What to Expect at Apple's 2018 iPhone Event

Apple's event on Wednesday, Sept. 12 in Cupertino is going to be huge. The company will roll out more products this fall than it has in a while, probably in two big batches in September and October.

This week's event will focus on devices running iOS. Next month, we'll likely see macOS devices. Here's what you should expect from each event.

Event Timing

Apple's iPhone event will start at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Block out two full hours for the presentation. After that, the assembled press will get about an hour of hands-on time, and you should see hands-ons pieces starting to post that afternoon. The products will likely go on presale that Friday, Sept. 14, and appear on shelves on Sept. 21.

You'll be able to stream the event live via Safari with an iOS device on iOS 9.0 or later, a Mac on OS X v10.11 or later, or a Windows 7 or 8 PC. Windows 10 requires Microsoft Edge. Streaming via Apple TV requires a second- or third-gen Apple TV with software 6.2 or later or a 4th-gen Apple TV and above.

New Products at Apple's September Event

iPhone Xs and Xs Max

The new flagship iPhones may be called the iPhone Xs and Xs Max or Xs Plus. Check our rumor story for more details on these phones.

The Xs and Xs Max are likely to be 5.8- and 6.5-inch phones with OLED screens, dual cameras, new A12 processors, and the iPhone X form factor and "notch." We haven't heard about any truly shattering changes in the new devices, as would be expected from devices that just add an "s" to the name.

iPhone Xc / iPhone 9 (UPDATE: XR?)

The "lower-cost" iPhone will be called either the 9 or the Xc. It will have a 6.1-inch LCD screen and come in various colors. Most likely, its front will look a lot like the X series; the home button is going away, replaced by Face ID. It will still have an A12 processor; it'll be differentiated from the other models by having the LCD screen, a single camera, and possibly a different body material. (Update 9/12: Leaks indicate this phone might actually be called the iPhone XR.)

iOS 12

The new iPhones will come with iOS 12, which will also become available for all iPhones back to the 5s. Its features aren't a secret, although the company may be holding a few back to sync up with features in the new iPhones.

Apple Watch Series 4 with watchOS 5

There's almost certainly a new Apple Watch coming at the event. 9to5Mac has photos of a watch with a higher-resolution, 384-by-480 screen that gives considerably more space for apps without making the watch face physically bigger.

Like with iOS 12, Apple previewed watchOS 5 features at WWDC. Look for additional fitness features and a "walkie-talkie" push-to-talk app that works between friends with Apple Watches.

tvOS 12

It's like iOS 12, but for the Apple TV. Therefore, it's likely to come at the same time as iOS 12. Most notably, tvOS 12 makes it easier to sign into accounts by automatically verifying your cable-TV account and autofilling passwords that are stored on your iPhone.

Maybe: AirPods and AirPower

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says second-generation AirPods and the long-delayed AirPower charging station are coming by the end of the year. He doesn't say September, but those items could easily be spun out at the very end of the event. New AirPods would likely have longer battery life and better audio quality.

Maybe: New iPad Pro models

New iPad Pro units will be coming either at this event or in October; we're not sure which. New iPad Pros are anticipated to use Face ID and eliminate the home button, but not have notched screens. Reducing the bezels would allow Apple to push the screen sizes larger than the current 10.5 and 12.9 inches without increasing the size of the tablets.

The new models will likely use A12X processors, enhanced versions of the iPhone Xs's A12 with better graphics capabilities to handle the larger screens.

I've got a 50-50 feeling about this one. The iPads could pop up this week, or they could be bumped to October.

Products We Expect From Apple in October

We don't have a date for Apple's October event yet, and it may not even be an in-person event; Apple may just sling out some press releases announcing new products. If it happens, we should expect it to happen during the last two weeks of October.

New Macs

We do not anticipate seeing new Macs at this event in September. Honestly, the docket is just too crowded. Apple is going to spend enough time on the mobile products that it isn't going to have time to devote to the Macs.

In October, there will probably be a MacBook Air replacement and a new Mac mini. A new MacBook Air would have a Retina display, Apple's third-generation flat keyboard, and a price under $1,200. But Apple also might merge the product line with the 12-inch MacBook, a highly controversial computer because of its single USB-C port.

A new Mac mini, according to Bloomberg, will still be a small, headless PC in a box but will have modern storage and processor options; the current mini is about four years old.

macOS Mojave

The new macOS, Mojave, will come out with the new Macs. We have a full preview of Mojave, which has a dark mode and plans to let developers start to port iOS apps to Macs.

Long Shots and Extras

There are a bunch of product lines where we currently don't have a handle on when they'll be updated. They could appear at the September event, at the October event, or at any other time.

• Beats headphones. Could be announced now; could just be announced via press release.
• iPod touch. Last updated in July 2017, it still has value as an entry point to iOS for kids. Might get bumped up, but there are no rumors.
• HomePod. We definitely need an update on this, but haven't heard any rumors.
• iPhone SE. We're now pretty sure it's dead.
• New product lines. We know Apple is working on an augmented reality something-something, but we don't expect to see any truly new product lines this year.