What to Expect at Apple's September 2019 Event: New iPhones, Apple Watch Models, Services Updates and More

[apolloa]

I think all three are discontinued. They’re all so good, there’s just no way to keep them from cannibalizing the 2019 products.

If the 2020 5G models come in $100-150 more expensive next year, I can see Apple maybe dropping the iPhone 11 models by $50-100 and keeping them around to sell next to the iPhone 12 models.

But even the XR... it’s such a great phone, if it dropped to $650 this year, it would probably take at least half of new units sold. Does anybody really “need” more iPhone than an XR? Similarly, Apple isn’t going to sell an X at $799 or XS at $899 this year. The X would gobble up the 5.8” OLED sales and people would barely buy XS, let alone 11 Pro.

That’s the reality of a mature market. Car manufacturers don’t keep around even last year’s model, they do everything they can to get them off the lot. They want to make sure that if you’re willing to settle for last year’s model, it’s damn well going to be a used one.

It’s just not possible to have some kind of breakthrough, must-have feature—every year—such that people will want only the latest and greatest.

I have a feeling they will be increasing prices this year including the XR. Which will make it poor value not that it is t already, and I bought one! But 800 pounds for a 128gb phone that’s not considered a flagship in the range is pretty bad. I can see that increasing to 820 or 850.
Apple will just offer trade in deals or something again.

Apple seems to price its devices labelled ‘Pro’ a lot higher then other devices too, so I can see the XS replacement if labelled ‘Pro’ increasing by around 100.
They may not do it this year but next year at the latest I think. I am just waiting for the XR price increase though.. 800 is my personal limit for a phone and that’s at a push! Still hoping for a new SE based on the iPhone 8 size however.

 

[dantroline]

Call me naive, but I somehow got the impression Apple will surprise us with something big this year.

First, there is the very provocative headline “by innovation only”, which is a ballsy move considering Microsoft, Google, Samsung are all about to present their innovations right now. We also just learned, that Apple is going to stream their event for the first time on YouTube. Then there’s a long series of rather underwhelming rumors, none of which quite hits the mark for something truly innovative. And we have solid hints at a “one more thing” revelation.

How is there no rumors yet? I don’t know, but Apple has invested into making their supply chain leak proof, so maybe it finally pays off.... I actually could imagine something truly transformative along the lines of Apple glasses being revealed (might even make sense to introduce them together with a phone that’s supposed to be capable of charging accessoires)

I really hope so!

 

[GoodWheaties]

Why? 35mm cinema projection is 24fps; what makes your eyes so special they require 5 times the amount of data than a cinema film?

Movies look good with frames blurred together. Text, cursors, and desktop stuff, not so much.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I have a feeling they will be increasing prices this year including the XR. Which will make it poor value not that it is t already, and I bought one! But 800 pounds for a 128gb phone that’s not considered a flagship in the range is pretty bad. I can see that increasing to 820 or 850.
Apple will just offer trade in deals or something again.

Apple seems to price its devices labelled ‘Pro’ a lot higher then other devices too, so I can see the XS replacement if labelled ‘Pro’ increasing by around 100.
They may not do it this year but next year at the latest I think. I am just waiting for the XR price increase though.. 800 is my personal limit for a phone and that’s at a push! Still hoping for a new SE based on the iPhone 8 size however.

If Samsung is any indication, 5G is expensive tech. I think we’ll be lucky if 5G only adds $100 to next year’s models.

I don’t anticipate price increases this year, but who knows. Not sure Apple is going to eat the whole Trump tariff; I guess we’ll find out in a few days. I do expect 24 or 36 month 0% interest deals for those that use Apple Card.

btw your XR should easily last until 2023, which is a huge factor in why iPhones are more expensive now. After having a 4s and 5s, I’m about to start my fifth year with my 6s,m. And if 2GB devices get iOS 14 next year, I’m going to wait until 2021 for the 11S Pro. Or if it’s smaller, maybe the new “SE”.

 

[SvenLorenz1975]

Any chance that there is no Series 5 Apple Watch and they are only adding the ceramic and titanium options?

