What to expect at Apple’s ‘Gather Round’ media event on September 12

Apple’s next big media event will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m. (Pacific) at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park Campus in Cupertino, California. The tech giant has sent out press invitations dubbed “Gather Round,” referring (I’d guess) to the main ring-shaped building at the Apple Park “spaceship campus.”

New iPhones are a sure bet. It’s anticipated that this year’s Apple smartphones will ship in 5.8- and 6.5-inch sizes in OLED, with a lower-priced ($700-$800) 6.1-inch device coming, as well. 

The Sellers Research Group is also expecting:

• New iPad Pros with FaceID with a TrueDepth camera, slimmer bezels, and no Touch ID button. They’ll be available in 12.9-inch and 11-inch versions with the latter replacing the current 10.5-incher.
• The Apple Watch Series 4 with a 15% bigger screen in the same form factor (only slightly bigger), solid state buttons, improved heart rate detection.and longer battery life.
• Second generation AirPods with “Hey, Siri” support and more water resistance. The former will let you call up Apple’s digital assistant without physically tapping the headphones by saying “Hey Siri.” The latter will be designed to survey splashes of water, but not submerging.
• The long-promised AirPower, which will be able to charge a Qi-compatible iPhone, an Apple Watch, and a pair of AirPods (in a special wireless charging case that will also be announced on Sept. 12) at the same time regardless of where they’re placed on the pad.

I think there’s also a chance that we’ll see the Apple Pencil 2 featuring a new magnetic system that will allow it to temporarily attach to an iPad. This would allow users to place the Apple Pencil on the iPad securely when not in use, allowing it to attach magnetically just like the iPad Smart Cover. 

As for new iMacs, I think they’ll debut in October along with macOS Mojave and (perhaps) a new Mac mini. The question is whether Apple will debut a 20th anniversary iMac with a big event — or merely issue a press release.