Just as night follows day, September brings an Apple event.
The tech giant traditionally sets aside a date in the ninth month of the year to unveil its new iPhones, and 2023’s handsets are set to feature a significant change thanks to new EU rules.
Apple will host the event at its campus in Cupertino, California, on 12 September – here’s what we’re expecting.
iPhone 15
This year’s standard iPhone model is set to come in two sizes once again, with a regular and plus model.
In a blow for those of us who have small hands and even smaller pockets, there are no reports of a return for the iPhone’s mini incarnation, last seen two years ago.
So far as changes from the iPhone 14, the biggest will likely be the introduction of a USB-C charging port, replacing Apple’s custom lightning standard.
The company confirmed it would be adopting USB-C to meet EU regulation – and rather than introduce a bespoke model just for the bloc’s members, it will apply around the world.
That should mean less cables for you to carry around if you have other portable gadgets, but might be a problem if you’ve got lots of lightning-specific accessories.
Otherwise, the iPhone 15 has been tipped to get the “dynamic island” feature that was restricted to the 14 Pro. This replaces the notch at the top of the handset with a smaller cutout in the screen.
And the new phone’s arrival will be timed to the latest version of iOS, which was shown off back in May. Among the fresh features is the ability to clone your voice using AI, which we tested last month.
No matter how major or minor the update, fans will queue up for the new models
Speaking of the pro phones…
Two iPhone 15 Pros are also expected, again a normal size and a chunkier one.
As ever, expect faster chips and improved cameras and battery life, and leakers suggest Apple’s designers may have swapped its steel body for titanium to save weight.
Two of the reported changes take cues from the Apple Watch – an action button and a new name.
The former could replace the mute switch, long a feature of the iPhone, and allow users to customise its function, making it anything from a camera shortcut to a torch trigger.
As for the name, Apple is reportedly considering changing its most premium model from the Pro Max to the Ultra, bringing it in line with its top-of-the-line watch.
Apple CEO Tim Cook will present the event from the company’s Cupertino headquarters
Watch this space…
Little is known about this year’s Apple Watch updates.
There certainly will be a ninth entry in the standard series, but it’s not thought to be significant.
Last year saw the introduction of the Apple Watch Ultra, marketed primarily towards exercise fiends who want improved battery life and a bigger screen for all those painful runs they do.
Based on the expensive wearable being subject to sizeable price cuts at several retailers at the moment, it seems a new model is indeed imminent.
New AirPods
To bring its popular earbuds in line with the new iPhones, Apple is said to be readying updated AirPods that have a USB-C port on their charging case.
It’s not known whether Apple will focus on the pro or standard AirPods to start with, or perhaps even update both.
The over-ear AirPods Max headphones will also need an update at some point if Apple plans to abandon lightning across the board, as will other accessories like its Mac keyboards, mice, and trackpads.
If you really want to embrace that one cable life, it could get very expensive.
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Anything else?
Apple usually saves any updates to its iPads and Macs for a separate date, but if they make the September event fans can expect new M3 chips for faster performance.
Elsewhere, it’s unlikely but not impossible that we’ll get more news on Apple Vision Pro, the mixed-reality headset announced earlier this year with an eye-watering price tag of £2,800.
Not even all those lightning cables you need to replace will add up to that much.