Apple launches the iPhone Duo: starting at 2,369 euros. Prices for the iPhone 18 Pro are rising. What’s new

The Apple Watch Series 12 increases the frequency at which it collects health data and attempts to turn it into more useful insights for the user. The new monitoring system measures heart rate in the background every five seconds – compared with a frequency 60 times lower previously – and HRV (heart rate variability) up to every five minutes. Apple has also redesigned the sensing components, increasing the surface area of the electrodes and improving the optical system with new photodiodes and LEDs.

Readiness, a new feature that combines physical activity, physiological metrics and sleep every morning to provide a summary of how well your body is equipped to tackle the day, is based on this increased volume of data. The score can also be updated throughout the day and is displayed directly on the Apple Watch or in the Fitness app on the iPhone.

Apple unveils the AirPods 5, which bring active noise cancellation to the open-ear design – that is, earphones without silicone tips that fit inside the ear canal, leaving the ear more open to the outside environment. The company claims this is the best ANC in its class, capable of eliminating up to 50 per cent more noise than the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation. Also new is the multi-port acoustic architecture, featuring the latest-generation Adaptive EQ to enhance sound quality. The AirPods 5 also introduce real-time translation powered by Apple Intelligence and the ability to interact with Siri using head gestures. The version with a wireless charging case adds volume control on the stem and offers up to five hours’ battery life with ANC. Prices start at 149 euros, or 169 euros with the wireless charging case.

The curtain rises on the iPhone 18 Pro, which follows the design language of the 17 Pro with a new launch colour: a deep black. Under the bonnet is the A20 Pro chip, designed to power Siri AI processing directly on the device itself – but there are no changes to the release schedule compared to what was announced at WWDC. At launch, the device will be available in English only, with five additional languages expected in October; Italian is not included in this first wave. Apple Intelligence, meanwhile, is expanding its scope beyond the voice assistant, focusing on everyday productivity: Safari will notify users of updates to a web page, whilst Shortcuts can be created by describing the desired function either verbally or in writing.

John Ternus begins by emphasising how AI is ushering in a period of enormous transformation. The central idea is that of the ‘intelligent personal hub’ – the product at the heart of our digital experience, capable of linking our personal context with apps, services and devices. It should always be with us, featuring powerful on-device AI models and access to the cloud, cameras and microphones to understand the world, a large display, all-day battery life and seamless integration with the entire ecosystem. He concludes: “The product that best embodies this intelligent hub is the iPhone.”

The keynote began with a very dramatic video marking the handover between Cook and Ternus. The first voice we hear is Cook’s, who then jokingly hands the stage over to Ternus.

Ternus is facing its most challenging launch in recent years: Apple shares have risen by 15 per cent since the end of June, but remain 7 per cent below their all-time high of 28 July. Bloomberg notes that the shares have fallen on five of the last eight days following an iPhone launch, but gain an average of 10 per cent in the six months following the launch, according to Bloomberg data dating back to 2007. The real sticking point is the price: the foldable is estimated to cost between $2,300 and $2,500, and JPMorgan describes this as the key factor determining the market’s reaction.

Manca poco a uno degli eventi di lancio prodotto più attesi, da parte di Apple, negli ultimi anni. Per quanto riguarda l’iPhone, prodotto di punta dell’azienda, è atteso il debutto del primo modello pieghevole, e i nuovi 18 Pro e Pro Max. Negli articoli sotto puoi trovare le attese e le indiscrezioni della vigilia del keynote che segnerà il debutto di John Ternus alla guida dell’azienda. Pochi minuti fa il nuovo Ceo su X, dove ha debuttato con il suo profilo da pochi giorni, ha postato un video teaser.

Apple’s keynote on 9 September is one of the most significant in recent years. Looking back, there hasn’t been this much anticipation since the launch of the iPhone X. Back in 2017, that event marked the debut of the form factor that Apple has essentially retained to this day, with the removal of the Home button and the introduction of Face ID. It also marked the debut of the Steve Jobs Theatre as a venue, alongside the newly opened Apple Park.

On 24 August 2011, when Tim Cook took the helm at Apple, dark clouds of fear hung over the Cupertino giant. Fears for the health of its founder, Steve Jobs, who would indeed die some six weeks later from pancreatic cancer. Until that moment, Jobs had been everything at Apple: founder and visionary, public face and innovator. So much so that his succession seemed a huge question mark.

Today, 15 years on, it is Tim Cook who is stepping down (with John Ternus taking the helm at Apple). But the figures surrounding the handover tell a story that not even the most optimistic had anticipated.