docket. The base iPhone 18 and a follow-up iPhone Air are rumored for spring 2027.
The foldable is the main actThe long-awaited foldable is expected to use a book-style design: a compact phone when closed and a larger tablet-like screen when opened. Reports describe an outer display around 5.5 inches and an inner display of about 7.8 inches. Pricing is expected to start above $2,000.
Rumored details include Apple’s A20 Pro chip, an in-house modem, Touch ID instead of Face ID on at least some reports, and a hinge designed to reduce the crease that has defined earlier foldables. Camera setup is expected to be more limited than the Pro models, with some reports saying there will be no dedicated telephoto lens. If Apple pulls it off, this would be the first major iPhone form-factor change in nearly two decades.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max stay the volume play
The Pro and Pro Max are expected to look similar to last year’s models, with most of the work happening inside. Anticipated upgrades include the A20 Pro processor, better thermal design, improved battery life, and camera refinements. Some reports point to a smaller Dynamic Island and new color options. The Pro Max may get the larger battery and extra cooling.
Apple appears to be splitting its iPhone calendar: high-end and experimental devices in September, more affordable models later. That would keep this week’s stage focused on the products with the highest prices and the most novelty.
Watches and the rest of the lineup
Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are widely expected. Typical September extras such as new AirPods could appear, though camera-equipped AirPods Pro rumors have been less consistent for this date. Macs and iPads are more likely later in the fall. Software release windows for iOS 27 and related updates usually get mentioned as well.
Why this event matters
Ternus takes the stage after years as Apple’s hardware chief. The company has spent much of the past decade refining existing lines. A foldable iPhone, a narrower fall phone lineup, and a new CEO on the same day add up to more than a routine refresh. Whether the foldable becomes a mainstream product or a high-priced niche will be one of the first real tests of the next chapter.
MacDailyNews Note: Watch the stream Wednesday at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT here and check our home page tomorrow for the link to our live coverage.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
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The post Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ event arrives tomorrow: Foldable iPhone, 18 Pro lineup, and a new CEO era appeared first on MacDailyNews.
John Ternus has entered one of the most visible positions in global business without trying to turn his first days into a personal media event. The new CEO arrived with a remarkably discreet public profile, a newly opened social presence and decades of work completed mostly behind Apple’s products.
His X account, @johnternus, appeared publicly on September 1, the day he officially succeeded Tim Cook. Its biography contained only the company logo and his new title. The first post was even shorter: “hello.”
The simplicity felt consistent with an executive who has spent most of his career explaining materials, engineering decisions and manufacturing improvements rather than building a public personality. It also created a sharp contrast with the scale of the position he now occupies.
Ternus can remain personally reserved, but the CEO role will repeatedly place him before customers, employees, investors, governments and developers. His first social post may have been quiet. The responsibilities arriving behind it are anything but.
Ternus did not maintain a prominent public social account during his years leading hardware engineering. Most customers encountered him through carefully produced product presentations, occasional interviews or appearances focused on a particular device.
Even within those settings, his style remained technical and controlled. He usually spoke about engineering choices, durability, materials, performance and the work required to turn a design into a product that could be manufactured at enormous scale.
His new X account does not immediately change that character. Opening a channel is different from revealing a private life or becoming a daily commentator. The minimal introduction suggests a place for official communication rather than an invitation into every passing thought.
That would follow an established pattern for senior leadership. Tim Cook used his public account to acknowledge product launches, employees, social causes, environmental initiatives, community visits and major events. His posts rarely became extended personal debates.
Ternus may adopt a similar rhythm, although the account is too new to define its purpose. One word and a short biography cannot tell us how frequently he will post, which subjects he will address or whether he will write directly during moments of controversy.
The restrained opening still served one practical purpose. It established an authenticated public identity before unofficial profiles, impersonators and parody accounts could occupy the space around a newly appointed CEO.
The limited public profile should not be mistaken for limited influence inside the company.
Ternus joined the product design team in 2001 and became a vice president of hardware engineering in 2013. He entered the executive team as senior vice president in 2021, eventually overseeing engineering work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods and Apple Watch.
His official biography credits him with an instrumental role in the introduction of iPad and AirPods, along with work across multiple generations of the company’s largest product lines. It also connects his leadership to improvements in reliability, durability, materials, repairability and environmental performance.
This background gives Ternus a different starting point from a CEO recruited principally through finance, sales, software or public policy. He arrives from the part of the organization responsible for making difficult designs function consistently outside a laboratory.
