The News Of Tomorrow, Today

Subscribe

Apple’s 2018 iPhone Event: What To Expect And How To Watch

Tegan Jones Avatar
Tegan Jones

Get hyped, people. We’re less than 24 hours away from Apple’s Day 2018! It’s the time of year when Tim Cook takes to the Steve Jobs Theatre stage to announce a fresh batch of iPhones for people to throw their hard earned dollars at.

Considering all the leaks and rumours flying around this year, anticipation is unsurprisingly high.

But new phones won’t be the only thing on the agenda. Here’s what we’re anticipating.

How To Watch

The festivities will kick off on September 13 at 3:00AM AEST and we’ll be live blogging the whole damn thing. Join us in the madness, won’t you? It will be up later this afternoon and I’ll be back on it from the early hours to jam in any last minute leaks, rumours and speculation before the stream begins.

You can watch it with us over on the Apple website.

3 New iPhones

An abundance of rumours over the last few months have us solidly convinced that we’re getting three next gen iPhones to replace the X and 8.

On the flagship front, leaks suggest that we’re going to see a 5.8-inch model called the iPhone Xs, as well as a larger version that has been referred to as both the Xs Max and Xs Plus. Both phones will allegedly have OLED screens, larger batteries, a new A12 processor, 4GB of RAM, Face ID and wireless charging.

Some reports have predicted that the new flagships will be cheaper than the current iPhone X’s. However, a recent leak shows that Xs Plus/Max coming in at 8388 yuan ($1724 AUD) and the Xs at 7388 ($1,518 AUD). Once you factor in import tax and the like, those are some pricey phones.

When it comes to the iPhone 8 replacement, the same leak from earlier this week revealed that it may be called the iPhone Xc and another calling it the Xr, though some still think it will simply be dubbed the iPhone 9.

On the spec side, there are whispers of it having a 6.1-inch LED display, the same A12 processor as its larger siblings, Face ID, one rear camera and the ever-controversial notch.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/09/latest-iphone-leak-reveals-possible-prices-and-names/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/iphone-leaked-image-410×231.jpg” title=”Latest iPhone Leak Reveals Possible Prices And Names” excerpt=”We’re only a few days out from Apple’s event of the year. But that doesn’t mean that the leaks and rumours about the new suite of iPhones has slowed down. Today it’s all about the Chinese pricing and what the names will be.”]

The biggest question mark for the next generation of iPhones is around pricing. Expectations have been sitting around US$700 for entry level 64GB versions, though the China Mobile leak places it higher at 5888 yuan, which equates to roughly $US850 or $1210 AUD. Again, that’s without any extra taxes we’ll get hit with.

The higher price points are also backed up by a recent tweet by renowned leaker Ben Geskin. It also revealed some colours.

With such conflicting theories and reports when it comes to the price tags, it’s going to make tomorrow particularly interesting. Will Apple double down on being Apple, or will it surprise us all with some low-ball numbers to remain competitive in market? I can’t wait to find out.

But back to the colours for a second. Geskin has been all over the alleged leaks. As well as the above, a few days ago he tweeted an image on Twitter that shows white, dark blue-grey and what could be (PRODUCT)RED colours.

A brand new leak also came in overnight from Weibo that showed the SIM tray colours. Theoretically, this also reveals the phone colours themselves.

Again, it will be fascinating to see which of these are accurate.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/09/so-what-is-apple-actually-going-to-call-the-new-cheap-iphone/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/himpahmw20qsbp9q3vti.jpg” title=”So What Is Apple Actually Going To Call The New Cheap iPhone?” excerpt=”With Apple’s big autumn event just two days away, iPhone speculation has reached peak turgidity. And so far, there’s a lot of info that’s trickled down via rumours and leaks that seem like a lock for September 13, including Apple’s plan to introduce three new iPhones, with the new iPhone Xs serving as the successor to last year’s iPhone X.”]

New iPad Pro

We got a new iPad back in March, so now it’s the Pro’s turn.

Rumour has it that the Touch ID and bezels will be removed to make way for Face ID in horizontal mode. We’re also expecting an updated GPU and processors, as well as a Smart Connector that will allow you to connect it to a keyboard from the back, as opposed to the side.

But what about the iPad Mini? We haven’t heard anything yet and Apple really hasn’t done much with it since 2015. So we don’t expect to see anything significant around it during the event. I’d love to be proven wrong though.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/08/its-time-to-give-up-on-the-ipad-miniemem/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/lgazhpfipgdr6vr084hj.png” title=”It’s Time To Give Up On The iPad Mini” excerpt=”Today, Bloomberg posted an updated story on what to expect from the upcoming (though still officially unannounced) Apple event. And while many things, like the announcement of three new iPhones with 5.8-, 6.1-, and 7-inch screens and designs based on the iPhone X have long been rumoured, there was another tidbit that piqued my interest. Once again, it seems, the iPad Mini is missing.”]

