Tech Guide

New iPhones and more are coming from Apple on Wednesday: here's what to expect

Key Points
  • Apple will reveal its new iPhones on Sept. 12.
  • Apple may also introduce new 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro tablets.
  • The Apple Watch Series 4 is also expected to make an appearance.
Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) and Apple chief design officer Jonathan Ive (L) look at the new Apple iPhone X during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus on September 12, 2017 in Cupertino, California.
Getty Images

Apple is holding a big event at its new headquarters on Sept. 12 where it's expected to announce several new products.

The iPhone has always been the highlight of Apple's September product showcase, but Apple will likely announce a new Apple Watch, new versions of the iPad Pro and more.

Here's what we're expecting Apple to reveal next week.

Three iPhones, including the iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max

Customers check the new iPhone X in London.
Getty Images

Top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in November 2017 that Apple will release three new iPhones this year, and subsequent reporting throughout 2018 suggests he's going to be right.

According to reports, Apple will release a successor to the iPhone X with the same-sized 5.8-inch display, an even larger model with a 6.5-inch screen and a third more affordable iPhone with a 6.1-inch LCD display. The 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch models will use more expensive and colorful OLED panels like the iPhone X, Kuo said. The phones will also feature new L-shaped batteries that should equate to longer battery life, according to Kuo.

9to5Mac recently published what it claims is a leaked image of the phones.

The naming might change a bit. According to 9to5Mac, Apple will call the iPhone X successor the "iPhone Xs" and will call the larger model the "iPhone Xs Max," which means it will drop the "Plus" moniker it has used for its larger iPhones since the iPhone 6 Plus was introduced in 2014.

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Kuo has also reportedly said that Apple will include up to 512GB of storage in the iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max — twice what any current iPhone offers — stainless steel frames, Apple's new A12 processor, dual 12-megapixel cameras for portrait pictures and three color options (black, white and gold). The iPhone Xs will start at $800 while the iPhone Xs Max will start at $900, Kuo said. The phones are expected to ship in September.

The low-cost LCD model with a 6.1-inch screen -- and no known name -- will start at $600, according to Kuo. It will reportedly include the same A12 processor in Apple's more expensive iPhones, but lower storage options, less RAM, a single 12-megapixel camera, a lower resolution screen and a smaller battery. It's said to ship in five colors including gray, red, white, blue and orange. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has suggested this model won't ship until October.

All three iPhones will have Face ID, according to Kuo, which means you'll unlock the iPhone by looking at it instead of using a fingerprint and a home button.

All of the iPhones will run with Apple's new iOS 12 software, which will also roll out to older iPhones. Some highlight features include Siri shortcuts, a new Do Not Disturb mode, controls that let you see how long you use certain apps, new notifications, custom Memoji and more.

New iPad Pro

Apple

Apple launched a new iPad earlier this year but it hasn't yet introduced a new version of its iPad Pro. It's expected to launch a new version of the 12.9-inch model and a new 11-inch model this fall, possibly during the iPhone event.

Code inside Apple's new iOS 12 software suggests that Apple will remove the home button from the iPad Pro, as it did with the iPhone X and will with all of its new iPhones. That means it will support Face ID, according to Bloomberg, and will allow Apple to fit more screen on the front of the iPad, allowing it to appear to run from edge-to-edge and top-to-bottom, since the lack of a home button will allow for thinner bezels (the black areas around a display).

Apple will presumably update the iPads with newer and faster processors, too, but little else has been reported about the new tablets, which means there's some room for surprises.

Mac and MacBook

MacBook Air
Source: Apple

Bloomberg said last month that Apple is planning to release a couple of new Macs sometime this fall, so Apple might unveil them during its iPhone event.

Bloomberg said Apple will launch a new affordable version of the MacBook, possibly a new MacBook Air. This is good news for fans of the MacBook Air, which has been refreshed with new processors but hasn't seen a major design update in years. It's unclear how Apple will price it, however, since the MacBook Air's affordability has largely been attributed to a display that's not as good as the more expensive MacBook and MacBook Pro Retina screens.

The same report said Apple will also launch a new professional version of the Mac Mini, Apple's small computer that ships without a display. It hasn't typically been targeted at "pro" users, but could allow Apple to sell a powerful computer at a lower price, again since it doesn't have a screen.

Apple Watch Series 4

Apple

Apple will release two new versions of the Apple Watch with larger screen sizes and higher resolutions than the current models, according to Kuo. That means the new Apple Watch should be able to show more information on the display at once, or potentially make it easier to read smaller text. 9to5Mac has an image it says is the new Apple Watch Series 4, which shows the bigger screen.

Apple has been developing new sensors for monitoring health through the Apple Watch, CNBC has previously reported, but we don't yet know what sorts of new health-tracking features Apple might add with new hardware in this year's model.

WatchOS 5, which will ship on the new Apple Watch and will roll out to older watches this fall, includes smarter Siri features, automatic workout tracking, a walkie-talkie feature that lets you call Apple Watches, support for podcasts, new workout competitions and more.

AirPower

Apple

Last year, Apple announced several products that still haven't shipped.

One is an AirPower charging pad that can wirelessly charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time. The second is an optional wireless charging case for AirPods, which Apple has only said is coming sometime in 2018.

We could see one or more of those products, plus some additional surprises at the event on Wednesday.