#iPhone

Apple has opened a "get ready" step for the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, letting buyers prepare their order before pre-orders go live on Friday, October 16. According to a MacRumors report published on October 15, customers have until 9 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday to complete the step in the Apple Store app or on Apple's online store.

Apple says completing the preparation lets shoppers check out with a single click once ordering begins. In practice, that means choosing a configuration and confirming details such as payment and delivery in advance, so the final purchase takes a tap rather than a full checkout. Apple has used similar preparation tools ahead of other high-demand launches, where stock and delivery slots can move quickly.

On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs stood on the stage at Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco and introduced three products in one: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a mobile phone and an internet communicator. The audience understood the punchline only when he explained that these were not three devices but one, and that it was called iPhone.

The device had no physical keyboard and relied on a multi-touch screen, a technology that let users pinch, scroll and tap with their fingers rather than with a stylus. Apple also showed a version of its Safari browser that displayed full web pages instead of the cut-down mobile pages common on phones of the day. The operating system was a stripped-down relative of Mac OS X.

Apple has acknowledged that some iPhone 18 Pro Max owners on AT&T have lost cellular service, which blocks calls, texts and mobile data. MacRumors reports that thousands of owners described the problem on Apple's Support Community and elsewhere.

In a statement, Apple said the issue affects "a small number" of iPhone 18 Pro Max users on the AT&T network. It said iOS 27.0.1 and an AT&T carrier settings update are intended to prevent it from happening in the first place.

For phones already affected, a software fix does not work. Apple says they must be replaced. Owners can contact Apple Support or AT&T, or visit an Apple Store or AT&T location. MacRumors says Apple Stores appear likely to replace affected units at no charge.

Face ID debuted with the iPhone X in 2017 and replaced Touch ID on most iPhones. It relies on a set of sensors collectively called the TrueDepth camera system, housed in the notch or Dynamic Island area.

When you glance at your phone, a flood illuminator sends out infrared light so the system can detect a face even in darkness. A dot projector then casts a pattern of more than 30,000 invisible infrared dots onto the face, and an infrared camera captures how that pattern is distorted. The distortion encodes the three-dimensional shape of your features.

The original iPhone of 2007 had a 2-megapixel rear camera with fixed focus, no flash and no video recording. It was serviceable for casual snaps and little more.

Progress came in steps. The iPhone 3GS added autofocus and video in 2009. The iPhone 4 in 2010 brought a 5-megapixel sensor, an LED flash and a front camera for FaceTime. The iPhone 5s introduced a two-tone flash in 2013, and the iPhone 6 Plus offered optical image stabilization in 2014.

In 2016 the iPhone 7 Plus added a second, telephoto lens, which allowed optical zoom and a software-driven Portrait mode that blurred backgrounds. The iPhone X in 2017 added Portrait Lighting effects, and the TrueDepth camera brought portrait shots to the front.

Apple has introduced the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone. Pre-orders begin on Friday, October 16 at 5 a.m. Pacific time, and the phone goes on sale on October 23 in the United States and more than 70 other countries and regions. Another 28 markets follow on October 30.

U.S. pricing starts at $1,999 for 256GB, then $2,199 for 512GB, $2,599 for 1TB and $3,199 for 2TB. It comes in Star White and Night Sky.

The Duo uses a book-style design. It has a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner display, and MacRumors reports a matte nano-texture finish intended to cut glare and make the crease less visible. The rear cameras are a 48-megapixel main and a 48-megapixel ultra wide, with a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera on the outer display.

Apple has priced the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299 in the United States. Both figures are $100 higher than the corresponding iPhone 17 models. Each model starts with 256GB of storage.

For the first time the Pro line offers a 2TB tier, above the 1TB ceiling of previous generations. A separate event recap reports that the extra cost of the 1TB option pushes the total price increase over last year to $300.

On the hardware side, MacRumors' event coverage says the phones use a new A20 Pro chip, described there as Apple's first 2-nanometer smartphone processor.

Before Lightning, iPhones used a wide 30-pin dock connector that dated to the iPod. Apple replaced it with the smaller, reversible Lightning connector with the iPhone 5 in 2012. Lightning stayed on the iPhone for 11 years.

USB-C, meanwhile, spread across laptops, tablets and Android phones. Apple had already moved the Mac and most iPads to the port, which left the iPhone as the notable holdout.

The final push came from regulation. In 2022 the European Union adopted rules requiring a common charging port for many portable electronics sold in the bloc, which applied to phones from December 28, 2024. Apple said it would comply, and it introduced USB-C on the iPhone 15 family in September 2023.

Apple sent out invitations on August 26 for its September event, scheduled for Wednesday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific time. The tagline on the invitation was "Surprise and shine."

Ahead of the event, 9to5Mac summarised what was widely expected. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max were reported to keep the size and basic design of their predecessors, with changes aimed at the display, camera and connectivity. Rumored details included a variable-aperture main camera, a smaller Dynamic Island and Apple's C2 modem.