Hey,
Itās Pete Matheson with a new issue of Experiments in Progress.
Apple just had its one of the biggest launch event in years.
New iPhones. A first-ever foldable. New watches. New AirPods. And a brand new CEO fronting the whole thing for the first time.
My honest take on everything Apple just announced
š± iPhone Duo: the most interesting phone Apple's made in years
The iPhone Duo ā Apple's first foldable ā is the headline, and it deserves to be.
Apple's done something a lot of foldable makers still haven't cracked: a genuinely minimal crease.
They're using a nano-texture coating on the 7.6-inch inner display ā the same matte, non-reflective finish from their Pro displays ā which doesn't get rid of the crease so much as make it invisible. No shine catching on the hinge, so your eye just doesn't find it.
Source: PCMag
Beyond that:
The animation ā the frosted-glass transition when you open and close it ā is genuinely one of the nicer software touches I've seen on an iPhone in a while
UI moved to the right-hand side of the inner display, freeing up the left for one-handed use
Cameras are properly good for a foldable ā 48MP main and ultra-wide, 12MP 2x telephoto, 4K/120 video ā which matters because camera compromise is usually the first thing you notice on a fold
Battery life is the best I've seen on a foldable: up to 44 hours of video on the outer screen, 31 hours using the inner display
The one letdown: the inner FaceTime camera isn't great. It's tucked under the display so it doesn't interrupt the screen, but that comes at a real image quality cost
š± iPhone 18 Pro & Pro Max: the safe, unexciting upgrade
The one genuinely new thing is a variable-aperture main camera, moving between Ę/1.48 and Ę/4 depending on the shot, which Apple says gives around 50% better low-light performance. There's also the new A20 Pro chip, Apple's first on a 2nm process.
Source: Macworld
iPhone 18 Pro: 6.3-inch display, from $1,199
iPhone 18 Pro Max: 6.9-inch display, best battery life of the two, from $1,299
Here's the interesting bit: leaks put the Pro Max's battery at over 5,400mAh ā bigger than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's 5,000mAh. Apple's been playing catch-up on raw battery capacity for years. This might be the first time they've actually pulled ahead.
ā Apple Watch Series 12 & Ultra 4: one feature, one big privacy question
Minor spec bumps again this year. But one new feature is worth talking about: Live Rewind.
Double-press the Digital Crown, and it shows you a text transcript of the last 15 seconds of speech. Handy for catching what a waiter just said, or something you half-missed in conversation.
Here's the catch: it needs an always-on microphone listening in the background to work. And that's where it gets a bit uncomfortable.
Source: Macworld
What Apple says about it:
Opt-in ā nothing runs unless you turn it on
Nothing is recorded or stored
Processed entirely on-device, in a secure part of the chip
I believe them on the mechanics. I'm just not sure "always listening, just in case" is a feature everyone actually wants on their wrist.
There's also Siri Recap ā same idea, bigger scope. It can summarise your conversations throughout the day. Also opt-in, also on-device. Same underlying question, though.
Both features land in beta later this year, not at launch.
One more thing: Ultra 4's battery is a genuinely solid upgrade ā up to 50 hours of normal use, 84 hours in Low Power Mode.
š§ AirPods 5: small update, one welcome change
The AirPods 5 are a minor refresh.
But one change matters: ANC is now included by default, not an optional extra like last year.
Beyond that:
Wireless charging case ā now the upgrade option
Swappable stems add touch controls ā something that used to only separate the Pro line from the regular ones
Source: CNET
š New era: Tim Cook's stepped down
Worth flagging: this was the first keynote fronted by John Ternus, Apple's new CEO, following Tim Cook's departure.
The whole presentation felt noticeably more technical and less polished-and-scripted than usual ā a different energy for a new era of Apple.
ā” What I'm actually buying
The iPhone Duo ā no contest. The crease fix sold me. The battery life sealed it.
Here's the plan:
Main phone: iPhone Duo
Side phone, camera only: a decent Android flagship, purely for the camera
Skipping: the 18 Pro and Pro Max ā this year, at least
That said, I'm not skipping them out of disinterest. I'm genuinely curious how the Pro Max's battery stacks up against the Galaxy S26 Ultra ā and the S27 Ultra, once that lands early next year.
If Apple's really cracked 5,400mAh+ on the Pro Max, that's Apple beating Samsung at its own game. That alone might be worth revisiting next year.
What's your take on the Dark Cherry iPhone 18 Pro?
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