Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 10: Apple’s September event delivered its most varied hardware slate in years. The headline act was the iPhone Duo, its first foldable. Two new iPhone 18 Pro models arrived alongside it. Updated Watches and AirPods filled out the rest.
Pricing spanned an unusually wide range this time. India’s lineup starts at Rs 14,900 and tops out near Rs 3 lakh. That spread reflects how many categories Apple touched at once.
The Duo itself demands the most attention. It starts at $1,999 in the US, Rs 2,99,900 in India. That makes it Apple’s costliest smartphone to date. The pricing alone signals how seriously Apple treats foldables now.
Underneath the fold, the specs lean functional rather than flashy. A 7.6-inch internal display opens into a tablet-sized canvas. A 5.4-inch outer screen handles quick glances and tasks. An A20 Pro chip drives performance, wrapped in a titanium shell. The design supports several partially folded angles for flexibility.
Storage runs from 256GB at the base to 2TB at the top. Buyers in India can pre-order from October 16. Both India and the US see it ship October 23.
The iPhone 18 Pro line got its own meaningful upgrades. Starting at $1,199, or Rs 1,19,900, it features a 2nm A20 Pro chip. Cooling improves via a redesigned vapour-chamber system. Its 48MP Fusion camera now includes variable aperture control. New Pro Controls let users manually set shutter speed and aperture. Apple says eSIM-only units manage up to 36 hours of video.
The Pro Max builds on that foundation for $1,299, or Rs 1,29,900. It carries the same camera and cooling improvements. Apple claims up to 45 hours of video playback here. That would make it the battery champion of the new lineup. Both Pro models land in India from September 18, pre-orders open September 12.
Wearables saw quieter, but still notable, changes. The Watch Series 12, at $399 or Rs 56,900, adds a new Health Sensing System. Apple calls it its most accurate heart-rate tracking yet. A fresh Readiness score factors in sleep and activity levels.
The rugged Watch Ultra 4, priced at $799 or Rs 1,09,900, shares those health tools. Apple pairs them with up to 45 hours of workout tracking. That’s the longest stamina yet for an Apple Watch.
AirPods 5 rounded out the announcements at the low end. Priced at $129, or Rs 14,900, they keep the open-ear form factor. Apple says noise cancellation improves by up to 1.5 times. Live Translation and Personalised Spatial Audio join the feature set. A wireless-charging-case version costs more, at $149 or Rs 17,900.
Taken together, the launch reads less like one big bet and more like several smaller ones. The Duo tests whether foldables can go mainstream. The rest simply keeps Apple’s core business humming along.
