iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Ultra and more: what to expect at Apple's September event - tech-ish

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

Apple’s biggest event of the year is about four weeks away, and for the first time the company has dropped a small hint itself. Apple has opened applications for US retail employees to work at the event, and told them it happens in the first half of September. That is the only thing close to official. Everything else below comes from leaks and reporting, and Apple has confirmed none of it.

The date most reporters expect is Wednesday, 9 September. The reasoning is simple. Monday, 7 September is Labor Day in the US, Apple usually gives media a day to travel, and 9to5Mac notes Apple has sent its iPhone event invitation exactly 14 days before the event for four years running. If that pattern holds, the invitation lands on Wednesday, 26 August, and that is when the guessing ends. If the event is on 9 September, pre-orders would likely open on Friday, 11 September, with phones in stores on Friday, 18 September.

Here is what all the reporting says is coming.

iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max

The safest bet on the list. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and the supply chain press all point to the two Pro phones headlining the event – no affordable iPhones this year. The design is expected to stay close to the iPhone 17 Pro, with a smaller Dynamic Island cut-out and a new Dark Cherry colour. Inside, reports say a A20 Pro chip built on a 2-nanometre process, a wide camera with a variable aperture, and Apple’s own C2 modem. One caveat on the modem: leaked component information suggests US models may keep Qualcomm hardware because of mmWave 5G support, with Apple’s chip going into international units.

Some of these matches the alleged 630GB Tata Electronics leak we covered in July, which showed the cherry finish, the smaller Dynamic Island and a bigger vapour chamber for cooling.

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Prices are expected to rise. Gurman has forecast increases of $100 to $200, and Jeff Pu of GF Securities told clients the jump could reach $250 to $300. Nobody outside Apple knows the number. The current models start at $1,099 and $1,199 in the US.

There is no standard iPhone 18 at this event. Apple is expected to hold the iPhone 18, the cheaper 18e and a second iPhone Air until around March 2027, a split we explained earlier this month along with what it means for Kenyan reseller prices.

iPhone Ultra, the foldable

Apple’s first foldable is expected on the same stage, and multiple leakers say it will be called the iPhone Ultra rather than iPhone Fold. We broke down the naming and the dummy-model leaks in April. The short version: a book-style foldable, wider than tall, with an inner screen of around 7.8 inches at an iPad-like 4:3 shape and a cover screen of around 5.5 inches. Reports say it drops Face ID for a Touch ID power button, and drops the telephoto camera because of space.

Gurman says the price will cross $2,000 in the US. Kuo puts it between $2,000 and $2,500. At 129.5 shillings to the dollar, $2,000 is about KES 259,000 before shipping, duty and reseller margin, so expect the real Kenyan figure to sit well above KES 300,000 at launch. Supply is another open question. Gurman says the foldable is on track but stock may be thin at first, and a Barclays analyst has suggested it could be announced in September and ship later, possibly as late as December.

Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4

Both watches are in late-stage testing, per Gurman, and he expects no major design changes. The main upgrade is a new S-series chip. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 shipped with the same S10-generation silicon as the models before them, so this would be the first real Apple Watch performance bump in years. DigiTimes has claimed a major Ultra 4 redesign, but Gurman has not backed that, so treat it as thin. There is no new Apple Watch SE this year, again per Gurman.

The Siri-dependent home devices

This is the shakiest section of the lineup. Apple has been sitting on a smart display hub, widely called the HomePad, a new Apple TV and a HomePod mini 2, all reportedly finished as hardware but waiting on the rebuilt Siri. Gurman reported the HomePad was delayed from spring 2026 for exactly that reason. Apple’s Siri delay is the same one that cost it a class-action settlement over iPhone 16 marketing.

MacRumors lists the expected specs: an Apple TV with the A17 Pro chip and Wi-Fi 7, and a HomePod mini with a newer chip, Wi-Fi 7, better sound and possibly new colours. 9to5Mac adds a possible Apple security camera. Whether any of this appears in September depends on whether the new Siri is ready to demo. None of it is guaranteed a slot.

What to watch

If Apple’s four-year pattern holds, the event invitation arrives on 26 August, and the invitation will confirm the real date. And when the phones do launch, remember Apple sells nothing directly in Kenya. The dollar prices on stage are a starting point; what you pay here is set by importers and resellers, and it falls fastest in the two to three months after launch.

Reporting originally appeared via Tech-ish Kenya. Read the full source for additional context.