Apple iPhone 6 Launch: What to Expect

There's a huge pent-up demand for huge new iPhones. Apple's iPhone 5s, while it had internal improvements like the first 64-bit smartphone processor, didn't have the physical wow factor that the iPhone 5 did; it just looked too much like the previous year's model. That won't be a problem this year, with radical new designs and probably a whole new product category appearing on stage at Cupertino's Flint Center auditorium.

TL;DR
Block out two hours starting at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. U.K., 7 p.m. Europe.) We'll get iOS 8, two iPhones, and an iWatch. We will probably not see Yosemite, Macs, or iPads, all of which will be saved for an event in mid-October. New iPods will be a wild card, but there's enough already happening that Apple could have a separate music event later where Dr. Dre plays a significant role. I will also be very surprised if we hear anything about iCloud security.

Pre-Gaming
We'll be lining up outside the Flint Center sometime between 6 and 7 a.m. We won't be the first people there, not by a long shot, but it's going to be a mob scene. Typically, the press-only Apple events (as opposed to the huge Worldwide Developers Conference) are pretty cozy events, but the Flint Center seats 2,400, and Reuters says that a long list of fashion media have been invited for the first time, probably because of the iWatch.

The Waiting Game
Then, pretty much nothing happens for the next three hours. We'll get shuffled into a vestibule. There may be muffins. People will try to figure out where the auditorium doors are and line up against them. There will be several guys with huge cameras from a Korean outfit called AVing.net who will be more aggressive than everyone else.

First, a Recap
The first 15-20 minutes of any Apple keynote are generally a recap of Apple's successes, especially in retail store sales. Apple has, in the past, given us things like photo tours of stores in Beijing in this show segment. You are permitted to ignore this.

The Anti-Samsung Ammunition
Apple has spent a long time not launching bigger smartphones. It'll have to set the stage for why it wants to make this change now. Over the past few years, Apple has gotten more directly combative against its competitors in presentations, and it'll throw a lot of oblique shade at the Galaxy Note series. Maybe there will even be a stylus putdown or two.

At Least Two iPhones
Now we hear about the iPhones. Apple may be filling three niches here. We've been hearing mixed things about whether the 5.5-inch iPhablet will appear, but it's now looking like it will, with custom software that gives it a dual-paned, iPad-like interface, according to our NetShelter partner 9to5Mac. We see this premium model selling for $299 with contract, the one price point that Apple doesn't currently have filled. The big seller, of course, will be the 4.7-inch iPhone, at $199.

Many Chinese sites have been claiming that the new iPhones will have a slimmer, more rounded form, although I'm always skeptical of supposed Chinese device leaks because the sheer level of fakery out there is just galactic.

The new iPhones will have an improved A8 processor, better cameras, NFC for mobile payments, and of course larger, higher-resolution screens. The New York Times says that the 5.5-inch model will have a special "one-handed mode" that reformats the interface, potentially crowding elements on one side like the one-handed mode on recent LG phones.

The larger models will have larger batteries, but possibly not longer battery life (bigger screens require more power.) They'll have room for 128GB of internal storage. As for those sapphire screens, rumors seem to still be going back and forth on that, based on whether Apple was able to actually acquire enough sapphire to meet expected demand.

Blogger John Gruber, who is so close to Apple that at times he reads like Apple PR, suggests that the two phones' displays will be 1,334-by-750 and 2,208-by-1,242. That means existing iPhone apps will appear in a "window" on the larger iPhones, the way pre-iPhone 5 apps did on that phone. Apple will have to bring out some software partners who have already coded for the larger screens.

The iPhone 5s and 5c will be bumped down to $99 and free with contract, as the usual plan goes, but there could be a replacement for the 5s at the $99 point, with NFC so it can use Apple's new mobile payments system.

iOS 8 and iPayments
I've been trying to figure out where the official iOS 8 launch will go in the presentation, but for Apple to debut its new mobile-payment system, it'll probably have to announce the hardware first. We'll get the final features of iOS 8, some HomeKit and HealthKit demos, and some mobile payments partners on stage. MacRumors tips Walgreens, CVS, and Nordstrom as three retailers that will accept iPayments. 

The iWatch - Something Different
Now it's time to move on. Recent rumors have locked in on an iWatch appearance, although the device itself may not go on sale until early 2015. The iWatch will have health and mobile-payments aspects, and may be introduced by new Apple employee and famed watch designer Marc Newson. 

9to5Mac says the watch will have a range of fitness sensors, mapping capabilities, and mobile payments features. The New York Times tips wireless charging.

The biggest question I have about the iWatch is whether it will require an iPhone - in other words, whether it will be a secondary screen or a primary computing device. It'll probably be an iPhone accessory, because it's hard to get slimness and decent battery life in something with enough processing power to run its own apps (see: Samsung Gear.)

iWatch Partners
9to5Mac says that the iWatch SDK has already been distributed to premiere software partners, so they can show off apps that run on it. The site says that Facebook is likely to show up. Nike, a longtime Apple partner, is also sure to be on the list.

Sale Dates
The iPhones are likely to go on sale on Friday, Sept. 19. The iWatch will go on sale later.

Musical Outro?
Apple sometimes has a musical guest serenade the assembled press, but that may not happen this time if there's no iPod or music element to the show. In any case, we'll rush out and grab hands-on time with the new iPhones as quickly as we can.

The event will be live streamed at Apple.com/live, but only to owners of Apple devices. I'll be live-blogging from @PCMagLive starting at around 7 a.m. PT on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

For more on what Apple might unveil on Tuesday, check out the slideshows above and the video below.