Everything Apple May Unveil at Next Week’s ‘Glowtime’ Event
Apple's September event is just around the corner, and this can mean only one thing: a brand new iPhone lineup will be revealed in less than a week.
As usual, Apple hasn't confirmed or denied that this will be the iPhone event this year. But we all pretty much know that's what Apple will focus on.
However, that doesn't mean the iPhone will be the only thing that Apple announces. In fact, if the rumors are correct, Apple may be launching a lot of new products this month.
We're not just talking about a new Apple Watch. That's also a given, but we might see some new AirPods and even a new iPad, too. Read on for everything to expect from Apple's Glowtime event on Monday.
The new iPhone 16 Models
It's pretty much a given that Apple is planning on launching the new iPhone 16 lineup during its Glowtime event — and if you haven't upgraded your iPhone in a while, this year might be worth it.
The most significant change to the iPhone is happening in the software department. The company will release Apple Intelligence, and we expect the full iPhone 16 lineup to support all the new features it brings, thanks to new A18 chips that all iPhone models will have.
Alongside the new chip, the new iPhones are rumored to come with 8GB of RAM — the minimum required to support Apple Intelligence and a welcome improvement compared to the 6GB in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
Besides the chip, the base iPhone 16 is rumored to feature a larger battery. On the other hand, the iPhone 16 Plus might feature a smaller battery this year. Even if it's not by much, it's bad news for big iPhone lovers. Still, battery rumors should always be taken with a grain of salt.
The Action button, currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro models, will be available on all of this year's iPhones. What's more, Apple plans to add a second button called the Capture button. This button will be on the right side of your iPhone, and as you can guess by its name, it'll be a button that will let you quickly open the Camera app and take pictures in landscape mode.
Last but not least: colors. The iPhone 16 models are rumored to come in five different colors: blue, green, pink, white, and black.
More Powerful iPhone 16 Pro
As expected, Apple will also launch the iPhone 16 Pro models alongside the new iPhone 16. This year, Apple is working on a few changes to make them stand out from their basic counterparts.
For instance, the chip. The iPhone 16 Pro models will likely feature a more powerful "A18 Pro" chip. And just like the base iPhone 16, the Pro models should get larger batteries.
The iPhone 16 Pro models will also get the Capture button on the side, but the cameras will be even better than the base iPhone 16. For starters, the Pro models are expected to feature a 48MP Ultra Wide camera, which is a considerable change from the current 12MP camera we have. Additionally, the smaller iPhone 16 Pro will gain a 5x optical zoom for the Telephoto camera — a feature that came only to the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max last year.
As for the colors of the iPhone 16 Pro models, we expect them to come in black, white, silver, and natural titanium. With that said, a recent rumor suggests there could be a new gold titanium color this year.
Apple Watch Series 10
If rumors are true, the Apple Watch Series 10 should get a really big upgrade this year. The reason is that this year marks the ten-year anniversary of the Apple Watch, and Apple could use this opportunity to show a couple of big new features.
First, we have the name. Instead of calling it "Series 10," as Apple does every year, the company might call it the Apple Watch X this year, just like it did when the iPhone X came out.
But a change in name won't be the only thing that Apple surprises us with. The new Apple Watch is said to come with a couple of new health features.
For starters, there's the possibility of a new feature that will detect your blood pressure. However, at this point it may simply detect hypertension rather than providing specific readings, similar to how the body temperature sensor works. While Apple is still working on other more advanced blood pressure sensors and features like glucose monitoring to help you track the sugar levels in your blood, most reliable reports suggest those are still a few years away.
There's a better chance we'll see a feature that helps you detect and track sleep apnea, especially after Samsung added this one to its Galaxy Watch models last month. The legal issues Apple has run into with its blood oxygen sensor could mean we don't see that this year, but those are only a problem for Apple Watch models sold in the US.
Additionally, the Apple Watch is said to have a new design this year. The Apple Watch X might have a larger screen than ever and feature a thinner design. However, if you already have a collection of bands from prior Apple Watch models, we may have some bad news.
There's a slight possibility that Apple could change the design of the bands this year and start using magnetic bands. At least, that was the rumor last fall. However, since then, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who shared that earlier report over a year ago, more recently said the Apple Watch won't get as big of a redesign as he first thought, suggesting his sources were either seeing a prototype design or that Apple changed its mind. Leaked CAD renders back up those claims, showing a familiar design and the same band attachment system Apple has used for all prior Apple Watch models.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
The Apple Watch Ultra will also get an update this year, but don't expect a big one; it might not even be worth it for current Apple Watch Ultra users.
There haven't been many rumors about the 3rd generation Apple Watch Ultra, which leads me to believe it will only be a minimal update this year — and other sources agree. This means you shouldn't expect significant changes to the design or battery life.
There's a possibility that Apple will add new colors to the Apple Watch Ultra — a "dark titanium" finish was rumored for last year's Ultra, but it never showed up. It could happen this year, but we've heard little about that or any other colors.
Most likely, Apple will focus on upgrading the chip inside and adding the same new health features it might bring to the Apple Watch Series 10. After all, the Apple Watch Ultra isn't broken, so Apple isn't planning on fixing it, at least not this year.
