Apple has confirmed its flagship annual product event will take place on September 9. We’re almost certain to see the iPhone 18 range revealed and possibly the company’s long awaited first foldable, thought to be called the iPhone Ultra.
In an invite sent out to media members today, Apple also promised a surprise. Considering the event is actually called ‘Surprise and shine’ we’ll be a bit peeved if we don’t exit the live stream with something that genuinely took us by… well, surprise! We’re thinking something in the One More Thing realm Steve Jobs used to pull all those years ago.
Those jawdroppers included stunning iMac G4, the iPod shuffle, and the MacBook Air. So to deliver the same wow factor Apple is going to have to go some.
Here’s what’s on deck.
iPhone Ultra
Apple’s pending iPhone Ultra is the most likely offering. It’s a brand new product, so would technically count. However, few folks would be surprised to see it given the number of leaks and reports over the last few months. Earlier this week the Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman offered some hands-on impressions from people who have tested the device.
The iPhone Ultra promises to deliver a multi-faceted experience with a stubby outer cover screen opening out like a book into an iPad mini-like internal display with an aspect ratio optimised for video and gaming.
Alongside the iPhone Ultra there may be up to four iPhone 18 models, although the company has reportedly considered splitting the Pro/Pro Max and standard releases this year. Whether there’ll be a follow up to last year’s iPhone Air remains to be seen.
The Apple Watch 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 could get a debut, while new AirPods 5 could break cover at the event. AirPods Pro 4 with cameras aren’t expected until next year. iPads and Macs have traditionally avoided the iPhone event and followed in November, although Apple just outed a new Mac mini and Mac Studio with its most powerful M-Series chip yet.
None of these would constitute a surprise.
Apple Home assault
Apple is thought to have a slate of home products – including a new Apple TV, HomePods mini and its first smart display on deck – and now Siri AI is finally here, we may see those products roll out to the masses. The smart display – dubbed HomePad – is the one with the most potential as it’ll likely to debut a new operating system called homeOS and introduce some Apple magic that’ll separate it from the existing pack of Amazon and Nest devices.
We’ve also heard Apple have a iMac G4 like smart display in the works with a robotic arm that follows the user around the room so they can always see the display. That would certainly be a surprise. However, it’s still thought to be a few years away yet.
Apple smart glasses
A dark horse perhaps? Since Apple has practically given up on new Vision Pro hardware, according to reports, the next head-worn device could be the answer to the Meta Ray Ban smart specs. Apple is believed to be well on the way to introducing the first product in this series, which may eventually result in the AR specs that could replace the iPhone.
Again, key reports have not indicated the smart glasses will arrive in 2026.
The new host
As usual, Apple will stream the event from its website and the Apple TV app, while also showing the event on YouTube. One reason to tune in this year? We’ll get a new host. With Tim Cook retreating from the day-to-day running of Apple, it’ll be new Apple CEO John Ternus emceeing the shindig. What will we learn about his priorities during the event? What will we learn about how he plans to lead Apple into the next generation and the generative AI era?
Hopefully he has different music taste to the Timster. That would be a nice surprise.
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