Apple opened its September 9 “Surprise and shine” event with artificial intelligence at the center of the pitch, CNBC reported from Cupertino. New chief executive John Ternus, in his first iPhone launch as CEO, argued that the iPhone is the best personal hub for AI before unveiling the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in new Glacier and Burgundy colors. Executive chairman Tim Cook was in the audience.
The phones ship with Apple’s A20 Pro chip. Apple said it redesigned the cores, called them desktop-class, and framed the silicon as making on-device AI faster. CNBC reported Apple’s claim that A20 Pro is a 2-nanometer part and the first smartphone chip on TSMC’s latest process node.
Siri AI, previewed at WWDC in June, was shown running on the new hardware. In event footage cited by CNBC, Apple described an entirely new Siri that can take action inside apps users already have, including third-party apps, and said the assistant works with more than 300,000 apps.
Apple also introduced Apple Reference Image, a camera authenticity feature meant to prove a photo was captured on an iPhone 18 Pro rather than generated by AI. Presenters said the main camera signs photo data at the sensor at capture time. CNBC reported the feature will not be available in the European Union or China.
Ternus tied the hardware story to intelligence, performance, battery, and camera. CNBC said Apple claimed about 24 hours of battery life on iPhone 18 Pro and about 30 hours on Pro Max. Pre-order and shelf dates were still rolling through the live blog as the event continued; this brief covers the AI stack Apple put on stage first.