The MacRumors Show

Photographer and videographer Tyler Stalman joins us on this week's episode of The MacRumors Show to examine whether the iPhone 18 Pro's camera is a compelling reason to upgrade, how its new features affect everyday shooting, and what photographers gain or give up with the iPhone Duo.
The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌'s Main camera combines a new 48-megapixel sensor, a faster variable-aperture lens, and updated image processing. The variable aperture offers settings of ƒ/1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8, and ƒ/4.0. The iPhone 17 Pro has a fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture, so the new lens's widest setting admits about 45% more light on aperture values alone, or just over half an exposure stop. Apple claims around 50% better low-light performance for the complete Main camera system.
At ƒ/2.8 or ƒ/4.0, people standing at different distances in a group shot can remain sharper, provided there is enough light to compensate for the smaller opening. A narrower aperture can also let video use a slower shutter speed in bright conditions, producing more natural motion blur. At ƒ/1.48, the camera has more light for indoor photos and potentially shorter Night mode exposures. The wider opening should also reduce the need for Night mode at all in some situations. The camera defaults to ƒ/1.8, close to the 17 Pro's fixed aperture, but the new sensor and processing still affect photos taken at that setting.
The Pro Controls add manual aperture, shutter speed, and white balance adjustments, plus a live histogram directly in the native Camera app. Users can pin their most-used settings to the top of the viewfinder, which is a major practical improvement for professionals. For example, shutter speed offers control over frozen action or intentional motion blur, while white balance can help stop greenery being made too blue by automatic settings or maintain a consistent look between video clips.
Photographic Styles 3 goes further with the ability to adjust tone and color while preserving skin tones, and new controls add Soft Skin, Glow, and Film textures, with grain that can be paired with any of them. The Film setting aims to reproduce more of an analog photograph's character, including its grain and the glow around bright highlights. The strength of the effects can be adjusted, and the style can be changed after capture. Tyler has tested the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌'s film look against a film SLR loaded with Kodak Portra 400.
Apple Reference Image signs data from the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌'s new Main camera sensor at capture, creating a secure digital negative that can be compared with an editable photo. Meanwhile, iOS 27's Photos tools can change perspective with Reframe, generate scenery beyond a picture's original edges with Extend, or remove larger objects with Clean Up. Reference Image leaves room for creative editing while giving photographers a way to show what the sensor captured, provided they enabled the mode before taking the shot.
Meanwhile, the iPhone Duo's camera system has a 48-megapixel Main camera with a fixed ƒ/1.6 aperture and the same 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera as the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌. Its Main camera shares a 26mm focal length, ƒ/1.6 aperture, and Hybrid Focus Pixels with the iPhone 17e, leading some to question why Apple's most expensive iPhone appears to have camera hardware similar to an entry-level model. That being said, the Duo has sensor-shift optical image stabilization, which the 17e lacks, and Apple has not disclosed enough sensor details to establish that the two phones use identical hardware.
Compared with the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌, the ‌iPhone Duo‌ also lacks a dedicated Telephoto lens, variable aperture, manual Pro Controls, Reference Image, and professional formats including ProRAW and ProRes. The ‌iPhone Duo‌'s folding design makes a different case for its camera. Smart Take can capture a group photo when everyone is posing, Kid Cue plays animations on the outer display to draw a child's attention, and Duo Preview lets subjects see a live view of a photo being taken of them with the rear camera. The phone can also stand partly open for hands-free shots.
Looking to the future, Apple is rumored to be working on a custom image sensor that could arrive as soon as next yearwith the 20th-anniversary iPhone.
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00:00 Intro
01:02 iPhone 18 Pro Camera Upgrades and Variable Aperture
08:42 Is the iPhone 18 Pro Worth Upgrading To?
16:22 New Pro Camera Controls and White Balance
20:20 Photographic Styles and Film Grain
28:35 AI Photo Editing and Reference Images
31:53 Will the iPhone Duo Camera Be Good Enough?
40:40 Can the iPhone Duo Replace an iPad?
43:19 What’s Next for iPhone Cameras?

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we revisit the iPhone Duo debate, early impressions of AirPods 5, and the merits of Apple's latest iPhone and Apple Watch upgrades.
00:00 Intro 
03:41 iPhone Duo Hype and Compromises 
15:26 Will the iPhone Duo Sell Out?
17:45 The iPhone Duo Display Debate 
22:34 Who Is the iPhone Duo Actually For 
28:09 Can the iPhone Duo Replace an iPad?
32:54 AirPods 5 First Impressions 
36:43 Apple Watch Series 12 and the New Health App 
42:25 Is the iPhone 18 Pro Worth Upgrading To?