 

[childlost]

Smart guy Jonny Ive. He left just in time not to be associated with that iphone 2019 monstrosity.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Smart guy Jonny Ive. He left just in time not to be associated with that iphone 2019 monstrosity.

That’s not really the case. He designed this year’s, next year’s (the 2020s will lock soon) and maybe 2021’s models as well. And if he continues working with Apple, who knows, maybe the next ten or twenty years, too.

 

[theluggage]

First, there is the very provocative headline “by innovation only”,

Because nobody who actually wanted to sell product and boost their share price ever announced an event as:

By Increments Only: Come and see us announce slightly better cameras than last year's cameras and a different coloured case for the Watch!!!​

Why? 35mm cinema projection is 24fps; what makes your eyes so special they require 5 times the amount of data than a cinema film?

24fps isn't fast enough for smooth motion on a large screen - its just the best they could do in the first half of the 20th century. Even with 24fps each frame has to be flashed up twice to avoid visible 'flicker'. Go watch a 24fps movie where the camera moves a bit too fast and watch how everything judders. Or think of the deliberate jerky effect popular in modern battle/fight scenes that is achieved by using/simulating fast shutter speeds that don't blur moving objects to disguise the slow frame rate (the oft-associated 'grainy' effect is because it is/was a characteristic of the more sensitive film needed for fast shutter speeds).

Thing is, the overall visual effect of low frame rate and slow, motion-blurring, shutter speeds have become part of the artistic character of cinema - to the extent that viewers associate the smoother, sharper motion of new, high-frame-rate digital movie cameras with cheap "shot-on-video" daytime soap operas (Even standard-def NTSC video uses 60 half-resolution fields per second and captures smoother motion). (Ref: try looking up some stories from the initial release of The Hobbit in 48fps form).

A computer screen isn't a cinema screen - you don't want your mouse cursor fading out when you move it, windows 'tearing' when you drag them around the screen or text blurring to unreadability when you scroll it. You'll see all of those things on a 60fps computer screen.

If you primarily use your computer for video, whereas a modern TV can usually switch its refresh rate to match the content, even if your computer can do that, it only makes sense if you're watching full-screen and not (say) using video editing software. A 120 fps screen should do a better job of coping with the various frame rates of the source material you might encounter - 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 48, 50, 59.94, 60 - for the same reason that higher spacial resolution screens cope better with non-integer scaling factors.

 

[apolloa]

If Samsung is any indication, 5G is expensive tech. I think we’ll be lucky if 5G only adds $100 to next year’s models.

I don’t anticipate price increases this year, but who knows. Not sure Apple is going to eat the whole Trump tariff; I guess we’ll find out in a few days. I do expect 24 or 36 month 0% interest deals for those that use Apple Card.

btw your XR should easily last until 2023, which is a huge factor in why iPhones are more expensive now. After having a 4s and 5s, I’m about to start my fifth year with my 6s,m. And if 2GB devices get iOS 14 next year, I’m going to wait until 2021 for the 11S Pro. Or if it’s smaller, maybe the new “SE”.

I don’t want to keep my XR though! It’s flawed in a few ways and offers poor value with no OLED screen, even if it is a good LCD screen. I’m sure it will last but it won’t last for me..

And 5G is no excuse, 3 years ago it would absolutely be valid in an argument, but when phones cost as much as they do now with such huge mark ups, then companies can more then comfortable swallow the cost in existing pricing but they simply spin 5G as new tech to make MORE profit. Nothing more. And next year it’ll be even cheaper to buy but Apple will STILL use it as an excuse to put prices up, want to pay a starting price of that big iPhone of 1250? Or 1300? Because that’s I think what it’ll cost.

If a new SE comes out with the same camera as the current XR with an A12 or faster and is water resistant like the iPhone 8 is, and offers 64 or 128GB then I’ll be taking a very interested look at it, big screen phones are great for that screen size but very cumbersome in all other ways... for me the 6, 7, 8 were the best size offered.

I digress though as this is going off topic, we will see what happens with the pricing in a few days....

