Apple September Event Predictions

On August 30th, Apple Announced that they would be holding their September event. This year's event is titled "Gather Round". As with the other Apple events, I offer up my predictions. Unlike other events, the September event is somewhat easier to guess what will be announced. Here are my guesses.

iPhone

Ever since 2011, with the release of the iPhone 4s, Apple has been releasing iPhones at their fall event. In 2011, it was October. Since the iPhone 5, it has been September. This year is likely no different. I am thinking there will be three new iPhones released. These will be the replacement for the iPhone X, a larger model, and the oft rumored 6.1-inch LCD model.

I am guessing that all three of these models will have the same general design as the iPhone X. This means that there will be very small bezels as well as Touch ID being replaced with Face ID.

Naming

The one thing that is always difficult to guess is the naming. For a majority of iPhone releases, there have been two cycles for names. iPhone 3G, 3GS, iPhone 4, 4s, iPhone 5, 5s, and iPhone 6, 6s. There was no iPhone 7s, because the iPhone 8 was announced last year instead. I have no idea what they will call these phones, so this is merely a wild guess. I am going to guess that the two OLEd models will be called the iPhone Xs. At the same time, the LCD model will be called the iPhone Xc.

I give the likelihood of the iPhone X replacement and a larger one at 100%, while I give the probability of the 6.1-inch LCD model being released at 90%. I give the probability of the naming at 50% for each name.

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch, released in 2015, and unlike the other iOs-based devices, it has remained largely unchanged since its release, at least physically. The Apple Watch Series 3 did get slightly thicker, but only by a millimeter.

I predict that the Apple Watch Series 4 will be released and it will be significantly redesigned. It is my guess that it will have less bezel and have a more edge-to-edge screen, yet it will have the same physical size of the watch.. With less bezel, the screen itself will be larger. The fact that the screen is bigger, means that that there is more area to put the battery. The Apple Watch Series 3 has plenty of battery life to last through an entire day, so it is not my guess that the battery life will increase. Actually, my guess is that at it will remain the same battery life, but the bigger screen will let the battery be thinner. This will result in the watch being thinner, which will be a welcome change for users.

I give the likelihood of a new Apple Watch being announced at 100%, with the screen having less bezel at 85%. My guess is that battery life remains the same at 75%, and the Apple Watch Series 4 being thinner at 90%.

HomePod

The HomePod is Apple's latest iOs-based accessory, and is less than a year old. The HomePod has been available for just about seven months and it is likely to see an update, to iOS 12. The one feature it will likely include is Siri Shortcut support, in particular for third-party apps.

I give the likelihood of a software update for the HomePod at 95%.

iPads

It would not be unprecedented for Apple to announce the release of new iPads. Apple released the current iPads at last year's WWDC keynote. It is possible that they will release new ones, however it is also possible that they will not. If Apple does announce new iPads, here is what I think they will have.

My guess is that the iPad Pros are the only ones that will be updated, since the 9.7-inch iPad was updated in March. The new iPad Pros will have reduced bezel, with no Touch ID but instead will have Face ID. I think the screen sizes will remain the same, at 10.5 inches and 12.9-inches. The reduced bezels means the the physical size of the iPad devices will be smaller, which will allow easier handling.

It is also possible that the new iPads will remain the same physical size, but the screens will be a bit larger. If this is the case, the current 12.9-inch iPad would end up being approximately 14.5 inches. It would be great to actually have an even larger iPad, but within the same physical form factor.

I give the probability of new iPad Pros at 60%, because there is already a lot of stuff in the keynote. If iPads Pros are announced, I give the likelihood of them having Face ID at 100%, reduced bezels at 95%, and being the same physical size at 50%, and retaining the same screen size at 50%.

Accessories

Apple sells many accessories for their iOS-based devices. One product that was announced but has not been released is the AirPower mat. In case you do not remember, the AirPower Mat is supposed to allow you to charge three devices simultaneously. The ones that Apple showed are an iPhone, the AirPods, with a different case, and the Series 3 Apple Watch. The AirPods were supposed to be usable with a different case, which would be sold separately, but has not yet been made available. The Apple Watch has always had inductive charging, so it

I give the likelihood of Apple announcing that the AirPower Mat being available at 75%, a new set of AirPods at 35%, and a new AirPods case at 95%, provided the AirPower Mat is released.

Macs

It is possible that Apple will announce new Macs, however, the keynote is already a bit full, and it is likely that the new Macs would warrant some additional time than just a few minutes. So it is my guess that the likelihood of new Macs being announced at 5%. I rally do think that thy will need their own event, or at least press releases, or journalist meetings.

Recap

So let us recap my predictions. These are ordered in highest percentage to lowest percentage.

Those are all of my predictions. We will know all about what Apple announces on Wednesday, September 12th at 10:00 am Pacific Time.

And while you wait for the keynote, you can pre-order my iOS 12 e-book for $3.99.