55:44 Outro
Apple's first foldable iPhone continues to divide opinion, with much of the discussion centering on whether its larger inner display justifies the compromises elsewhere. Combining an iPhone and an iPad-like device has obvious appeal, but its value depends on how often that extra screen space would actually be used.
Watching videos, reading, referencing documents, and working across multiple apps could all make the foldable display worthwhile, particularly when traveling. For users who primarily take photos, send messages, and browse social media, the benefits may be harder to justify against the device's price, weight, thickness, and camera trade-offs. The excitement surrounding a new form factor also raises the question of whether buyers will embrace it for the long term or return to a conventional iPhone.
Our discussion also addresses criticism of the ‌iPhone Duo‌'s inner display, including concerns about sharpness, color saturation, and crease visibility. Its nano-texture finish introduces a balance between reducing glare and retaining the appearance of a glossy screen, with hands-on impressions offering a different perspective from photos and videos online. Other considerations include using the wider form factor one-handed, switching from Face ID to Touch ID, and potentially replacing an iPad on some trips.
‌AirPods 5‌ emerge as a potential standout following a week of use, including on a flight. Their fit and improved active noise cancellation could make them particularly appealing to users who struggle with AirPods Pro's silicone tips. We also consider the value of the higher-end model and how iOS 27's equalizer can help adjust a sound profile that may initially seem too bass-heavy.
The Apple Watch Series 12 and redesigned Health app receive a closer look, with this year's health features forming a more substantial upgrade after several relatively modest generations. Clearer presentation of health data and new longevity information promise to make collected metrics more useful. Whether those additions justify replacing an older watch remains a separate question for owners whose basic fitness and sleep-tracking needs are already met.
Finally, we return to the iPhone 18 Pro's variable-aperture camera, smaller Dynamic Island, and new Photographic Styles. The discussion weighs how noticeable these changes will be in everyday use, with the new film-inspired styles potentially offering as much appeal as the camera hardware improvements. We also look at whether owners of recent Pro models have sufficient reason to switch, and when a discounted iPhone 17 Pro could offer better value.
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Apple just had one of its biggest product launches in years. On this week’s episode of The MacRumors Show, we share our first reactions to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, AirPods 5, and Apple’s long-awaited first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. 
00:00 Introduction
01:52 iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
13:28 Sponsor: DraftKings
14:51 iPhone 18 Pro cameras
22:30 AppleCare One Family
24:39 AirPods 5
28:28 Sponsor: Quince
29:59 Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4
39:43 iPhone Duo: design, display, and software
52:52 iPhone Duo: price, compromises, cameras, and verdict
We discuss the biggest upgrades, including the iPhone 18 Pro’s new camera system and A20 Pro chip, the Apple Watch’s new health and Audio Intelligence features, AirPods 5 getting ANC as standard, and what it’s actually like to see Apple enter the foldable market. We also talk pricing, some surprising omissions from the iPhone Duo, and whether Apple’s latest products are worth getting excited about.
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Ahead of Apple's "Surprise and shine" event on September 9, we talk through everything to expect on this week's episode of The MacRumors Show.
00:00 Intro
04:37 AirPods 5 predictions
09:26 Apple Watch predictions
18:35 iPhone 18 Pro expectations
28:39 iPhone Ultra first look
43:50 Apple Pencil and home product rumors
49:12 Event coverage and closing remarks
The event begins at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, and will be streamed on Apple's website, on YouTube, and through the Apple TV app. It is the first keynote since John Ternus succeeded Tim Cook as chief executive on September 1. Rumors suggest at least six new products will arrive at the event.
The Apple Watch Series 12 is expected to add a new chip, improved fitness tracking, better battery life, continuous heart-rate collection, and redesigned Health and Fitness experiences. A ceramic case option may return in white or dark gray, but no major redesign or Touch ID is now expected.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 should receive the same new chip and health upgrades, again without a redesign. Apple may also expand its existing satellite connectivity features on the device with satellite Apple Maps and photo sharing in Messages.
AirPods 5 is expected to arrive in two versions, with and without active noise cancellation. Both may use an H3 chip for improved sound and lower latency, but are not expected to add the AirPods Pro 3's heart-rate sensor.
The iPhone 18 Pro should retain the iPhone 17 Pro's design while gaining an A20 Pro chip on TSMC's 2nm process, with RAM integrated on the same wafer. Other expected upgrades include a LTPO+ display, Samsung image sensor, simplified Camera Control without a capacitive layer, a narrower Dynamic Island, 12GB of RAM, 256GB base storage, and 5G satellite internet. It may use Apple's C2 modem outside the U.S., while U.S. models will likely retain Qualcomm hardware for mmWave connectivity.
The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max should share the smaller models's upgrades while adding a 5,391mAh battery in China and 5,567mAh battery in the U.S.. It may be thicker, heavier, and around 243 grams, with a variable-aperture main camerathat could be exclusive to the larger device.
