Apple (AAPL) will host its annual iPhone event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters on Monday, Sept. 9. The company is widely expected to debut four new iPhones, along with the tenth-anniversary edition of the Apple Watch and new AirPods.
In addition to hardware, the showcase will focus heavily on the rollout of Apple’s Apple Intelligence AI platform for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The company’s fall event is easily one of its most important of the year and helps set the tone for Apple’s year ahead, and I'll be on the ground in Cupertino bringing you all of the latest news.
Here’s what to expect from Apple’s “Glowtime” show.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence will bring a host of new capabilities to Apple’s product lines, including summarizing long text message threads, prioritizing and summarizing emails, and a much-needed upgrade for Apple’s Siri voice assistant.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will release Apple Intelligence as part of a software update in October, rather than alongside the company’s latest iPhones, to give developers more time to test out and build apps for the platform. Other Apple Intelligence features may not land on users’ iPhones until early 2025.
The hope for the Glowtime event is that Apple will provide an update on when the software will be available and dig into any additional capabilities it has to offer.
Apple Intelligence could be one of the most consequential launches for Apple in years. The software will only run on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer models, giving investors hope that it will spur a new iPhone sales cycle. And with people holding onto their phones longer, Wall Street will welcome any means of getting users to upgrade sooner than later with open arms.
The iPhone 16 line
Apple’s next-generation iPhone, likely called the iPhone 16, will reportedly get relatively modest hardware upgrades. If Apple follows the same strategy it has during previous releases, the base iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will get the A17 Pro chip found in last year's iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max phones, while the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will get new, more powerful processors.
There's also the possibility that Apple will bring new chips to all four iPhone models. According to a report by MacRumors, citing Haitong International Securities’ analyst Jeff Pu, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will get an improved A18 processor, while the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will get the company's A18 Pro.
The A18 chip has been developed using SoftBank-owned Arm's (ARM) latest newest V9 chip design to underpin AI features, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
MacRumors also said the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lines will get new capacitive “Capture” buttons that could be used as physical camera buttons to, well, capture photos. The button will live on the right side of the phones below the volume buttons. Non-Pro iPhone 16 models will also get the programmable Action button previously only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will also get larger displays, jumping from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches for the Pro and 6.7 to 6.9 inches for the Pro Max without increasing the phones’ sizes thanks to slimmer bezels, reported Gurman.
The new iPhones are also expected to bring feature camera improvements, including enhanced optical zoom capabilities on the iPhone 16 Pro.
Don’t expect too much more from the iPhone 16 line, though. Apple is more focused on making Apple Intelligence a success than making major changes to the iPhone's hardware. Next year’s models, however, could get a far thinner design, creating something akin to an iPhone Air, according to Gurman.
Apple Watch 10th anniversary
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the debut of the first Apple Watch, and according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will mark the occasion by giving the watch a fresh makeover.
The 41-millimeter version of the Apple Watch will reportedly get a new 45-mm display, while the existing 45-mm option will get a larger 49-mm screen. According to Gurman, Apple was looking to add blood pressure and sleep apnea detection features to the new watches but won't be able to this year due to a mixture of technical issues and Apple's ongoing legal battle over its blood oxygen sensor.
Apple will also debut an updated version of the Apple Watch Ultra, though it will largely remain the same outside of a new chip.
Finally, be on the lookout for upgraded versions of Apple’s entry-level and mid-range AirPods, Gurman reported. The earbuds will get updated designs and features, including active noise cancellation for the mid-range version while costing the same as the current models: $129 for the base versions and $169 for the mid-range versions. Don’t expect interchangeable silicon tips like those found on the AirPods Pro, though. Those will continue to be exclusive to the company’s pricier models.
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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