Apple will have its next big media event today at 10 a.m. at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. Following is what I’m predicting.
New iPhones. This is a no-brainer. Expect three new smartphone models from Apple with some new color offerings (including green). I was dubious at first, but I’ve come around to believe the rumors that the high-end, 6.7-inch model will be dubbed the iPhone Pro (or perhaps the iPhone 11 Pro) with a starting price of around $1,000 (or more!). It will pack a triple rear camera that will offer a greater capacity for wide-angle shots, while the two other models will sport a double rear camera.
Those other two models will be a “budget” 5.4-inch successor to the iPhone XR (with a LED display) and a midrange 6.1-inch offering akin to the iPhone XS. The midrange and pro models will boast OLED screens.
I think all the new smartphones will ditch 3D Touch and replace it with “Leap Haptics” that will utilize a new Taptic engine that will be a successor to the Haptic Touch tech that debuted in the iPhone XR.
All the new iPhones will support bilateral charging so you can share some of your smartphone’s battery power with devices such as AirPods that have a wireless charging case. All the new Apple smartphones will be powered by an A13 processor.
None will support 5G. That won’t arrive until next year. I also don’t expect any of the 2019 iPhones to get support for the Apple Pencil.
Pre-orders for all the new devices will start on Sept. 13 with some shipping Sept. 20. And you can count on back orders for most, if not all, of the gadgets.
Apple Watch Series 5. Almost as certain a bet as new iPhones are new Apple Watches. The Series 5 won’t see any major design changes (sorry, no round displays for those who have wanted them), but may be offered in ceramic and titanium models.
Expect more health features such as running functions like cadence tracking and sleep tracking. I think Apple will offer third party support for watch faces.
I’m going out on a limb here and predict that the next gen Apple Watch will offer an Always On display. This would necessitate a more powerful battery, which it will get as well as some minor processor improvements. Pricing should start at $400, the same as the Series 4.
iPad Pro. Most pundits expect these to be announced at an October event along with the rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro. I don’t think Apple will announce competing mobile devices (since it promotes the tablet as a laptop alternative) at the same event.
In fact, I’m not even expecting an October event. I think the 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as the modular Mac Pro and Apple Display XDR, will be announced via press releases next month.
But back to new iPad Pros. At least the 12.9-inch model will add the triple rear camera that the iPhone Pro will offer. Both the 12.9-incher and 11-incher will be powered by the A13 processor. They may also pack a bit more RAM to accompany the chip.
Expect pricing to be about the same as the 2018 iPads, although the 64GB storage will disappear with 128GB becoming the entry level storage option at the same price point as previous models with 64GB. I also expect the 2019 iPad Pros to come in the same space grey and silver flavors.
Tomorrow will also — per my crystal ball — see Apple announce the release dates of macOS Catalina, iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, and tvOS 13, as well as the debut date of its Apple Arcade gaming service. Alas, don’t expect HomePod or Apple TV updates or even the launch date of the Apple TV + streaming service.
Come back tomorrow for our coverage of the Apple event to see how clear, or cloudy, my crystal ball is.