New Apple Watches

We’re also expecting to see the Apple Watch Series 4.

9to5Mac published images of the new series that showed two larger watches than previous generation — 38mm to 40mm and 42mm to 45mm. They will apparently have a 15 per cent increase in display and a decrease in bezels, making them pretty damn close to being edge-to-edge.

On the OS side of things, keep your eyes peeled for a watchOS 5 announcement too.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/08/apples-next-smartphones-and-watch-allegedly-revealed-in-new-leak/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/ty1trmnk5plca80wcrv4.jpg” title=”Apple’s Next Smartphones And Watch Allegedly Revealed In New Leak” excerpt=”It looks like the latest gadgets to leak early this year belong to none other than Apple.”]

New MacBooks

There have been rumours that Apple has an affordable MacBook Air in the works and that we may even see it by the end of 2018. Intel also recently announced a refresh for the processors that they put into MacBooks, so there could also be an announcement around that.

We have also heard that a new Mac Pro and ARM-based MacBook are on the way, but will be surprised if we see anytime soon.

That isn’t a lot to go on, but we’re hoping to see something about Mac laptops and desktops tomorrow.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/08/intel-rounds-out-8th-gen-with-chips-for-super-cheap-super-thin-laptops/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/xx1pexn7hjjtc8f0bfiq.jpg” title=”Intel Rounds Out 8th-Gen With Chips For Super Cheap, Super Thin Laptops” excerpt=”It’s been almost a year since Intel first launched its 8th generation of computer processors, and now, finally, it seems to be completing the lineup with a series of CPUs intended for super thin laptops and 2-in-1s. The catch—the biggest improvements aren’t with processor speed, but with the wifi.”]

New AirPods

Back in February there was talk of a second generation of AirPods being on the way. In addition to improved audio quality, it’s expected that they will have hands-free Siri support and a new wireless chip (possibly called W3) to help with things like Bluetooth connectivity.

Sadly, reports say that we’re unlikely to see the new AirPods until 2019 (the same goes for Apple’s over-ear headphones and a smaller HomePod), but that doesn’t mean they can’t debut tomorrow, right?

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/06/were-almost-certainly-getting-some-new-airpods-but-what-will-they-be/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/s40qrfhsyv3tah6dcyhx.jpg” title=”We’re Almost Certainly Getting Some New AirPods, But What Will They Be?” excerpt=”A new report from Bloomberg claims that Apple, after the runaway success of its AirPods, is working on more than one addition to its line of headphones. A new pair of higher-end AirPods are rumoured to debut in 2019, along with a pair of over-ear headphones. That’s a ways away, and Apple still owes us a few previously announced products, but the thought of some new wireless earbuds has me pretty excited about Apple’s in-house audio line.

It also means I should probably start saving up now, because Apple’s reportedly going to charge a premium for its most interesting upgrades.”]

iOS 12

The beta has been going for awhile now, so it stands to reason that the full version of iOS 12 will drop at the same time as the new iPhones.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/06/apple-ios-12-almost-fixes-the-worst-thing-about-the-iphone-x/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/alzcstmusxtrysbcu20b.png” title=”Apple iOS 12 (Almost) Fixes The Worst Thing About The iPhone X” excerpt=”The public beta version of Apple’s newest mobile operating system, iOS 12, is now out in the wild, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it to find out whether Apple had really fixed the most annoying thing about using the iPhone X – screenshots – as we expected it would when the developer beta became available last month.”]

macOS Mojave

Also in beta, We know that macOS Mojave is set to land later this year, which will bring with it an updated App store, an improved Finder and a dark mode to match my soul. Maybe they’ll talk about it some more at the event? Here’s hoping.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/06/10-useful-new-features-hidden-in-the-macos-mojave-beta/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/eoyaesnixxvafmwqiw7b.jpg” title=”10 Useful New Features Hidden In The macOS Mojave Beta” excerpt=”Image. Apple

Earlier this week, Apple gave macOS 10.14 a name (Mojave), showed off some of its key features, and pushed out a developer preview to the world. We’ve been playing around with the brand new, rough-around-the-edges first beta of the new macOS, and these are some of the coolest and most useful features we’ve come across so far.”]

That’s it for our expectations and predictions for 2018. Of course, Apple could very well spring some surprises on us that have managed to evade the rumour mill. Fingers crossed.