What is apple about to announce

Here’s everything Apple didn’t announce at its iPhone 13 event

— Sep. 16th 2021 11:31 am PT

Apple’s September event included the unveiling of iPhone 13, Apple Watch Series 7, the redesigned iPad mini 6, and more. However, there were a number of things absent. Let’s look at everything Apple didn’t announce at its iPhone 13 event.

Table of contents

While Apple’s annual September event delivered on a lot of what we expected, there were some notable omissions and surprises. For a recap of everything that we did get, check out our detailed roundup here:

We’ve also got in-depth comparisons for Apple’s newest hardware:

Everything Apple didn’t announce at its iPhone 13 event

AirPods 3

In an interesting turn of events, AirPods 3 didn’t arrive at the iPhone 13 launch. Reports from the reliable Ming-Chi Kuo said to expect the new fully wireless earbuds in Q3 but it turns out that Apple may push them to Q4 this year or later.

AirPods 3 are expected to feature an all-new design similar to AirPods Pro but without the in-ear fit, keeping the “universal fit” of standard AirPods. Check out all the details we’ve got at this point in our full guide:

New Apple Silicon Macs

14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro

We weren’t expecting the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro machines to arrive at Apple’s iPhone 13 event but the latest reports indicate we should see them in the “next several weeks.”

The new notebooks will offer full power for pros with the latest version of Apple Silicon, should include the return of I/O, MagSafe, and more.

Mac mini

Alongside the new MacBook Pro notebooks, Apple is believed to be readying a more powerful Apple Silicon Mac mini with more ports and a new design.

macOS Monterey release date

While the iOS 15 official launch is set for September 20, Apple didn’t share when to expect the next version of Mac software, macOS Monterey.

With the new Macs in the pipe for Q4, we could see Apple hold off on launching Monterey until then. Notably, one of the operating system’s headlining features, Universal Control, still hasn’t been fully available to test in the macOS Monterey beta.

Apple Watch surprise

Very interestingly, the Apple Watch Series 7 arrived without the all-new squared-off design that was reported by multiple sources.

In contrast, here are renderings of what was expected:

Along with keeping the same rounded design, there’s not a lot different with this year’s refresh other than a larger display and faster charging. It even uses what looks to be the same processor as the Apple Watch Series 6.

What Apple didn’t announce wrap-up

The all-new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and upgraded Apple Silicon Mac mini set to arrive this fall will likely be the most anticipated releases. But AirPods 3 could ramp up the social phenomenon we’ve seen created by the existing models.

As for Apple’s entry into the AR/VR world, that’s not expected until 2022 or beyond.

What are you most stoked to see launch in the coming months? Let us know in the comments below

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Guides

MacBook Pro

Apple’s premium laptop comes in 13- and 16-inch screen sizes. Each model includes 2-4 USB-C ports for charging, accessories, and data transfer. Higher-end models also include the Touch Bar.

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Is Apple about to expand its TV business?

By Tom Espiner
Business reporter, BBC News

Could Apple be about to unveil a move into subscription TV?

Invitations to an event at its Cupertino campus on Monday simply saying «It’s show time» have sparked speculation that the tech giant could be about to announce its next TV steps.

Apple needs to diversify and find new ways of bringing in cash as iPhone sales slow down, analysts say.

But in an unforgiving media landscape, Apple is expected to launch a challenge to the likes of Netflix.

What is Apple’s background in TV?

Apple kicked off its TV ambitions in 1993 with Macintosh TV, which didn’t get very far.

Its first major foray into the area was in 2007, when it first started selling its Apple TV console. This has had limited success compared with its iTunes music service, analysts say.

Jim Nail, principal analyst at Forrester, says: «Apple has had a TV device and content library for several years, following the model around music that revolutionised that industry.

«But people consume TV and music content very differently so just applying the music model didn’t have the same impact.»

Apple TV’s hardware and technology platform is used to rent and sell content through iTunes.

The firm has released original titles through Apple Music, including Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps, a reality show about app development.

Since 2007, Apple has also had some success in distributing movies and TV shows, according to Canalys analyst Ben Stanton.