Hardware engineering at this scale reaches far beyond choosing a processor or shaping an enclosure. It requires coordinating displays, batteries, cameras, radios, thermal systems, structural materials, manufacturing equipment, repair procedures and supplier capacity. A small change can affect production across millions of units.
That experience may explain part of his measured communication style. Engineering organizations reward details that survive testing. Public attention often rewards immediate confidence. Ternus has spent his career in an environment where confidence eventually meets a drop test, production line or repair bench.
His public appearances have often carried the same discipline. He tends to explain what a product team accomplished without placing himself at the center of the accomplishment.
Leading hardware engineering allowed Ternus to speak after a product decision had passed through years of development. As CEO, he will also need to speak while difficult questions remain unresolved.
Investors will expect him to explain spending, growth and long-term priorities. Governments will want answers about manufacturing, competition, privacy and platform control. Employees will look for direction as artificial intelligence, robotics, home technology, augmented reality and satellite communications create new opportunities across the company.
Customers will judge him through products, but they will also hear his response when a launch disappoints, a service fails or a policy creates frustration.
This is where a discreet profile can become either an advantage or a limitation.
A CEO who does not comment constantly preserves the weight of the moments when he chooses to speak. Fewer posts also reduce the chance that a hurried reaction becomes the story instead of the company’s work.
Silence becomes harder to maintain when people expect reassurance. Product defects, security incidents, employee concerns and political disputes can create situations in which a carefully prepared statement feels too distant. Ternus will have to decide when restraint protects the company and when it begins to look like avoidance.
Cook will remain involved as executive chairman and is expected to assist with areas including engagement with policymakers. That arrangement gives Ternus continuity during the transition without removing the need to develop his own public authority.
The distinction between their roles will become more visible with time. Cook can offer experience and institutional relationships, but employees and customers need to recognize which priorities belong to the new CEO.
Ternus does not need to imitate Steve Jobs’ stage presence or Cook’s diplomatic style. A convincing public identity can grow from the expertise that brought him to the position.
The most natural version would be an engineering-minded CEO who explains trade-offs without turning every decision into a slogan. Product design is full of compromises involving battery life, weight, cost, durability, repairability and production capacity. Carefully explaining some of those decisions could make corporate communication more informative.
His 2024 commencement appearance at Penn Engineering offered a rare view outside a product presentation. Ternus returned to the university where he earned his mechanical engineering degree and addressed students as an experienced engineer rather than a celebrity executive.
That type of setting allows more personality to appear without requiring constant social posting. Longer interviews, engineering discussions, employee conversations and educational appearances may suit him better than trying to manufacture spontaneity several times a day.
A restrained profile could also reinforce collaboration. The products reaching customers are built by large teams, and Ternus has generally presented himself as a representative of that work. Maintaining that tone as CEO would keep attention on the organization rather than turning every announcement into a personal performance.
The difficulty will be preserving technical depth while discussing areas beyond hardware. Services, entertainment, artificial intelligence, software platforms and international policy cannot always be explained through materials and manufacturing. The CEO must connect them into one recognizable direction.
The opening “hello” gives Ternus room to decide how visible he wants to become.
Upcoming product events will offer an early test. A social account can distribute announcements and photographs, but the stage will reveal more: which subjects he chooses to introduce, how much technical detail he includes and whether he remains present throughout the presentation or delegates most of it to other executives.
Earnings calls will create a different test. Product videos are rehearsed around finished work; financial discussions require direct answers about demand, margins, investment and risks. His language in those conversations will begin shaping how investors understand the new administration.
Internal communication may prove equally influential even when the public sees only fragments. Employees will listen for signals about decision-making speed, tolerance for experimentation and the relationship between engineering ambition and commercial discipline.
The X account can support that work, but it cannot substitute for it. A polished stream of product announcements would tell customers what has shipped. Occasional direct messages during difficult moments would reveal more about how Ternus intends to lead.
For now, the empty space around his first post is part of the story. The next useful signal may not be how often John Ternus speaks, but which moment persuades this notably private engineer that the CEO should speak in his own voice.
The post John Ternus Begins His Apple CEO Era With a Discreet Public Profile appeared first on AppleMagazine.
Apple's September product launch is days away, and there is so much to look forward to: 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 has scheduled an event for September 9 at 10 AM PT, titled “Surprise and shine” on their homepage and invitations. The event will be streamed for anyone to watch on Apple.com as well as YouTube. Typically, Apple uses the September event to unveil their new iPhone models, along with other updates to hardware, and ... Read More
The post Apple Event Set for September 9, New iPhone Expected appeared first on OS X Daily.
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