AirPods 4
The base AirPods might not be in big need of an upgrade, but Apple might surprise us with fourth-generation models during its September event.
The biggest surprise is that Apple might show two different AirPods 4 models this year. Why? According to rumors, Apple plans to discontinue both the second and third-generation AirPods this year. The base AirPods 4 will look similar to the current AirPods, although Apple plans to change the design by featuring a shorter stem.
The more expensive AirPods 4 will have the same design, but the big difference between the two models will be on the inside. The higher-end AirPods 4 are rumored to feature noise cancellation, similar to the AirPods Pro.
Additionally, both models will have a new charging case with a USB-C port and a small speaker that can be used with the Find My app to help you find them.
AirPods Pro 3
Besides the regular AirPods, there's also a slight possibility that we might see next-generation AirPods Pro during Apple's Glowtime event.
We haven't heard much about the third-generation AirPods Pro, which leads us to believe they won't be a huge upgrade — at least not if they're coming next week. Some reliable sources have said the new AirPods Pro won't be ready until early next year, and there's a possibility that Apple will add health features tied to hearing on the AirPods Pro, possibly even allowing them to be used as over-the-counter hearing aids.
Regardless of what else may be coming, we can expect Apple to improve the AirPods Pro's Adaptive Noise Cancellation, with some analysts saying it will be "much better" than what we currently have. We also expect Apple to improve battery life and sound quality.
AirPods Max 2
There's also the possibility that Apple will unveil the AirPods Max 2, which are a much-needed upgrade.
The bad news is that we haven't heard many rumors about the AirPods Max. With that said, we can still speculate on what we know based on the AirPods Pro. It's a given that Apple will ditch the Lightning port, and there's a reasonably good chance it will add the H2 chip to support new features like iOS 17's Adaptive Audio and the new Siri gestures in iOS 18.
Unfortunately, we aren't expecting any big changes in the design or battery life, other than possibly some new colors. Still, it will be a welcome update for people who love over-ear headphones.
The AirPods Max 2 might launch during Apple's September event. However, Apple may quietly announce them later this year, as it did with the originals, or even push back the release date to 2025. So don't get your hopes up just yet.
iPad mini 7
Apple has been working on an upgrade for the iPad mini for some time now, or at least that is what the rumors say. And if they're right, we might see the new seventh-generation iPad mini as soon as next week.
While major new iPad releases typically come after Apple's iPhone events, Apple already did those earlier this year with the M2 iPad Air and M4 iPad Pro. Lower-end iPads are often showcased at the same September events as the new iPhones, so it's quite possible Apple will launch the brand new iPad mini next week and possibly a new eleventh-generation iPad as well.
Design-wise, the new iPad mini shouldn't change that much. Apple is expected to keep it the same on the outside while focusing on the inside. The biggest speculation is that Apple will add Apple Intelligence support on the iPad mini, which makes a lot of sense since it would be odd to release new hardware that doesn't support Apple's new AI features.
This means Apple could add an M-series silicon chip to the new iPad mini, or at least something on par with the iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip.
While we don't expect Apple to use an M2 chip as it did on the new iPad Air models, the M1 chip is still powerful enough to handle all the new AI features that Apple Intelligence offers.
If the rumors are true, we might see the new iPad mini during the September event. If not, we may still see it this year, as Apple will likely still hold another event in October to unveil its new M4 Macs.
Software Update Announcements
It's also a given at this point that Apple will use part of its Glowtime event to announce when the new software updates are coming to the public.
Like in previous years, we already have access to the public betas of software updates like iOS 18 and macOS, but the final release will undoubtedly come later this month.
Apple is expected to announce the release dates of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, visionOS 2, and tvOS 18, just like it's done in previous years. If it follows the usual pattern, a final "Release Candidate" (RC) version will be provided to developers and beta testers after the event, with the final public release about a week later.
But what about macOS Sequoia? Apple usually releases a new macOS software update a month or two after iOS 18's release. There have been rumors that Apple might release it alongside iOS 18, but we're more likely to see the new macOS software update in October or November.
With that said, this year's updates will be one of the best we've seen in years. Just like many other companies, Apple is working on AI, which will give us access to many new helpful features to correct our grammar, get summaries of emails and websites, and have the smartest Siri we've ever seen. Just keep in mind that some of these AI features won't arrive until iOS 18.1. That's already in developer beta testing, but there's no word on when it will be released to the public.
Apple TV Announcements
Even though it's not as popular of a product as the other items on the list, Apple might still upgrade the Apple TV box this year.
Apple could launch a new Apple TV 4K during its September event. This would be a much-needed upgrade for Apple TV fans.
Unfortunately, if Apple does launch the new Apple TV 4K this year, we're not expecting it to be a big new upgrade. Instead, we should expect the same design and some internal improvements, like a more powerful processor.
There is the possibility of Apple adding Apple Intelligence support to the Apple TV 4K, but there aren't many rumors about this.
Another Apple-TV-related announcement will be the fourth season of Ted Lasso. If you love the show, as many of us do, you'll be excited to know that there's a small chance Apple will announce a new season during the Glowtime event. It's just a small possibility, of course, but Apple does tend to use the iPhone event to make Apple TV+ announcements.
Additionally, we expect Apple to showcase some of its most popular shows and movies and announce more content in the near future.