Apple has a habit of taking a look at what’s working in the market and making it a standard. This isn’t in any way a criticism, however. It’s how the US tech behemoth has maintained its lofty position after all these years, and why consumers keep returning each year in droves.
Of course, Apple didn't ship a foldable when Samsung did, watching and waiting for seven years before taking its first 'Surprise and Shine' keynote under new CEO John Ternus with a device that no doubt became the benchmark from which every other is measured. Much like a rather famous fictitious wizard, Apple is never late; it arrives precisely when it means to.
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The headline for the all-new iPhone Duo is the new squared-off shape and foldable hinge along the spine, and that comes with different dimensions from what we’re used to. Folded, you get a 5.4-inch outer OLED that’s around 90% of an iPhone 18 Pro's screen area. Open it, and there's a 7.6-inch nano-texture inner display – around 50% more screen area than a Pro Max. Fully unfolded, it measures 5.2mm, the thinnest iPhone Apple has ever made.
Underneath sits the A20 Pro, a 2nm chip built by TSMC, and enough firepower to feed two screens simultaneously – there’s also a custom vapor-chamber cooling system and a dual-battery layout so it manages all this without cooking itself.
The talking point is the in-display selfie camera on the inner screen: hidden under the panel until you need it, then revealed. It’s something we’ve seen before on Samsung’s Z Fold line, but Apple's take is inner-only. Whether it takes a photo worth keeping is the single biggest unknown heading into launch, and one that creators will inevitably pass their judgement on.
Elsewhere, Face ID is gone, replaced by Touch ID built into the power button, which will no doubt take some getting used to after years of conditioning us to pull a passport-style pose to unlock our device quickly. But when you release a device that comes in as many orientations as working days, it’s only right you make it as easy as possible to actually get into the thing.
Structurally, we’re treated to another titanium frame (my fellow clutzes in the room, rejoice), a Ceramic Shield on the back and Ceramic Shield 2 on the front, IP68 (more than Samsung has managed on a Z Fold), dual 48MP rear cameras, and a modified iOS 27 with Split View, position-aware layouts and hands-free FaceTime. There’s even an Apple Pencil USB-C arriving later in 2026.
At $3,499 for the 256GB, climbing to $5,899 at 2TB, we’ve now gone beyond what was once considered phone money and breached laptop money. In fact, it's the most expensive iPhone ever sold in Australia by a wide margin, and priced $300 more than your base MacBook Pro. Pre-orders open at 10 PM AEST on 16 October, with phones in stores from 23 October.
Now, this wouldn’t be an iPhone event without the tried-and-tested model that got us this far, and the OG collection is getting its annual update alongside the new shiny Duo.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max get the same A20 Pro and a 48MP main camera with a variable aperture, a first on any iPhone, priced at $2,099 and $2,299, respectively. Pre-orders open 12 September; in stores on the 18th. Interestingly, this year Apple decided against releasing a standard iPhone 18 or multi-colour base models, with affordable iPhones arriving in spring 2027. So, if you want a new iPhone this year, you're spending Pro money or Duo money – nothing less.