What to expect from Apple's September 12 event
As you've probably heard by now, Apple has officially announced an event for September 12, which will undoubtedly give us a sneak peek at many devices and features the company has been working on in the past months and years.
But what exactly should we expect from the anticipated high-profile event next Wednesday? Of course, it's easy to pinpoint a few usual suspects that will most certainly make an appearance, but in the case of Apple, surprises and unexpected announcements are always possible.
Apple iPhone Xr, XS, XS Max
Needless to say, the obvious star of the show will be Apple's bread and butter, the 2018 iPhone lineup. This year, just like in 2017, Apple is expected to reveal a whole lot of three new iPhones - the iPhone 9, the iPhone Xs, and the iPhone Xs Max, which was previously expected to be called the iPhone Xs Plus.
All three new devices will bear the same general design that was introduced with the iPhone X - a notched screen with close to no bezels, a glass back with metal frame, and a very high screen-to-body ratio. Yes, we expect the good ol' design language introed by iPhone 6/6 Plus back in 2014 to be phased out in favor of a worthy successor.
Here's a rundown of what each device would most likely offer.
iPhone Xr
In our understanding, the iPhone Xr will be the cheapest and most affordable new iPhone. It will boast a 6.1-inch LCD display and most certainly the same internals that will make it inside the more expensive models. This means that the Apple A12 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and a single camera only will be making the rounds. Also. we expect the 3D Touch feature, which hardly ever took off, to be unavailable on this budget-conscious model. Face ID will be making an appearance on the iPhone Xr, fortunately.Price will be in the vicinity of $600 - $700.
iPhone XS
The iPhone XS will be an improved version of last year's iPhone X heavy-hitter, and as such, will come with the new Apple A12 chipset, 4GB of RAM, a likely improved dual-camera, and the same 5.8-inch OLED display. Oh, and it seems a cool new gold color will be making the rounds. Of course, Face ID will remain a core feature.iPhone XS Max
Expected to be the iPhone with the largest display ever fitted on an Apple device, the iPhone XS Max will come with a large 6.5-inch OLED display. Of course, the internals are expected to be the same ones as in the iPhone XS - Apple A12, 4GB of RAM, and a dual- or even triple-camera. The snazzy gold color will all be making an appearance here, too. Face ID will be part of the feature bag as well.
A grand new redesign of Apple's tablets is also expected to take place. That's a bit of a weird way of saying that we expect new iPads come September 12.
As we said in our initial new iPad Pro piece, design will be a key new feature of the already-domineering slates. The curved sides of the current crop will be replaced with more edgy ones, it seems, and the bezels have been drastically shrunk all around, placed symmetrically between the screen and the edges. The display has rounded corners like on the notch-y iPhone, but a notch is nowhere to be seen, thankfully, and, overall, the new iPad Pro looks slabby and with a kind of industrial elegance over the current edition.
Apple Watch Series 4
Three years of the same general design are enough for the Apple Watch - change is in the air. In particular, the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4 is expected to feature a larger display with smaller bezels and higher resolution. The latest version of the wearable should sport a larger edge-to-edge display. According to a report published today, information culled from the most recent watchOS 5 beta suggests that the resolution of the display on the 42mm timepiece will be 384×480, which will be a noticeable improvement over the 312×390 seen on the current 42mm Apple Watch.
Apple HomePod mini
It's possible that Apple could unveil a new, smaller-sized smart speaker to complement the company's fledgling smart speaker lineup to better rival Amazon and Google, which already have a slew of miscellaneous smart speakers in their portfolios. It could be cheaper than the current smart speaker, which sells for $349, and would go head-to-toe with the Amazon Echo and the Google Home mini.
However, we haven't heard enough rumors as to establish a credible round-up of what's to be expected.
Apple AirPods 2
A second generation of the AirPods 2 has definitely been rumored for a while, and it sounds as if the September 12 event could deliver the rumored upgrade. First off, Apple's awesome cable-less Bluetooth earbuds are expected to introduce a Siri agent that will always be listening for your "safe word" command.
The more important upgrade will reportedly be swapping the W1 chip design that is in the current AirPods with the W2 Bluetooth connectivity chip that made a cameo in the latest Apple Watch Series 3. This silicon halves the power draw of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity compared to W1, so we might be looking at even longer battery life from the upgraded AirPods that may be available just few short weeks from now.
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