Scheduled for September 10: Bookmark this ultra-advance preview of Apple's new products, all information about iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods is included here.

Just now, Apple officially announced the schedule of its 2026 Autumn New Product Launch Event — it is set for 1 a.m. Beijing Time on September 10.

As the annual "tech gala" of the consumer electronics industry, its significance as a trend indicator is self-evident.

Based on current available information, at this launch event, Apple will not only launch the upgraded and iterated iPhone 18 Pro series, but also officially unveil its first foldable iPhone that has been rumored for many years. At the same time, the Apple Watch and AirPods audio product lines will also receive new updates and iterations.

The absolute protagonist iPhone sees new changes, the first foldable product is about to debut

As the absolute core of Apple's autumn launch event, one of the key changes coming to iPhone this year is that Apple may break the product release rhythm it has followed for years: the standard iPhone 18 will be postponed to appear in the spring of the next year, and this September launch will only focus on the high-end iPhone lineup: the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the highly anticipated first foldable iPhone model.

For the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, according to current industry leaks, these two products will also see multiple improvements in form factor, imaging, battery life, performance and other aspects.

In terms of product size, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will retain the 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch LTPO adaptive refresh rate OLED screens, and the overall product design will also follow the design of the iPhone 17 Pro series. The biggest change is that after the miniaturization improvement of components, the area occupied by the Dynamic Island is reduced by 35%, which further enhances the visual experience of the screen.

Performance is the core improvement of this iPhone 18 series. Both models will be equipped with the A20 Pro chip manufactured with TSMC's 2nm process. It is reported that this chip will also adopt the WMCM (Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module) packaging method for the first time, placing the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine and memory closer to each other, so as to improve chip performance and AI efficiency, and provide hardware support for Apple Intelligence on-device AI.

In terms of communication capabilities, Apple's self-developed C2 modem may also be adopted, which is expected to improve the long-concerned signal performance and further optimize the power consumption performance of iPhone. Of course, while improving the battery life of iPhone by enhancing chip energy efficiency, Apple also adopts a more straightforward but faster-acting method to boost battery life — further increasing the battery capacity.

It is reported that the battery capacity of the Chinese mainland version of iPhone 18 Pro will be increased to 4056mAh; while the battery capacity of iPhone 18 Pro Max will be increased to 5391mAh, which is 568mAh higher than the 4823mAh of the previous generation Chinese mainland version, with an increase of about 11.8%, which may make it a new generation of battery life champion. For overseas versions, thanks to the full implementation of eSIM technology, the battery capacity can be further increased.

Imaging is another major upgrade of the iPhone 18 Pro series. It is reported that the main camera of the iPhone 18 Pro series will add a physical variable aperture for the first time, allowing users to adjust the depth of field effect according to the environment. This technology has been used by many manufacturers in the Android camp, but it is the first time for iPhone, so it will still be very attractive to iPhone users.

In terms of product color matching, it is reported that this year's iPhone 18 Pro series will follow the color design logic of the iPhone 17 Pro series, bringing users more bold color options. Current rumors say that the iPhone 18 Pro series will launch four colorways: deep cherry red, light blue, silver, and space gray, to enrich users' choices.

Of course, the biggest suspense and highlight of this Apple autumn launch event is still Apple's first foldable iPhone. The outside world generally expects Apple to name this foldable product iPhone Ultra, but the final naming will be revealed at the launch event.

As Apple's first foldable phone, it adopts the "wide fold" design logic in product proportion design — equipped with a 5.5-inch outer screen and a 7.8-inch 4:3 ratio large screen, the unfolded visual experience is similar to a small iPad. The thickness of the unfolded body is about 4.5mm, and it adopts a combination of titanium metal frame, liquid metal hinge and ultra-thin glass, to control the overall weight of the device and the performance of inner screen creases as much as possible. In terms of core configuration, this device will also be equipped with the A20 Pro chip and 12GB of memory, and pre-installed with iOS 27 system. According to current information, iOS 27 has completed the underlying preset for large-screen interactive experience in advance, and with the high adaptation enthusiasm of the majority of developers for the system, this may become one of the core competitive advantages of the foldable iPhone.

Of course, as iPhone's first foldable product, it is not without shortcomings. According to current information, this product has two limitations: first, restricted by the body and structure, it is rumored that it will not be equipped with Face ID facial recognition, and will instead use side-integrated Touch ID fingerprint unlock; second, in terms of imaging configuration, the iPhone Ultra may only adopt dual 48-megapixel main rear cameras and an ultra-wide-angle lens, without a telephoto lens. These two configurations may become competitive disadvantages for this iPhone foldable device.

Of course, there is no perfect product in the world, and users will ultimately choose products based on their own needs, so the core factor is whether the innovation of iPhone Ultra for users can cover these shortcomings.

Of course, whether for the iPhone 18 Pro series or the iPhone foldable product, compared with the degree of innovation, what consumers are most concerned about this year may be the product price.

Under the reality of skyrocketing prices of upstream components represented by memory chips, the industry generally expects that the price of Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series will also rise this year. But as for the range of price increase, leaks say Apple is still discussing, and it is likely to see a moderate increase in the end!

I personally tend to think that Apple will not raise the price of iPhone sharply, and the strategy it may adopt is that the 256G entry version will not increase in price, while the higher capacity versions will see price increases.

The Apple Watch series and AirPods will also welcome updates

Apart from the core iPhone product line, the Apple Watch family will also welcome the Apple Watch Series 12, the Ultra iteration version and the update of the SE series.

According to leaked information: Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra will be equipped with a new generation of S-series processors in hardware, continuously improving the local Siri processing capability and optimizing gesture interaction. The health monitoring function will still be the core of Apple Watch, which may add a new blood pressure reminder function, and upgrade the battery life, performance and connection capability. At the same time, the ceramic material version may also return, with a positioning higher than the titanium metal version!

The Ultra version will further continue its outdoor hardcore positioning, enhancing long battery life, high-brightness screen and satellite communication functions; the SE series will further complete its functions, providing more comprehensive health monitoring at an affordable price, with a slight improvement in the overall battery life to ease the power anxiety under high-frequency use.

On the audio product line, AirPods 5 is rumored to debut at the same time, which is divided into standard version and active noise cancellation version. It is rumored that the AirPods equipped with a camera will not appear at this launch event. It is reported that the new earphones are equipped with H3 audio chip, which realizes lower audio delay and higher resolution. Meanwhile, the battery life performance may also be further upgraded — some leaks say the single-charge battery life may be increased from 5 hours to 8 hours, and the total battery life with the charging case exceeds 40 hours.

Closing remarks

Looking at the new products that may appear at Apple's autumn launch event from the current leaks, it is not difficult to find that Apple's product rhythm this year combines breakthrough and improvement: on the one hand, it polishes the detailed experience of the mature Pro product line, on the other hand, it takes the major form change of foldable screen to pursue further breakthroughs in the ultra-high-end market.

Of course, whether Apple's current product lineup adjustment can satisfy users, and whether its core product price adjustment will be moderate or drastic, we will wait and see on September 10!

This article is from the WeChat official account "Lin Zhang", author: Lin Zhang, published with authorization from 36Kr.