“It’s Glowtime,” that’s the official title for the big Apple event planned for today in which new hardware and software products from the company founded by Steve Jobs will be unveiled.
The event will kick off at 10:00 am and will be held at the Steve Jobs theatre inside Apple Park, the HQ quarters located in Cupertino, California.
As usual, the event will focus principally on hardware products, in particular the new iPhone models for this year will be unveiled along with updated versions of the Apple Watch and AirPods.
According to industry insiders, four new iPhone models will be launched again this year: iPhone 16 and 16 Plus and the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max.
The first two models are expected to stick to a design very similar to the previous models, but there will be a shift in the camera layout from diagonal to vertical, presumably to allow space video recording for the Apple Vision Pro.
An ‘Action’ button, already present on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, will also be added so that a specific command can be assigned according to users’ preferences.
Another new feature could be the integration of the new ‘Capture’ button located below the power button, which will be useful for taking photos and videos. This button, responsive to pressure and touch, will allow users to focus by pressing it lightly, shoot with a deeper pressure, and zoom or switch modes (photo to video) with touch gestures.
All iPhone 16 models will be equipped with the brand new ‘A18’ processor, which is manufactured using TSMC’s 3-nanometer processor and will provide additional performance by exploiting the Neural Engine and the new features of Apple’s in-house artificial intelligence, ‘Apple Intelligence’.
In the Pro and Pro Max models, the most important innovations will concern the photographic compartment, in particular, a new 48-megapixel Ultra-Wide camera with pixel binning technology for better performance in low light. Both models will feature a 5x telephoto lens, previously exclusive to the 15 Pro Max, and a new main camera sensor that will improve image quality, dynamic range and noise control.
It will be able to record 4K video at up to 120 fps, compared to the current 60 fps, and Apple is testing 8K recording, and the possibility of pausing and resuming video recording also seems to be confirmed.
Finally, an increase in size is also predicted: the iPhone 16 Pro’s display will be 6.3 inches, while the Pro Max will have a 6.9-inch display, with more efficient OLED panels, improved brightness and contrast, and thinner bezels.
This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the release of the Apple Watch, arguably one of the most revolutionizing products in the entire smartwatch industry and beyond; thus, the next Apple Watch, which is expected to be called ‘Series X’, will not appear to include any substantial changes. Rumors claim that it will be thinner and feature an increase in dial size; the 41mm and 45mm models will be replaced by 45mm and 49mm versions.
Apple is also rumored to have made the OLED displays more energy efficient and, given a larger case, the battery size could also increase, ensuring a longer life. Improvements to the heart rate and ECG sensors are also expected to enable the detection of sleep apnea.
Two new generations of AirPods 4 are also supposed to come with a revamped design and a shorter stem. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, there will be an updated fit, but details are not yet clear. The high-end model will introduce active noise cancellation (ANC), so far only available on the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.
The AirPods Max will receive a USB-C port, minor audio improvements and new colour options. Although the update was originally expected by year-end, Gurman suggests that the announcement could take place during the next Apple event.
As for the software component, Apple could also announce during the event the release dates for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, tvOS 18, watchOS 11 and visionOS 2, which are currently in beta testing. These new versions of the operating systems should be available at the same time as the launch of the new iPhones, which is planned for 20 September.
All we can do now is wait to enjoy the event, which will be live streamed by Apple on its website and YouTube as well as via the Apple TV app on supported devices.
