Tonight, September 16, starts at 10:00 p.m. PST, and will likely introduce new wearables in the form of the rugged Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Pro, as well as the redesigned AirPods Pro 2 earbuds with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro.
And this may just be the tip of the iceberg. While we await another reveal event in October, where the MacBook Pro M2 and iPad M2 tablets are expected to be unveiled, the elephant in the room is ongoing reports of an Apple VR headset. Could the Far Out event provide an early look at the Cupertino company’s new range of products?
So what about the new phone’s camera? Again, all speculation so far points to the iPhone 14 Pro as the device of choice for camera improvements. We expect the regular 12-megapixel sensor to bump up to a larger 48-megapixel array in the Pro versions.
What is Apple doing to cope with such a large increase? If the initial case leak is to be believed, this will be done via a much larger camera bump on the back of the device. The next iPhone may still be compact, but the bezel is getting bigger, and everything from the flash to the LiDAR sensor has a little more room to breathe.
There are also rumors that the iPhone 14 will feature an advanced A15 chip, which is somewhat improved over the iPhone 13 series, as mentioned above, rather than an entirely new chip design.
Will the iPhone 14 event feature the Apple Watch SE 2?
Even though this is the day of Apple’s big Far Out event, we think a device will be announced that we don’t know much about.
The Apple Watch SE 2 is expected to be announced later at the event, though rumors have been quiet about what extras it might have. We do not anticipate any significant design changes or new functionality. After all, the original iPhone SE was designed to be a budget watch. It’s not supposed to be the flagship of the Apple Watch series, just like the iPhone SE.
However, if Apple were to launch the second generation today, it would almost certainly include a CPU upgrade, perhaps as powerful as the S7 that powers the Apple Watch Series 7.
Apple made the announcement a few weeks ago when the iPhone battery feature reappeared in the iOS 16 beta. With reports that the iPhone 14 Pro design has ditched the notch in favor of a notch, we wonder if the percentage of battery could go back to where it was when the iPhone X was released.
If the story is true, we can go back to the days when the % and battery icons were separate and displayed in the top right corner.
At the very least, Apple is reportedly developing a new form of AirPods that will do away with the characteristic stems and make them slimmer and more comparable to Apple’s Beats Studio Buds. However, new leaks and images suggest that the buttons themselves will retain the same design as the original pair. This means the same white stem design with a silicone tip will be used. Apple could change the case design of the AirPods Pro 2, but we’ll have to wait until the event to find out.
While new iPhones, Apple Watch models, and AirPods Pro are expected to be announced this week, there are several we can almost rule out. Apple isn’t expected to announce any new Macs or iPads, so keep your expectations in check if you’re looking. Apple is also unlikely to introduce new home devices like Apple TV or HomePod, though it may reveal some intriguing service announcements. We’re also not pinning our hopes on Apple VR or any other type of game.