Apple unveiled a redesigned Siri AI and its first 2-nanometer smartphone chip at its “Surprise and Shine” event on September 9, with new CEO John Ternus leading his first keynote. The company said Siri AI runs on Google’s Gemini technology under a deal reportedly worth about $1 billion per year, but confirmed that the feature will not work on any iPhone or iPad in the European Union at launch.

The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will use Apple’s new A20 Pro chip. Built on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) 2-nanometer process, it is the first smartphone chip to ship on that node and includes a dual Neural Engine with 32 cores—twice the core count of the previous generation.

Apple also introduced its first foldable iPhone, called the iPhone Duo. The device starts at $1,999 for 256GB of storage, rises to roughly $3,000 for the 2TB model, and will not reach stores until October, one month after the rest of the iPhone lineup.

Taken together, the announcements link Apple’s next iPhone generation to three rollout tracks: a new AI assistant, chip-level changes intended to support on-device AI, and the company’s entry into foldable phones. Availability will vary by product, region, and device, with Siri AI arriving in beta while the iPhone Duo follows in October.

Ternus opens first keynote as Apple CEO

Ternus opened the event eight days after becoming Apple’s chief executive. He took over from Tim Cook on September 1, while Cook moved into the role of executive chairman after 15 years leading the company.

During the keynote, Ternus presented the redesigned Siri and the new 2-nanometer chip as products built with artificial intelligence performance in mind.

“This is the fastest chip ever put into an iPhone,” Ternus said on stage, referring to the A20 Pro. He described an “ideal” personal device as one that is “always with you, deeply personal, and able to bring intelligence to the moments when it matters most” before introducing the iPhone 18 lineup.

Siri AI arrives in beta

Siri AI represents Apple’s largest redesign of its voice assistant since Siri launched in 2011. The updated assistant can hold conversations, understand what is displayed on the screen, and take actions across more than 300,000 third-party apps without requiring users to repeat the surrounding context.

Apple first presented Siri AI at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. At the time, the company said the system would combine on-device models with Private Cloud Compute for more demanding requests. Apple’s promised capabilities are now arriving in beta this month on devices configured for a supported region.

For readers, access to the new assistant therefore depends on both location and hardware: Apple has excluded the European Union at launch, and Apple Intelligence features are limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and newer models.

The upgraded assistant includes agentic features and a more fluid voice, replacing the robotic delivery that has been associated with Siri since its launch. Apple said Siri AI is powered by Google’s Gemini technology as part of an agreement reportedly valued at about $1 billion annually.

A20 Pro focuses on on-device AI

The A20 Pro is Apple’s first chip made using TSMC’s 2-nanometer, or N2, process. The smaller transistors allow Apple to place more processing power in the same die area without increasing thermal or battery costs, according to the description provided at the event.

The chip has a six-core CPU comprising two high-performance “super cores” and four efficiency cores. Apple says the CPU is up to 20% faster than the A19 Pro. Its seven-core GPU, which adds one core compared with last year’s design, is up to 40% faster. Memory bandwidth has increased by 50%, an upgrade relevant to on-device AI because bandwidth can limit the performance of language models running locally instead of in the cloud.

Apple’s most significant change for AI workloads is the Neural Engine. After keeping the component at 16 cores for three consecutive chip generations, Apple has doubled it to a dual, 32-core design. The A20 Pro also uses a new vapor chamber cooling system with three times the surface area of the previous design. Apple said the system allows the chip to sustain heavier AI workloads, including the on-device portions of Siri AI, without throttling.

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo

The iPhone 18 Pro retains a 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch screen, largely matching the iPhone 17 Pro generation. Both models receive Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy finishes, along with a smaller Dynamic Island.

The iPhone Duo has a 5.5-inch cover display and a 7.8-inch inner screen that opens like a small tablet. It is available in dark blue and white, uses Touch ID instead of Face ID, and is the first iPhone to support the Apple Pencil.

iOS 27, which includes Siri AI and the rest of Apple Intelligence, will arrive on September 14. The operating system runs on iPhones dating back to the iPhone 11 and the second-generation iPhone SE, but Siri AI and Apple Intelligence features are limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and newer models.