On September 13, at the futuristic Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino,California, the Steve Jobs Theatre will be host to an “Apple Special Event”, expected by many to feature the launch of the iPhone 11 and two other models, a release date for iOS 13 and a few additions including upgrades to the iWatch, iPad and MacBook lineups, as well as a new Bluetooth tracking device.
The new line-up of iPhones will be the highlight of the event. Speculation around the devices has been rife, but it is expected that the biggest upgrade this year will be to the cameras. A Bloomberg report suggests that the line-up will be of a series of ‘Pro’ cameras, with the standard iPhone 11 having a dual-camera setup and the ‘Pro’ edition having a three-cam setup including an ultrawide angle lens, a telephoto lens and the regular lens, on a square camera bump on the rear of the device.
In addition, the iPhone 11 is likely to have RAM and processor improvements over previous generations. Overall, though, a generational change is not anticipated, with the new model expected to forego 5G connectivity (a feature expected in the 2020 iPhone instead).
YouTuber EverythingApplePro looked at the leaked iPhone cases from case-manufacturer ERS, noting that the Apple logo in the new device would be centrally-placed —a change from the usual placement.
In addition, Apple is likely to unveil ceramic and titanium editions of its smart Watches. Ceramic watches are stronger than aluminium ones and were dropped from the Watch lineup in 2018.
In addition, a new Watch sleep tracking feature is likely, courtesy Apple’s 2017 acquisition of Beddit, which makes the Beddit Sleep Monitor app.
In addition, one can expect a new Macbook Pro — a 16-inch variant which is expected to replace the existing 15-inch models, as it achieves its screen size by removing the bezels from the 15-incher. The Macbook Pro 16 is expected to fix the teeming issues that users were facing from the company’s laptop keyboards in recent times.
An update to the iPad lineup is likely, with 9to5Mac speculating that a new 10.2-inch version could join the fray.
Release dates for the new updates to Apple software, including iOS 13, iPadOS 13, macOS Catalina and watchOS 6 are also likely.
The event may unveil the recently announced Apple video game subscription service, Apple Arcade, which will offer users access to a catalogue of games for an unspecified price, rumoured to be below $5 a month.
On the item tracking front, Apple has been rumoured to be developing a Bluetooth tracking device, controllable via the Find my Device app. These ‘smart tiles’ are already popular third-party accessories, and can be attached to keys, headphones and other devices so that if you misplace them, you can locate them via the Find my Device app. Integrating this functionality directly into iOS 13 is a possibility.
The event has been described by Apple as ‘By innovation only’.
