Apple’s “Surprise and shine” keynote covered the iPhone 18 Pro’s A20 Pro chip, variable-aperture camera and longer battery life at length. Several details that matter to buyers sit in the press release instead, or are missing from it altogether.
Here are seven of them, from a $100 price rise to a storage tier Apple has not priced.
- The iPhone 18 Pro costs $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro
- It is eSIM-only in 12 countries and territories
- Siri AI is a beta, and English-only until October
- 20 countries wait until September 25
- The iPhone Duo does not arrive until October
- There is no standard iPhone 18, and no new Macs
- Apple has not said what the 2TB tier costs
The $100 price rise and the unpriced 2TB tier
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, both with 256GB, which is $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro at $1,099 and the 17 Pro Max at $1,199. Apple’s release lists the monthly prices, $49.95 and $54.12 over 24 months, without mentioning the increase, which was in line with pre-event price estimates.
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Storage now tops out at 2TB for the first time, above 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. Apple has not published prices for any tier beyond the base model, so the cost of 2TB stays unknown until pre-orders open on Saturday, September 12, at 5 a.m. PT.
eSIM-only in 12 places, and a second wave on September 25
There is no SIM tray in Bahrain, Canada, Guam, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Apple’s headline battery figures, 36 hours of video for the Pro and 45 for the Pro Max, apply to those eSIM-only models.
The September 18 launch covers more than 65 countries and regions. A further 20 countries get the phones on Friday, September 25, and Apple has not listed which ones.
| Topic | What Apple confirmed | What Apple has not said |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,199 and $1,299 for 256GB | Prices for 512GB, 1TB and 2TB |
| Availability | 65-plus countries on September 18 | Which 20 countries follow on September 25 |
| Siri AI | Beta, English, with iOS 27 on September 14 | Which iPhones qualify, or when it leaves beta |
| iPhone Duo | About $2,000 and October, per the keynote | Exact price, date or full specifications |
| Standard iPhone 18 | Not announced | When it arrives; reports point to spring 2027 |
Siri AI beta, iPhone Duo timing and the missing products
Siri AI arrives with iOS 27 on Monday, September 14, but as a beta and only in English. French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish follow in October, and hands-free Siri AI on AirPods 5 carries the same iOS 27 requirement plus an Apple Intelligence iPhone.
The iPhone Duo, according to the keynote, starts at about $2,000 and ships in October, and Apple has not published a press release for it. That is later than the September 18 date for the iPhone 18 Pro, and our iPhone Duo price rumor round-up shows how the estimate landed.
Finally, there was no standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18e or iPhone Air 2, with reports pointing to spring 2027, and no new Macs or Apple Watch SE.
Pre-orders open Saturday at 5 a.m. PT, and the first phones arrive on September 18. Follow everything else from today in our Apple event live blog.