However, he adds: «Its iTunes movies business is under huge threat from affordable streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and soon Disney.

«It was a success in its day, but Apple now needs to evolve this business or it will die.»

Apple has built up relationships with major movie studios and TV networks, and these are «critical» for it to launch a subscription service, Mr Stanton says, because it needs to have more content than just its own original shows.

But some big players have said they are not on board. Netflix has already ruled out making its TV programmes and films available through Apple’s subscription service, with chief executive Reed Hastings saying: «We prefer to let our customers watch our content on our service.»

What is Apple expected to announce?

Apple has been on a $2bn spending spree, signing up stars such as Oprah Winfrey, for original content. Jennifer Aniston and Reece Witherspoon are also widely reported to have been signed up.

Directors and producers including M. Night Shyamalan and J.J. Abrams have been signed up, according to showbiz publication Variety, as well as Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television.

Apple also hired two well-respected Sony Pictures executives, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, to head its original content division.

As for the service itself, Jim Nail of Forrester says: «As usual, Apple is so closely guarding the details that it is hard to judge it. Will it upgrade the Apple TV device? Does it have partnerships with SmartTV manufacturers that will make an Apple TV app more broadly available?

«Exactly what content is included in the subscription? Live TV? On-demand episodes of current network programs? Sports? And the price matters a lot. As they say in the TV business, stay tuned. «

It may also allow customers to buy subscriptions to CBS, Viacom and Lions Gate, and is also in discussions with Game of Thrones maker HBO to become part of its service, according to Reuters.

What have its rivals been doing?

Netflix «is the biggest fish in this particular pond», says Ben Stanton, and Netflix and Apple «have been at loggerheads recently».

The streaming giant is shifting its subscription model away from the Apple App store, which means it will be much harder for Apple to make money from Netflix customers on its iOS operating system.

In terms of content, Amazon Prime has a number of irons in the fire, including an upcoming series based on JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings mythology, Radio Times reports.

Amazon Prime includes Channels, where consumers in the US can sign up to third parties such as HBO and Showtime.

HBO is due to premiere season eight of its smash hit series Game of Thrones in April.

The BBC and ITV also announced recently that they are in talks over launching a service called Britbox in the UK.

Why does Apple need to get into TV?

Smartphone sales are slowing for many major manufacturers, including Apple, says Ben Stanton, but most other companies have big businesses to fall back on.

«Huawei has its infrastructure business. Samsung has a very profitable components division, not to mention its TV business. But Apple is extremely dependent on iPhone,» he says.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has said he wants to focus the company on selling services rather than just hardware in a major shift in strategy.

Apple is «sacrificing some of the profitability in its iPhone business» to try to push up the number of people using iOS, so it can sell services to them and to its existing user base, Mr Stanton says.

Tom Harrington of Enders Analysis adds: «iPhone sales are slowing so it makes sense for Apple to further diversify its business.

«Video viewing is growing, the Amazon Channels model has been successful for Amazon and the third party services alike, and with a massive base of iPhone and iPad users there is quite a lot of potential.»

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WWDC 2020: What we might expect Apple to announce on June 22

Apple’s annual WWDC event is always a big deal. It’s our first look at the new operating systems that will ship to the public in the fall, and often a place where Apple unveils new hardware. In recent years, we’ve seen Apple Music, the HomePod, the iMac Pro, and the Mac Pro announced at WWDC, in addition to new operating systems and updates to the current Macs.

This year is a little different. COVID-19 has caused Apple to change WWDC into an online-only event and to hold it later in June than it typically does. Still, the week-long developer conference will be preceded by a streaming video Special Event, where we expect lots of big announcements.

Here’s a brief list of all the things we might see at this year’s WWDC. With Apple, no matter what the rumors say, you never know what is going to be announced until the executives take the stage.

iOS 14 and iPadOS 14

More than anything else, WWDC is an event at which Apple will announce new operating systems and tell developers how to make apps that take advantage of their new features. Top of the list is iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 (the iPhone and iPad operating systems having gotten separate names last year).

We’ve heard a lot of iOS 14 of rumors already. The most interesting is the potential for some significant changes to the home screen, including widgets.

