The only certain things in life are death, taxes, and an annual iPhone event in September.
Sure enough, Apple has just announced an event for 9th September. I wonder what that could be about?
Actually, I’m doing Apple a disservice there, because this event, which has the tagline ‘Surprise And Shine’, is expected to be a little different to previous years.
That’s because rumours suggest that it won’t feature the ‘standard’ iPhone 18, which most in-the-know types currently think is set for a launch in spring next year.
Instead, the 9th September event is tipped to focus on the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and [drumroll] Apple’s first foldable phone.
As AV nerds, we are of course very excited to see the foldable iPhone, which rumours suggest could be called the iPhone Ultra.
If it can combine the awesomely cinematic picture tuning of Apple’s existing iPhones with a near-tablet-sized screen and a movie-friendly aspect ratio, it could well be the ultimate phone for movies on the move.
What about AirPods, HomePods and the Apple TV?
But what else might we see at the event? August has been chock-full of rumours about new Apple devices, including the AirPods 5 (one version with ANC, the other without), the controversial AirPods with camera, a new HomePod Mini and HomePod 3, and even the long-overdue Apple TV 4K replacement.
Will any of those appear on 9th September? Personally, I’m not convinced.
To me, it feels like the wrong time to launch the AirPods with a camera, given the current controversy around camera-enabled glasses. I can’t see Apple wading into those murky waters at this stage.
The AirPods 5 look very much ready to go, but they also look like a fairly iterative update to the AirPods 4, which would likely leave them a bit forgotten if they were announced at the same event as the fancy new Pro and Ultra iPhones.
The rumoured new HomePod and HomePod Mini, on the other hand, feel like announcements that are too big to risk being overshadowed by the foldable phone.
My guess is that the new AirPods and HomePods will be announced at a dedicated event in October, where we might also finally see the new Apple TV 4K, which could have some clever new synergy with the HomePods.
As ever with Apple, though, this is really just rumour-fuelled guesswork. Thankfully, we don't have long to wait to find out what's actually coming, as 9th September isn't far away.
Apple will be streaming the event live at Apple.com. Kick-off time is 6pm in the UK, 10am in the US (PT), and 3am on 10th September in Australia.
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