Apple’s next big fall event will take place on Tuesday, September 14th at 1PM ET, the company announced. The event, which carries the tagline “California streaming,” will be another virtual event broadcast from Apple Park.The company typically announces the year’s new iPhones at the fall event, and this year’s entry is expected to be called the iPhone 13. We also expect to see a new Apple Watch as well as new AirPods.
The new series of phones will apparently come in the same sizes as the iPhone 12, but a headline feature for some models could be high refresh rate screens, finally delivering tech that has been available on many Android phones. The new phones are also expected to have smaller display notches and improved cameras. It’s hard to pull specific clues from Apple’s static event invite, though the darkening sky might suggest we’ll see improved night mode photography. And perhaps the glowing Apple logo is hinting toward an always-on lock screen for the iPhone.
The next Apple Watch, reportedly called the Apple Watch Series 7, is rumored to have a new design with flatter edges and larger 41mm and 45mm screens, a 1mm bump from the Series 6. (Though, the new Watch is reportedly facing manufacturing issues that could lead to delays.) Apple’s next entry-level AirPods may have a new design that takes cues from the AirPods Pro. New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros equipped with the company’s custom-designed chips and an SD card slot are also rumored to be on the way. The event arrives following a tough few weeks for Apple. The company delayed controversial child protection features after intense criticism from privacy and security experts. Apple announced a number of recent App Store policy changes, though they only mildly address developer concerns. And with proposed legislation in multiple countries, increased regulatory scrutiny, and the looming verdict in the Epic Games v. Apple trial, we could be on the precipice of profound changes in the way Apple operates.