Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event might be the most anticipated iPhone keynote in 10 years. It all kicks off Wednesday morning, and like you, we can’t wait. So join us as we count down the hours and minutes to the big show with all the latest rumors, leaks, and guesses leading up to the big event on Wednesday morning at 10 am PT.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: How to watch
You can watch the full keynote right here using the embedded YouTube link below or on Apple.com on your iPhone or Mac. The “Watch Now” tab in the TV app on the Apple TV will also show the stream live.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: What we expect
Apple might have dubbed this the “Surprise” event, but we have a pretty good idea what Apple is going to announce Wednesday morning. Here’s what we expect to see:
iPhone Ultra: Apple is almost certain to launch its first folding phone this week. We’re expecting a passport-style design with a 5.5-inch cover display and a near-8-inch inner display when opened.
iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max: We expect a similar design with a faster chip and a better camera system, possibly including a variable-aperture lens for the first time.
Apple Watch Series 12: The latest Apple Watch update will reportedly be a minor refresh with a new chip, all-day heart-rate tracking, and maybe the return of a ceramic finish.
Apple Watch Ultra 4: Like the Series 12, the Ultra 4 is expected to be a minor refresh largely focused on a new chip tuned for Siri AI.
AirPods 5: Apple is rumored to be launching a new pair of low-end AirPods, but we don’t know much about them.
Smart home: It’s less likely that Apple’s rumored smart-home hub arrives at this event, but we could see an updated Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: Live blog
Folding iPhone color options will be unique
Our sources report that Apple will offer the iPhone Ultra in just two colors for its debut. The first is silver, which we expect from a new iPhone, but the other is a little different: Dark Blue. Apple regularly offers its iPhones in various shades of blue, of course, but it’s rare for a brand new model to arrive in anything other than black and white.
No time for Tim
According to Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter, Tim Cook won’t make an appearance in this year’s keynote. While he reports that he will be at Apple Park for the event, Cook has officially and completely handed the reins to Ternus, who will be the face of the Surprise and Shine event.
Surprise and Shine iPhone event: Podcast preview
On the newest Macworld Podcast, Michael Simon and Jason Cross talk about what to expect at Apple’s Surprise and Shine iPhone event. What iPhones will Apple release? How will John Ternus do in his first keynote as Apple CEO? And will there be a “One more thing”? Get ready for the event by tuning in to the podcast.
Cases, cases everywhere
The iPhone Ultra doesn’t exist yet, but you can find cases all over social media. It’s worth noting that case manufacturers don’t get information from Apple ahead of events, but they pay very close attention to the rumors and some probably have their own sources in the supply chain. Are they real? We’ll know in just a couple days.
Surprise? What surprise?
Apple has given this week’s showcase the tagline “Surprise and Shine.” But what’s the big surprise? Apple’s September events are among its most predictable, almost always revolving around new iPhones and new Apple Watches, and sometimes new AirPods.
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- September 2021: iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads
Is John Ternus going to spring a surprise in 2026? After asking this question on TikTok we’re unconvinced by the idea of an Apple alarm clock (sorry), but another reader’s proposal of a “tabletop Pixar light robot personal assistant with Siri” is a little more plausible. That sounds a lot like the rumored smart-home hub which Apple has been working on for years, and could make an appearance this week. It could even turn up as One More Thing at the end and make for a fun encore.
But ultimately the most likely outcome is that, as far as Apple is concerned, the widely expected foldable iPhone counts as the surprise. To those of us who live in the Apple rumor bubble the iPhone Ultra (or iPhone Fold) now looks like virtually a sure thing for Wednesday’s presentation, but to the wider community it’s far less well known. And officially, of course, it doesn’t even exist. Surprise!
We (probably) know the new colors
Apple loves to launch at least one new color for each iPhone generation. Partly this allows the company to prune the colors which sold poorly the year before and experiment with alternatives, but the main advantage is that it allows customers to show off the fact they’ve got a new phone, even if the design is otherwise the same. Those who bought the iPhone 17 Pro in Cosmic Orange last year got some major bragging rights.
Perhaps surprisingly, the wildly popular Cosmic Orange is expected to be dropped from the range this year. The two new finishes are a little less garish: a dark-red/burgundy wine color, expected to be branded as Dark Cherry, and a light blue. Macworld exclusively revealed these colors in the summer.
If you’d like to see more of the new finishes, take a look at this leaked video, which appears to show demo models of the iPhone 18 Pro (in blue) and 18 Pro Max (in Dark Cherry).
iPhone pre-orders might start on Saturday
Generally, Apple opens up pre-orders for all the new iPhones and Apple Watches on the Friday following the Apple event at 5am PT. However, with 9/11 falling on Friday this year, it’s likely that Apple will delay the launch one day out of respect for the anniversary. Pre-orders instead are expected to begin on Saturday at midnight PT.
No iPhone 18 this week
In case you haven’t been following the rumors, Apple isn’t expected to launch a new iPhone 18 this week. That means the iPhone 17 will be on shelves alongside the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus for another six months. This would be the first time (other than the budget SE and e models) that Apple has spilt the new iPhones into separate launches and could create some serious FOMO for annual updaters.
Read our 100% real keynote leak*
Just like last year, we’ve gotten our hands on Apple’s iPhone event keynote script ahead of the big reveal, and we’re sharing it all with you: the bad jokes, clever marketing, outrageous prices, and big surprises. Read it all before it happens.
*May not be real
Follow along with all the latest updates
Welcome to the Surprise and Shine live blog! You don’t need to wait till Wednesday to get up to speed on everything Apple’s releasing. Over the next two days, we’ll share rumors, features, roundups, thoughts, reader comments, and lots more. Stay right here for everything you need to know.
