Apple’s big premiere revealed: No Tim Cook, plenty of new products, and a potentially high price

Apple’s September keynote is expected to center on the iPhone Ultra, the company’s first foldable device, but the new lineup could come with a price that puts it out of reach for many buyers.

The book-style phone is described as having an outer display measuring 5.3 to 5.5 inches and an inner screen reaching 7.8 inches when opened. To keep the folded body exceptionally slim, Apple reportedly dropped Face ID in favor of Touch ID built into the side button. The device would also use a dual main camera and a liquid-metal-alloy hinge designed to leave the display with almost no visible crease.

The foldable would share the event with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Both models are expected to use the A20 Pro chip, manufactured by TSMC in a 2-nanometer process with Gate-All-Around transistor architecture. The article says the chip could deliver an 18% performance increase and 30% greater energy efficiency compared with the A19 Pro.

The phones are also described as having 12 GB of RAM, Apple’s C2 5G modem, and a dynamic island around 35% narrower. Planned colors reportedly include Sky Blue and Dark Cherry. A 48-megapixel main camera could add a mechanical variable aperture, allowing direct control of the light reaching the sensor and producing a natural optical bokeh effect. It remains uncertain whether that feature would be limited to the larger Pro Max model.

Apple is also expected to show the Apple Watch Series 12, with a new S processor, a returning ceramic case option and continuous heart-rate monitoring, along with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 with or without active noise cancellation. Devices are expected to enter presale on Saturday, September 12. The article says the date was moved from the usual Friday to avoid coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The biggest obstacle may be cost. The article links higher prices to the complexity of 2-nanometer chip production, rising memory prices and expensive camera components. It cites estimates from The Wall Street Journal analysts and TrendForce, but the supplied text ends before giving the projected starting price.