When Apple says “Gather round,” the world listens. The invitation has been sent with just that message as Apple has an event scheduled for the 12th of September. The expectation for this event is palpable. This year there may be more eyes than usual on Apple, as they recently hit a trillion dollars worth of revenue. Apple has always claimed to rely on innovation to grow to the level they have, but many critics have pointed out that their innovations are less innovative than they were a decade ago. So let’s have a look at some of the updates we are hoping to see, the new products expected to debut at the show next week and some of the juicy rumors.
Three new iPhones.
Anyone with an internet connection has seen the leaked photos of the new iPhone X, rumored to be called iPhone Xs. The upgraded iPhone X is expected to feature a 5.8-inch OLED screen; a new high-end iPhone with a 6.5-inch OLED screen; and a new cheaper model with a 6.1-inch LCD screen. The two larger devices may have dual-SIM card slots in some regions.
The 6.1-inch iPhone will come in a variety of colors, with rumors reporting grey, white, blue, red, and orange variants will be available. All three devices will reportedly have the new gesture controls introduced in the iPhone X as well as Apple’s face-unlocking system Face ID. Apple is also expected to take advantage of the 6.5-inch device’s larger screen with the ability to “view content side-by-side” in apps like Mail and Calendar.
We are also eagerly waiting for the unveiling updated AirPods, a new wireless charger with upgraded iPads Pros in 11- and 12.9-inch sizes with slimmer bezels and Face ID replacing the fingerprint-sensing home button.
For those of us more interested in what is happening to the Mac mini, some good news may be just around the corner, as Ars Technica reports, “While those have been the most rumored devices ahead of the September event, rumors have also been floating around about an updated MacBook Air and Mac mini. Reports dating back to this spring suggested that Apple may debut an updated-yet-cheaper version of the MacBook Air with slimmer bezels, a better display, and a price tag around or below $999. Mac mini fans should rejoice to see the machine they love to get some much-needed love, as the mini hasn’t had a meaningful update since 2014.”
AR Adventures?
Interestingly enough we can further speculate about the introduction of some new AR based product that might be revealed next week. Apple CEO, Tim Cook, hasn’t exactly been shy about promoting how important he considers AR to be, especially with the introduction of Apple’s ARKit earlier at this years WWDC. The ARKit is certainly a tool that will be more useful as time moves on and the technology becomes more widely adopted and mastered.
Further adding fuel to the speculation that Apple is pursuing some sort of AR announcement for next week, The Verge reported that Apple had bought up a small company, Akonia, who are specialists in developing lenses for AR glasses. The Verge reports on Arkonias products reveal, “Akonia describes its augmented reality lenses as “thin,” “transparent,” and capable of displaying “vibrant, full-color, wide field-of-view images.” As of two years ago, the company told VentureBeat that it was targeting a 60-degree field of view — which is small and less than most virtual reality headsets. But the company also described its lens in a way that suggested it offered higher-resolution images than its competitors without putting as many visual obstacles between an eye and the real world.”
Smartwatches
Apple has certainly maintained their dominance in the global market when it comes to smartwatches, cornering 17% of the global market for smartwatches. The Series 3 smartwatch has been their most successful to date even with global competition from Fitbit, Garmin, Huawei, and others as the defining feature of the Series 3 that boosted its popularity over the competition is its LTE ready ability.
Despite being in the smartwatch market for only three years, Apple has consistently improved their smartwatches, and their upgrades are anticipated as eagerly as their other flagship products. Enter the recently leaked photos of the series 4 smartwatches. The Series 4’s screen now appears to go as close to edge-to-edge as possible while the body of the watch seems to be slimmed down in comparison to the Series 3. There also appears that the Series 4 includes an additional microphone hole on the right side of the watch and a better-designed button, that doesn’t sit out as much as the Series 3’s.
Whatever announcement excites you the most there will undoubtedly be some surprises amongst whatever we have already gleaned from all the leaks and rumors that have surfaced. We will bring you a detailed breakdown of all the events highlights next week, stay tuned!