Apple’s first foldable iPhone got most of the attention at this week’s event, but after spending some time with everything Apple announced, a few of the other updates stood out to me too.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max get a variable aperture camera that can physically adjust how much light reaches the sensor. Apple is also promising better battery life and improved cooling, which should help the phones maintain performance when you’re pushing them hard.
There are four colors this year: black, silver, Glacier and Burgundy. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,200 and the Pro Max at $1,300, both $100 more than last year. They arrive September 18.
Apple Watch Series 12 might have the more interesting changes. A redesigned back now measures your heart rate every five seconds, 60 times more often than before. That extra data powers new metrics including better heart rate variability and a readiness score that takes into account sleep, fitness and other vitals.
But the feature everyone will probably be talking about is Live Rewind.
If you miss something someone just said, double-press the Digital Crown and the Watch can show you a transcript of the previous 15 seconds. There’s also an option that can listen throughout the day and create summaries of conversations so you can remember things later.
That obviously raises some privacy questions. Apple says audio isn’t recorded or stored and the processing happens privately on the Watch. Still, I suspect people are going to have opinions about a smartwatch that can listen to conversations throughout the day.
Finally, AirPods 5 now include active noise cancellation as standard. I tried it at Apple Park and was impressed by how much outside sound they blocked considering these aren’t fully sealed earbuds.
AirPods 5 start at $129. For $149, you get a wireless charging case and volume controls directly on the AirPods.
The foldable iPhone may have stolen the show, but these are the Apple products most people are actually going to buy.