MacOS 10.16

We don’t yet know the name of macOS 10.16, the successor to macOS 10.15 Catalina. We’ve heard fewer rumors about what to expect from macOS this year, but it seems likely that there will be major improvements to Catalyst, and some iOS-only apps (like Health and Activity) might make the leap to the Mac. Mac apps like Messages and Apple Music might become Catalyst apps, gaining feature parity with their mobile counterparts and perhaps significant interface changes.

WatchOS 7, tvOS 14, and the rest

While iOS/iPadOS and macOS are Apple’s biggest operating systems, Apple always has a few things in store for Apple TV and Apple Watch owners.

Apple TV just got a huge overhaul with big features like multi-user support. This year we expect more interface tweaks—especially as the Apple TV+ content grows.

New watchOS features are often tied to new Apple Watch hardware, but additional developer interfaces and health features wouldn’t be a surprise. Apple has been moving toward making the Apple Watch more independent from the iPhone, with its own App Store, for example. There are still many ways in which the Apple Watch will not work if you don’t have an iPhone, but watchOS 7 might give it that capability.

New services or a bundle

One ecosystem, one bundle?

Apple has dramatically increased its service offerings over the last few years, adding Apple News+, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade on top of Apple Music and iCloud storage plans.

Perhaps Apple has a new service to announce? We haven’t heard any rumors to that effect, but a non-hardware service offering may be easier to conceal than a new device or operating system update.

We have heard rumors, however, of an Apple service bundle. We’re not sure what services are included or what it would cost, but WWDC may be a good time to announce it, and we’ve long-since believed that it would be a great idea.

Apple’s transition to ARM

One of the biggest rumors about Apple’s WWDC presentation is that the company will announce its intent to transition Macs from x86 Intel processors to ARM-based processors of its own design. Apple did a similar thing at WWDC in 2005, announcing the transition from PowerPC to Intel.

This is a huge shift, and we probably shouldn’t expect consumer products until next year. Rather, Apple will probably sell a special developer platform to registered developers, as it did in 2005. We have a more thorough examination of what the timeline and potential products could be.

An all-new iMac

The new iMac may more closely resemble the Pro Display XDR.

Recent rumors suggest that Apple is about to reveal an all-new iMac, fully redesigned and ready for the future. The new iMac supposedly takes its cues from the Pro Display XDR or iPad Pro, with thin bezels and and squared-off flat edges.

The current iMac design has served Apple well, but it is way behind the times. This new design is just the thing to go with the coming processor transition, though it is not tied to it; the rumors say it will ship this year with an Intel processor and AMD graphics.

AirPods Studio

Apple is supposedly working on a pair of high-end over-the-ear headphones. Reportedly called AirPods Studio, they would feature noise-cancelling, magnetically-attached band and cup padding, and premium sound.

A new Apple TV

Apple is apparently working on a new Apple TV, essentially an upgrade from the current Apple TV 4K. It apparently will have an A12X or A12Z processor and double the storage (64GB or 128GB), but otherwise look similar to the current model.

No word on whether it will have a different remote, but the current Siri remote is universally panned and has got to go.

AirTags

We’ve heard about Apple’s Tile-like trackers, supposedly called AirTags, for what seems like ages. Events come and go, and Apple never announces them.

Will WWDC be the place where Apple finally takes the wraps off this not-so-secret product?

HomePod mini or HomePod 2

The HomePod is now a couple years old, and while its software has gotten better, it still lags behind its competitors.

Apple needs smarter HomePod software and a much less expensive hardware offering. Rumor has it that’s on the way, though we don’t know if it will be called HomePod mini, HomePod 2, or something else entirely.

New iPad Air and iPad mini

Apple is reported to be near the release of a couple new iPads. A new iPad Air would follow the design of the iPad Pro (thin bezels, flat sides, and Face ID) and a new iPad mini would grow in size to an over 8-inch display.

The rumors only state that these devices would ship in the second half of this year. If that’s sooner in the second half, a WWDC announcement is likely. If it’s later, they would be announced at an event in September or October.

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