Apple September 2026 Event: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, Apple Watch 12, AirPods 5, and the chargers they deserve
Apple's September event is done and the first pre-orders are in. A 2nm iPhone 18 Pro, the first folding iPhone, two new Apple Watches and AirPods 5. Here is what was announced, when you can get it, and the one thing every one of these devices has in common: it deserves better than the charger in your drawer.
Why this matters for your charger. These are the most expensive iPhones Apple has ever sold, and none of them ship with a wall charger. The iPhone 18 Pro is built for 60W wired charging. The Duo needs a 60W charger to hit its fastest speed. A Qi2 charger is what gives you magnetic, aligned wireless charging on all of them. Pair a four-figure phone with a five-euro charger and you get slow charging, heat and a battery that ages faster than it should. The charger is part of the purchase. Choose it with the same care.
iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max
Pre-orders open now. Available Friday 18 September.
The headline is the A20 Pro, the first smartphone chip built on a 2nm process, paired with Apple's new C2 modem. Both cameras gain a variable aperture, with manual aperture and shutter control for people who want to shoot like they mean it. The Pro Max claims up to 45 hours of video playback, the longest battery Apple has ever put in a phone. Four new colours, and in several countries the Pro line goes eSIM only. Pricing starts higher than last year, and the iPhone 17 Pro has been retired to make room.
A bigger battery takes longer to fill, which is exactly why Apple raised the ceiling to 60W wired. To use it you need a charger and a cable rated for it. Our 65W dual USB-C charger fast charges the 18 Pro from one port and still has a second port for your Watch or AirPods. On the desk, the X-Station Pro charges the phone, the Watch and the AirPods case in one place, over Qi2.
iPhone Duo
Pre-orders open Friday 16 October. Available Friday 23 October.
Apple's first folding iPhone. Thinner than the iPhone Air when it is open, IP68 rated including dust, and shipping with iOS 27.1 from day one. Battery life depends on which screen you are using, up to 31 hours of video on the inner display and 44 on the outer. It starts at 256GB, comes in two colours, and supports the USB-C Apple Pencil on the inner display. Apple is selling a custom case and a folio with a kickstand alongside it.
Charging is where the Duo gets interesting for us. It has MagSafe built in, with wireless charging at up to 25W over MagSafe and 25W over Qi2 with third-party accessories, the same ceiling as the 18 Pro. So every Qi2 product on this page already works with it: the X-Station Pro on the desk, the Qi2 Ultrathin power bank in the pocket. Wired, it takes the same 60W charger as the Pro and reaches 50% in about 20 minutes. And because a folding phone is at its best standing open, the X Spin Stand, shown at IFA Berlin last week, props the Duo by its edge, open or closed, without depending on the magnets at all.
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4
Pre-orders open now. Available Friday 18 September.
Series 12 gets the S11 chip, upgraded health sensors, new finishes including ceramic, eight new health and fitness features and three Audio Intelligence features. Ultra 4 goes to two full days of battery, up to 50 hours of normal use. Both charge faster than before: fifteen minutes on the charger adds up to 12 hours on Series 12 and up to 18 hours on Ultra 4.
Fast charging on a Watch only works if the puck gets enough power. On the desk, the X-Station Pro has a dedicated Watch charger built in, so the phone and the Watch fill up together. On the road, the X-Cable Watch is one USB-C cable with a magnetic Watch puck moulded inline, so you carry one lead instead of two and still charge at up to 60W. It is on pre-order now and ships in October.
AirPods 5
Pre-orders open now. Available Friday 18 September.
Active noise cancellation comes as standard on the base AirPods 5, with better sound across the board. The wireless charging case moves to the higher of the two models, and it charges from an Apple Watch puck, any Qi pad or USB-C. Five hours of playback with noise cancelling on, 22 hours with the case.
Because the AirPods 5 case charges from a Watch puck, the X-Cable Watch tops it up on the road with the same cable you use for your Watch. At home, the AirPods spot on the X-Station Pro is where the case lives.
The short version
New iPhone, Pro or Duo: get a 60W-capable charger and cable, and a Qi2 stand for the desk. New Watch or AirPods: make sure your desk charger has a Watch puck built in. Everything above that is available today ships from Luxembourg. The X-Cable Watch is on pre-order and ships in October. The X Spin Stand was shown at IFA Berlin and will be on the store when it is ready.
Apple, iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, MagSafe and Apple Pencil are trademarks of Apple Inc. XtremeMac is an independent brand and is not affiliated with Apple. Device details, dates and battery figures are as announced by Apple on 9 September 2026 and may vary by country. Charging speeds depend on the device, cable and charger used. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo shown are Apple Inc. images, used for news coverage of the announcement and composited into our desk scenes. The opening scene is an illustration; the devices shown in it are generic.
