Apple News 24 Hours

Last updated: September 8, 2026, 3:00 PM ET

Apple's Major Event Preview

Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event is set for tomorrow, and expectations are running high for a lineup that could include six to nine new products. The centerpiece is the iPhone Ultra, Apple's first foldable device, which has reportedly been a decade-long passion project of outgoing CEO Tim Cook. A new report from Bloomberg details how Cook personally championed the foldable for 10 years, pushing through engineering challenges that included the device's hinge design and display durability. The foldable was originally planned to launch at $1,999, but the recent memory and flash storage crisis drove costs significantly higher, with the device now expected to reach around five figures with storage upgrades. Counterpoint Research predicts that global foldable phone shipments will surpass 100 million units by the end of this year, with Apple's entry into the category expected to make it a dominant player within two years.

There is one potential snag for international buyers: The foldable may launch later in mainland China than in other markets. An oft-reliable Chinese leaker on Weibo claims that the iPhone Ultra could face delays in China — a hold-up reportedly tied to eSIM issues. On the security front, code references found in the iOS 27 beta initially seemed to confirm that the Ultra will ship with Touch ID instead of Face ID — a necessity given the foldable's thin chassis. However, a closer look suggests these references aren't definitive, as the strings may be left over from previous releases.

Apple Watch and Mac Updates

New Apple Watch models will be unveiled tomorrow alongside the iPhone. A last-minute leak from watch OS 27 code reveals four new features for Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series, with the code uncovered in the latest beta ahead of the launch. Among the new capabilities are a dedicated "Lifeguard" app for water safety and a new "Car Play" companion feature. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 will launch this week, marking a notable upgrade cycle for Apple's wearable lineup.

Customers in the U.K. will get access to this new hardware via a newly redesigned Apple Lakeside store in Essex, which reopens on Sept. 12. That's not to be confused with the recent CBS legal drama "Cupertino", which, despite its name, has been called out for failing to depict the Apple home region's actual landmarks or demographics.

Apple's "Readiness" App and Health Acquisitions

Apple will also introduce an all-new "Readiness" app today during its Surprise and Shine event. That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who expects the app to be announced alongside a new iPhone. The app's purpose is to offer personalized health and wellness recommendations based on data pulled from the Apple Watch, such as body battery metrics and normal heart-rate data.

The company continues to push deeper into health tech with a recent acquisition of Sonera, a California startup that produces non-invasive brain-reading wearable tech. The tech looks futuristic, able to measure neural signals from the brain for uses like muscle monitoring, and has been quietly disclosed through EU filings. The Sonera acquisition was approved by Apple earlier this year, according to a notice published today on the European Commission's website. A separate report from Mac Rumors describes the company's technology as breakthrough sensing technology useful for the Apple Watch's next chapter.

Camera and Pro Features in iOS 27

A code dive into the Camera app in the latest iOS 27 beta indicates the release will come with four pro photography features. This includes in-app Pro RAW conversion, scaled subject-specific editing modes, a new Pro color grading mode, and redesigned camera controls that allow for quicker adjustments without taking the eye away from the viewfinder. This likely will be introduced as part of the iPhone series refresh announced at today's event.

Chrome Release Cycle Change

Aside from Apple's announcement wave, there's notable news from the browser space. Google Chrome is now operating on a two-week release cycle, stepping updates for the browser from every four weeks to a more rapid cadence. The rapid release pattern, which was previewed earlier this year, debuts with version 153 and is part of an effort to compete with new security browser features from rivals like Firefox and Safari. This may put pressure on Web Kit to improve, and Apple is inviting developer input for the next interop browser standards via Interop 2027.

Industrial News: Legal & Customer Support

Trinami X, a subsidiary of German chemical giant BASF, is suing Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas over the alleged violation of seven patents involving face recognition, specifically related to Face ID. Trinami X claims Apple's Face ID implementation infringes on its patents for depth sensing and facial recognition technologies, following an earlier skirmish. Apple has not yet publicly responded to the allegations contained in the recent complaint, filed within the last 24 hours.

Mac and Apple Silicon Deals

Amazon has also discounted the new M5 Max Mac Studio by $50 and has the Mac mini deals in a fire sale. The outlet is also offering up to $150 off the MacBook Air M5 if you buy this week, making the 15-inch model $1,349 — the lowest price of the season. For the first time, the MacBook Air is seeing $150 off, while the new Mac Studio gets its first price-drop ahead of the release. In terms of the 2026 model, the Mac Mini earned a new M6 chip and a design overhaul, so should you buy one? Also compare it with the previous M4 style model.

Home Accessories and Peripherals

A different twist today: OWC's new Thunderbolt 5 dock plugs into two HDMI displays simultaneously without needing adapters, priced at $350 and also providing 140W charging for a compatible MacBook. Another hardware maker, Logitech, today launched its MX Keypad for $99, which looks like it's made for coding and AI workflows to easily handle prompts, macros, and agentic programming.

Apple's Environment & Subscriptions

On the software side, Apple Arcade is having five new games arrive in October: Pusheen's Place, River City Survivors, Terraria+ to name a few, plus the additions of horror-no-text Smile. The cat-themed Pusheen's Place is the first officially licensed game for the internet-famous cat character, and Terraria+ has its own popular mods. Today, Apple officially announced the October Arcade launch plus 4 more games. In the kingdom of television, "Slow Horses" season 6 has received the first critical reaction, with some early reviews saying it's "best yet" – and the season premiere of Slow Horses returns to Apple TV+ next week. Yet a broader TV pickup news is the BBC comedy "Small Prophets" getting renewed for season 2 following an Apple TV deal with the broadcaster, the show also moving from BBC Two to BBC One; Small Prophets season 2 apparently making the jump.

Security Corner

A note for the enterprise: a 9to5Mac story from Apple @ Work points out that printers are the least secure piece of equipment in the average enterprise environment, and it suggests all organizations modernize by laying on stronger identity and access management measures around the printing fleet.

Streaming & Overtime

Also in the world of podcasting, the 9to5Mac Overtime 080 episode has Fernando connecting from IFA in Berlin to discuss six new Apple products with a deep-dive on the iPhone, including the iPhone 18 Pro and everything else due Wednesday.

Peripheral Items

WhatsApp is connecting soon to third-party AI agents, letting users chat with up to five AI assistants and give them tasks to perform on their behalf. It's only a week away for a precursor to a new hardware lifecycle.

If the listener might want to know what the best Mac in the mini line is, the Mac Mini was just updated with the M6 — search our detailed Mac mini M6 vs 2024 comparison to see whether the new one is likely to be worth the switch.

Air Pods Turn 10

And we can't retire without one milestone: Air Pods were unveiled on September 7, 2016 — Apple's iconic wireless headphones are now a decade old. In 2026 they remain the gold standard of all things, multigenerational.