Apple's biggest hardware launch in years got upstaged within minutes by its competitorsLast updated: September 11, 2026 | 11:013 MIN READThe new foldable iPhone Duo is displayed during an Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on September 9, 2026.AFP-KARL MONDONReuters reported that the brand had no defined audience for their new product, which is a notable news as Apple is known to have a defined targeted audience for each product line.“Apple doesn't usually define who the buyer is, but in this case specifically, they really shied away from it,” said Carolina Milanesi, an ​analyst at Creative Strategies.However, the Analyst doesn't expect that ambiguity to hurt the Duo out of the gate. The brands positioning in the market are expected to drive the strong initial sale of the product, but over time, its target buyer could confine to a ‘niche of wealthy early adopter’.Apple's iPhone 18 launch was supposed to be the story of the week, a new CEO's first keynote, a first-ever foldable, and a redesigned lineup year in the making. Instead, the internet handed the spotlight to everyone but Apple.Within minutes of the event ending, rival brands piled on with even the back-and-forth between the electronics giant and a language app with seemingly nothing in common, but quickly went viral, pulling in far more engagement than Apple's own launch posts.