 

[eulslix]

Because nobody who actually wanted to sell product and boost their share price ever announced an event as:

By Increments Only: Come and see us announce slightly better cameras than last year's cameras and a different coloured case for the Watch!!!​

Im very well aware of that... As I already mentioned in another post, there’s hundreds of different catch phrases you can chose instead. Cameras can be associated with better/bright/shiny eyes, with vision/envision, photography with creativity (always a great positive word), AI can be associated with smartness... Whether its good or not, I came up with this stuff in 30sec. But we’re talking about the arguably best marketing department on this whole planet, given the task to chose a 3 word tagline for Apples biggest Sales event within basically months.

If you’re NOT gonna score with innovation, you better make sure to avoid the word innovation at all cost. People associate A LOT of expectations with this word, and most of them are way over the top. You can get similar effects with way less risk using other words... UNLESS you got something really awesome to offer... than go for it and crush it.

 

[JulianL]

I do enjoy watching these events except for the bit when I wince every year and shout at my iPad. It's the bit when Tim Cook invariably says, in his most earnest and serious voice to imply that he's actually imparting some amazing new information - "this is the most advanced iPhone that we've ever built".

No kidding Tim. I mean really; it's called technological progress. As long as you stick on the annual refresh cycle for the flagship iPhones then if there's ever a year when, for your flagship model, you have to say "here's the new iPhone. We've been working on it for the last year and we're really proud of it but I'm afraid that it's not quite as advanced as the one we announced a year ago" then something has gone very seriously wrong.

Maybe I shouldn't let that one line get under my skin so much but it really does.

 

[WatchAndWait]

A computer screen isn't a cinema screen - you don't want your mouse cursor fading out when you move it, windows 'tearing' when you drag them around the screen or text blurring to unreadability when you scroll it. You'll see all of those things on a 60fps computer screen.

Why do you see these things on a computer screen; but not on a cinema screen?

 

[ZipZap]

Is there no one at Apple that says "That camera setup is ugly". I can't believe the consensus was that it was a good look. Otherwise, much of the same and hardly worth the upgrade.

 

[BruceEBonus]

I really hope they fit that new feature that makes people point their £1300 iPhone in landscape mode when videoing so that when they send their funny clips to Youve Been Framed! or BBC News then they don’t have to put fuzzy sidebars to fill in the space. Again. “Awww gee. It looked ok when ai was videoing an’ all!”. Yeah. That’s ‘cos you were watching through a portrait orientation,y’see?. It doesn’t work when you flip to landscape. “Landscape? Isn’t that for taking photos of the countryside?” Yeah. That’s it, mate. Keep snapping away on yer 20 megapixel, boko effect, triple lens astronomically priced white elephant. (Whispers to audience: “Might have been better just to keep what you’ve got, readers. Save the £££s. These ‘features’ Simply aren’t. It’s marketing hype. Have a nice holiday instead”)

 

[eulslix]

Why do you see these things on a computer screen; but not on a cinema screen?

Each frame rate has its own use. None of them is less fluid then the other — assuming you match your shutter angle — they’re just different.

24fps with its 180degree shutter angle is just one setting, that established itself as the classic dreamy film look. Theres no particularly scientific reason for it, we just associate it with movies. On the other hand 60fps with an equivalent shutter angle achieves a more realistic look, which is especially useful for interactive applications like games or graphical tools, since it gives your eye quicker and sharper feedback. The information over time stays the same, obviously, due to the shutter speed.

So it makes a difference up to a certain frame rate. Most recenty there was an experiment with 180fps which kind of indicated that it might impact human performance. But all of this is getting off topic...

 

[rmoliv]

Is there no one at Apple that says "That camera setup is ugly". I can't believe the consensus was that it was a good look. Otherwise, much of the same and hardly worth the upgrade.

They don’t care it’s not the most beautiful. They care that when you see it you immediately know it’s the lastest and greatest iPhone.

 

[FlavorfulTreat]

I'll keep my 7 longer if the new phone disappoints. Really hoping for a new ATV

 

[patseguin]

Anyone else think that the translucent logo might be a hint towards an AR/VR device? I think AR glasses as a companion product would be the one thing that would convince me to get an iPhone XI now instead of waiting for the 2020 phone.

 

[theluggage]

Why do you see these things on a computer screen; but not on a cinema screen?

