Fall could be relied upon for a couple of issues: baseball playoffs, the altering of the leaves, the emergence of pumpkin spice, and, after all, new iPhones.
This 12 months Apple is holding its annual particular occasion on the uncommon Monday (most likely to keep away from conflicting with a presidential debate on Tuesday) and the corporate is anticipated to make numerous bulletins.
Up to now, Apple’s cellphone occasions have assorted from these at which it felt like we’d heard rumors about every thing moving into, to these the place it looks as if we knew nothing in any respect. This 12 months feels someplace within the center: the rumors are on the market, however there’s sufficient of an “is that it?” feeling that it’s laborious to not think about Apple having one thing else up its sleeve.
Upfront of the “It’s Glowtime” presentation subsequent week, right here’s a rundown of what to anticipate (and never) when the video begins rolling.
Candy 16
A brand new iPhone is, after all, essentially the most certain factor you possibly can anticipate from a September Apple occasion. The smartphone nonetheless makes up the lion’s share of the corporate’s income, so it’s not about to cease placing a brand new one out each single 12 months. As typical, anticipate iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Professional, and iPhone 16 Professional Max choices in the identical bodily sizes as final 12 months’s fashions.
Whereas the iPhone 16 line is just not anticipated to sport a radically totally different look than its predecessor, it should boast a couple of new methods. Along with final 12 months’s Motion button making the bounce from the Professional to the usual iPhone fashions, there’s rumored to be a devoted “Capture” button designed for fast entry to the digital camera–presumably with extra options like touch-sensitive zoom management and the power to half-press the button for focusing. The digital camera bump on the again can also be anticipated to alter on the usual fashions, with two vertically aligned lenses that may present higher help for spatial photographs when taking pictures in panorama orientation.
There are additionally the same old enhancements to processors, with the A18 anticipated to make its debut throughout the road, not like final 12 months when the iPhone 15 Professional bought the A17 Professional chip and the iPhone 15 the A16. Apple can also be considered upping the RAM throughout the board to higher help Apple Intelligence options (extra on which in a second) with 8GB being the brand new normal.
There are additionally some smaller under-the-hood modifications stated to be within the works, together with stacked battery know-how for longer battery life, the most recent Wi-Fi 7 normal, and barely bigger screens on the Professional fashions (and not using a change within the chassis dimension). Plus, placing new coloration choices for the iPhone 16–together with inexperienced, blue, and pink–plus new rose-gold and decidedly brown “bronze” titanium end for the iPhone Professional fashions. Study extra in regards to the iPhone 16 potential options.
Chris Martin / Foundry
All in all, it looks like a modest improve for the 12 months, which implies that a lot of the time will most likely be spent speaking about…software program.
Intelligence company
Apple typically devotes a big chunk of its iPhone announcement occasion speaking about software program bulletins, and this 12 months will seemingly be no totally different. The corporate took the wraps off its iOS 18 replace again in June on the Worldwide Builders Convention, however as that occasion is primarily centered on builders, Apple will certainly take the chance to indicate off all of the options to the broader viewers that tunes in to see the brand new iPhone.
The star of iOS 18 is undoubtedly Apple Intelligence, the suite of AI-powered options that the corporate is rolling out throughout its numerous platforms, together with textual content rewriting and proofreading instruments, computerized summaries, and an improved Siri expertise.
However one complicating issue is that the primary of these options are at the moment a part of the beta for iOS 18’s first replace, iOS 18.1, and thus most likely received’t be accessible till after the brand new iPhones ship. Among the options will take longer but: Lots of the Siri enhancements aren’t anticipated to reach till subsequent 12 months. Nonetheless, don’t anticipate that to cease Apple from speaking about them, particularly in the event that they take into account these capabilities to be their finest likelihood to promote new telephones: Notably, the one present telephones that can be capable of run Apple Intelligence are the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max, so the iPhone 16 line will broaden these choices vastly.
Are we going to listen to extra about Apple Intelligence? Rely on it.
Apple
Apple additionally typically has not less than one or two new software program enhancements that it ties to its newest {hardware}—what that can seem like this 12 months, we don’t know, but when that Seize button rumor is to be believed, I wouldn’t guess in opposition to some new digital camera options.
Watch your ears
Whereas the iPhone occasion is principally in regards to the iPhone, it’s typically not the one announcement that we get at these occasions: a few of the firm’s iPhone-adjacent merchandise are more likely to get their moments within the solar.
This 12 months marks the tenth anniversary of the disclosing of the Apple Watch (although it didn’t ship till early the next 12 months) and Apple will most likely take the wraps off its Sequence 10 model of the smartwatch. Rumors have each sizes getting barely bigger shows and a thinner design, in addition to a revamped magnetic attachment system for watchbands, which may very well be contentious, as it could be the primary time older bands don’t work with the brand new watches. Although the corporate has additionally been laborious at work on new well being sensors for the wearable, it’s run into challenges which have slowed it down–together with a patent dispute which means this 12 months’s fashions received’t have the beforehand accessible blood oxygen measurement system–so it could be form of a sparse 12 months for Apple Watch well being options.
New variations of AirPods may also be ready within the wings this 12 months, with two variations of AirPods 4 aiming to switch each the AirPods 3 and the still-on-sale AirPods 2. The upper-end model would characteristic energetic noise cancelation, beforehand solely accessible on AirPods Professional, in addition to higher audio efficiency utilizing the identical H2 chip additionally discovered within the Professional. The lower-end mannequin would possibly eschew the noise cancellation and a few of the different options in favor of interesting to a broader market with a less expensive price ticket.
One factor to not anticipate? New Macs. Although the corporate has reportedly been making ready to unleash a number of computer systems powered by the identical M4 processor present in its most up-to-date iPad Professional, these aren’t considered exhibiting up in September, however relatively at one other occasion in October. However hey, it’s all the time good to have one thing to sit up for.