The foldable iPhone, likely called the “iPhone Ultra," is expected to be the biggest announcement, using a wide passport-style design with 5.5-inch outer and 7.8-inch inner displays, an iPad-like 4:3 aspect ratio, and a nearly invisible screen crease. It may feature a titanium-and-aluminum chassis, liquid-metal hinge, vapor-chamber cooling, A20 Pro chip, dual 5,400mAh to 5,800mAh batteries, ‌Touch ID‌ power button instead of Face ID, rear wide and ultra wide cameras, dual selfie cameras in hole-punch cutouts, and the Camera Control button, with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options. It is also expected to be more repairable than rival foldables.

It's been an unusually big week for Apple announcements. On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the new Mac mini and Mac Studio, the M6 and M5 Ultra chips, and invites to Apple's September event.
00:00 Intro and Apple’s Unexpectedly Busy Week
00:59 Apple Event Invite Predictions
06:19 What to Expect at Apple’s September Event
07:07 Sponsor: Claude
08:43 Why the Foldable iPhone Is the Big Surprise
13:13 Apple’s Smart Home Plans
15:28 New Mac Mini Announcement
17:12 What Makes the M6 Chip Different
22:16 Mac Mini Price and Buying Advice
30:24 M5 Ultra Mac Studio Explained
37:42 Apple’s New Polishing Cloth and Magic Keyboard
Apple confirmed on Wednesday that its annual iPhone event will take place on Wednesday 9 September at Apple Park, starting at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with select members of the media invited to attend. The event's tagline is "Surprise and Shine." Apple is expected to introduce at least six new products, including the the Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4, iPhone 18 Pro, ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, and the first foldable iPhone. Pre-orders should follow shortly after, and release dates for iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate should also be revealed at the event.
Apple announced the new Mac mini on Tuesday, offering M6 and M5 Pro chip options. The machine gains an N1 networking chip, bringing Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and moves to 2.5Gb Ethernet as standard, up from 1Gb, with a 10Gb option. Thunderbolt 5 is restricted to the M5 Pro model, which gets three Thunderbolt 5 ports while the M6 model keeps Thunderbolt 4. Genlock supportover USB-C is also new, syncing a display's refresh timing to a camera such as the iPhone 17 Pro. Pricing starts at $899 with 16GB and 256GB, rising to $1,699 for the M5 Pro at 24GB and 512GB. Pre-orders are now open, with launch on 22 September.
M6 is Apple's first 2nm chip. Its 12-core CPU is split into 2 super cores, 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores, making it the first Apple chip to combine all three core types in one design. Super cores are Apple's top tier, optimised for single-threaded speed. The 12-core GPU features a Neural Accelerator in each core for the first time in a ‌Mac mini‌. The GPU also adds an updated shader architecture, Dynamic Caching, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while an all-new Dual 16-core Neural Engine doubles peak compute over the previous generation, with system frameworks able to drive both engines at once. Memory starts at 16GB and tops out at 32GB, running at up to 170GB/s. M5 Pro scales further, to an 18-core CPU, a 20-core GPU and up to 64GB at 307GB/s.
The new Mac Studio arrived alongside the ‌Mac mini‌, with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chip options. The M5 Max offers an 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores, an up-to-40-core GPU with Neural Accelerators in every core, and up to 128GB of memory at 614GB/s, with the GPU running up to 50% faster than the previous generation. Both configurations move to a next-generation SSD architecture on PCIe Gen 6 for up to twice the storage performance, and gain up to six Thunderbolt 5 ports at 120Gb/s, and the same genlock support as the ‌Mac mini‌. Apple's N1 chip also brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 to the ‌Mac Studio‌. Pricing starts at $2,499 for the M5 Max at 36GB and 512GB, and $5,499 for the M5 Ultra at 96GB and 1TB, with the 512GB memory option not arriving until late October.
M5 Ultra is Apple's first quad-die chip, using a next-generation version of UltraFusion to join two dual-die M5 Max chips into a single processor. The result is a CPU with up to 36 cores, and 12 super and 24 performance, delivering 1.25x the single-threaded and 1.3x the multithreaded performance of the M3 Ultra. Its up-to-80-core GPU is the most powerful Apple silicon GPU ever made and the first on an Ultra chip to feature Neural Accelerators. Second-generation Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated mesh shading and third-generation ray tracing lift graphics up to 40% over M3 Ultra, and the chip features a 32-core Neural Engine. Memory reaches 512GB at 1.2TB/s, which is a 50% bandwidth increase.
Other announcements this week included a new, softer Apple Polishing Cloth at $9, down from $19, and refreshed U.S. Magic Keyboards for the Mac, now featuring glyphs instead of edge text. Apple Support's 1-800-APL-CARE line is also now answered by a generative AI assistant in the U.S. and Canada.
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