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I don't generally sneak into the local Cineplex and (somehow) hook my MacBook up to the film projector when I want to do a bit of spreadsheeting or retouch some photos - but if you did the 24fps frame rate would be horrible to work with (try using a 30fps 4k display sometime - for anything other than watching a movie, that is...)

Now, if you're watching a movie then its probably made by people who know what they are doing, know how fast they can pan the camera without it looking jerky and make sure that Iron Man doesn't fly across the screen so fast that he disappears.

Different tools for different jobs - who'd have thunk it?

 

[Black Magic]

Is there no one at Apple that says "That camera setup is ugly". I can't believe the consensus was that it was a good look. Otherwise, much of the same and hardly worth the upgrade.

so you care more about the look than functionality? Something tells me you rarely use the camera anyway and you will slap a 2 pound Otterbox case on the phone. ‍♂️

 

[theluggage]

Im very well aware of that... As I already mentioned in another post, there’s hundreds of different catch phrases you can chose instead. Cameras can be associated with better/bright/shiny eyes, with vision/envision, photography with creativity (always a great positive word), AI can be associated with smartness...

Whatever marketing guru came up with the tagline probably didn't give a wet slap what was actually being launched. They came up with a clever play on "By invitation only", the word "innovation" probably tested well with focus groups, it doesn't give away anything about what is being announced and it doesn't commit to anything that can be objectively tested and disproved.

Personally, it strikes me as bland and generic - its what the seller would always say about any new model of anything ever - and suggests that they might not have anything particularly new to show. If they had something truly novel they'd probably come up with some sort of "teaser" suggesting a surprise or a revelation.

Of course, they might surprise us - but you can't predict that from the tagline.

Or, maybe, they're going to offer a "by invitation only" preview of Apple Arcade...? You know, that thing that's a bit like Steam except with an "innovative" subscription model?

 

[PrecisionGem]

so you care more about the look than functionality? Something tells me you rarely use the camera anyway and you will slap a 2 pound Otterbox case on the phone. ‍♂️

That phone is UGLY. The size, weight and thickness of these new phones is getting out of hand... all for the sake of a camera? As a photographer who owns many real cameras, I only use the camera on the phone to take a photo of my parking spot at the airport, when I'm shopping for my wife and she wants to see something etc. I would much rather have a thinner lighter phone with no ugly bump on it. I think the iPhone 6 size was perfect.

 

[RogerWilco]

Ha. So true. I have created more on my ipad pro in the last year than i was on my laptop. Love this thing. I do everything on it. And yes, it is a beast. Will be interesting to see what Apple does next. Rumors indicate the new ipad pros aren’t coming until early 2020 tho. I won’t be upgrading this time, but i am curious. Mostly i am excited that the new ipad iOS will enable my 11” ipad pro to finally connect with an external hard drive. This will be awesome.

Sure you did. I just finished a week of photography in northern NM. No phone or web services, but I did bring my iPad Pro along as a display device. The wonky, one-way “file system”, the lack of apps and overall CPU horsepower made the iPad useless for anything but rudimentary display and tether control. All serious editing had to wait until I had access to a real computer.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

As a travel blogger & photog who is using his iphone for more & more of my travel photography, i am very excited for this update. Looks like the camera is going to be the main focus. I already ditched my laptop for an ipad pro for video editing which is working out great. I am getting closer and closer to ditching my dslr & lenses for my iPhone as well. I do use a gopro & a drone too. So losing the dslr set up would save a lot of weight & room in my travel bag. Looking forward to next weeks event.

I agree on the camera. I have an 8 plus and was considering the XR. However it was because of the camera I didn't do it. The next iPhone with the new cameras will also be the last iteration of this design which is always the most polished.

Not sure which version I will get and waiting on prices but this seems to be the phone to buy and then skip the 2020 first gen. Quite honestly I really don't want anything to do with a 5G phone right now. So I see buying this year and checking again what's going on in 2021.

People will always gripe about price but when the cameras are this good it is still a good value. Some people don't remember when you paid $400 for a point and shoot I guess.

 

[retta283]

I'm excited to see the new MBP, but I know it's not coming at this event.

No interest in the new iPhones from me.