This was expected to be a momentous year for the iPhone, and for once, reality lived up to the hype. The iPhone Duo is a wonder of engineering and industrial design, and offers hope that foldable phones can finally enter the mainstream. It’s fun, a little flawed, but totally different from everything Apple has done previously, and exactly what fans have been crying out for the company to do: take a risk.
Oh, and there’s also a new set of Pro-branded iPhones with minor iterative upgrades on the previous generation. Obviously nobody’s excited about them, right?
But if that’s the case, what was going on at Apple Stores last Friday? As the software designer Parker Ortolani reported on Twitter/X, both sides of the plaza at New York’s Fifth Avenue were packed that day as customers lined up for the new products. There were similar crowds reported at Covent Garden in London, Orchard Road in Singapore, Queen Street in Brisbane, and numerous other stores around the globe. Customers weren’t shopping for the Duo, to be clear, since you can’t even per-order it until October 16. Rather they were all in line for one of four products: AirPods 5 (implausible), Apple Watch Series 12 or Ultra 4 (unlikely), or the main suspect: the iPhone 18 Pro.
Which is odd, because the 18 Pro is objectively quite a dull phone. For a start, it looks exactly the same as the 17 Pro, and only a few external tweaks separate it from even 2022’s iPhone 14 Pro. There are two new colors, but neither are anywhere near as vibrant as last year’s wildly popular Cosmic Orange (which, for reasons best known to Apple’s crack marketing team, has been killed off). It’s hard to believe customers are going mad for the 18 Pro’s looks.
The flagship new feature is a variable-aperture camera system, something I look forward to testing when I get my 18 Pro, but hardly something which will revolutionize the user experience for the average iPhone buyer. It’s been generations since iPhone Pro cameras were anything less than superb; last year a $60m movie was (mostly) shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Photographic upgrades these days are doomed to be minor and applicable only to a niche group of users in a niche set of circumstances.
Beyond the colors and the cameras, what’s changed? It’s faster, obviously (not that you’ll notice the difference on the apps you’re using). The display is actually very slightly bigger, thanks to the shrinking of the Dynamic Island. The battery life is better, and it’ll charge quicker, too. These are all nice, sensible upgrades, but they’re not exactly thrilling. It’s solid evolution, as compared to the Duo’s revolution.
So why are people inconveniencing themselves around the world simply to be among the first to get hold of a decent but hardly groundbreaking phone? Rationally speaking, joining the line on launch day is a colossal waste of time and effort. Far better to buy in advance and get your new phone delivered to your house. Or wait a couple of weeks, check the reviews before committing to a purchase, and stroll into a half-empty shop at whatever time suits you.
Worse, everyone knows it’s a bad idea, and some of the most annoying people on the internet can’t wait to tell you. The comments on any video or news story covering the launch crowds inevitably fill up with professional parade-rainers rushing to point out that the iSheep are being taken for a ride once again, and what they should actually do is… well, probably buy an Android phone instead. But certainly never take joy in a silly consumer ritual promoted by the wrong corporation.
The naysayers aren’t entirely wrong. But humans aren’t always rational. And I find it oddly reassuring that even after 19 years, the iPhone still holds the power to trigger the same old irrationally human response. September comes round, Apple shows off the new iPhone, and fans flock to the stores to be with their people. New CEO John Ternus, who attended the iPhone 18 Pro’s launch in New York, will have been heartened to see that his company still has a community like no other tech company. It bodes well for his time in charge.
Foundry
Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.
Trending: Top stories
The iPhone 18 Pro is a reward for those who waited.
iOS 27 is here and you shouldn’t wait to grab it. Although Michael Simons complains that iOS 27 is driving his fingers insane.
12 macOS Golden Gate features you need to try right away. And 3 reasons why you’ll love Golden Gate as much as us.
Your iPhone’s USB-C port can do a lot more than fast-charge.
Widow’s Bay sweeps as Apple TV cleans up on Emmy night.
iCloud+ gets an upgrade in 100 countries: Free Apple TV, Arcade, and new Music Select.
Podcast of the week
We’ve just posted episode 1,000 of the Macworld Podcast! We’re taking this opportunity to take a look at some historic Apple releases and how they were covered way back then.
You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.
Reviews corner
- iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone Duo: Go big or go bigger?
The rumor mill
Apple working on Beats-branded game controllers, report confirms.
Apple may revive Xserve for the AI market.
First glimpses of Siri AI in French, Spanish, and other new languages appear.
Apple apparently doesn’t want you hanging out at its stores anymore.
Video of the week
iPhone Duo: Apple nailed it. Or not? For more videos, follow us on TikTok and Instagram.
Software updates, bugs, and problems
More iPhone price hikes loom as Apple reportedly accepts brutal memory deal.
iOS 27 and macOS 27 are loaded with security fixes–here’s why.
Apple outlines steep AI usage costs, and it’s probably going to get worse.
If you multitask on your Apple Watch, don’t upgrade to watchOS 27.
And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters, including our new email from The Macalope–an irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, or X for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.