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It’s that time once again – iPhone fever is rising as we reach September, and the latest Apple live event looms.
Every September for the past five years the eyes of the technology world have turned to Cupertino in anticipation of seeing the next generation of iPhone. That is no different this year, with an Apple live event in San Francisco taking place on Wednesday.
Large Apple logo goes up at Bill Graham Auditorium ahead of iPhone event http://t.co/dDBcKxyeAq pic.twitter.com/OSbqDIi6Pr
— AppleInsider (@appleinsider) September 6, 2015
But this is already shaping up to be a slightly different event – Apple has moved the venue to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – a much larger venue than traditionally used (it can hold 7,000 people). It’s not clear if this is a substantial point at this stage, but fitting in more people suggests Apple feels this event is worth it.
Does that mean more products than usual? More big announcements than just new iPhones? Here’s what to look out for.
As already touched on, September is iPhone month in the world of technology. So expect to see two new devices in the shape of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
As this is what’s known as an “S year”, don’t expect anything too dramatic when it comes to iPhone redesign. Instead, these incremental years tend to see minor boosts and bumps to existing specifications, as well as a few other updates.
This year that is expected to be Force Touch, the pressure sensitivity technology that can tell when you’re pressing the screen firmly, and spot the varying levels of pressure you use. It’s already in the Apple Watch, but now it is set to come to the iPhone.
This is likely to be deployed as a way adding shortcuts to apps, though there’s lots of talk of game developers having fun with the idea too.
Watch out too for some improvements to the camera and other internals – some rumours suggest an upgrade to a 12-megapixel rear camera from the current 8, as well as 4K video shooting capabilities. The front camera may also be made more selfie-friendly with a new 5-megapixel camera and a flash. Though all of this is just catching up with specs on other smartphones out there.
There should be a new processor and a boost to 2GB of RAM as well. Oh, and maybe a rose gold (pinkish) colour option too.
The Apple TV hasn’t had the limelight in three years, so it’s fair to say the TV box is due an update. And given the nature and popularity of streaming boxes, and the services that run on them, it would be no surprise to see Apple move in that direction. Though Recode is reporting that a dedicated full streaming service from Apple is unlikely this time around.
Instead, we could see a fully fledged App Store introduced, where developers will be given the chance to move their games and other apps to people’s TVs for the first time. Given the huge success Amazon’s Fire TV service has had running a similar model, Apple moving in the same direction would make sense.
Siri too is expected to be added to Apple TV, providing a voice search that will enable users to press a button on a new remote control and speak into it. The search results on-screen will then show every service the show you’re looking for is on.
Again, Amazon already has something similar but Apple would be right to follow suit.
The new remote is said to also contain a touchpad for gestures, making it easier to navigate, but also enabling the remote to double as a games controller.
Parts shipments for 12.9-inch iPad Pro likely to begin in September http://t.co/MFGx0y1jI2 pic.twitter.com/9pN6ZNnoqY
— Apple Insider (@TheAppleInsider) August 31, 2015
A persistent rumour for around a year now, this will reportedly be the event that Apple’s larger, more powerful iPad will be introduced to the world.
The rumours have said the so-called iPad Pro will be not just a bigger tablet, but the same size as a laptop. The Verge’s Jacob Kastrenakes summed it up nicely by saying: “The iPad Pro is expected to include a 12.9in display — for context, the new MacBook has a 12in display, and the MacBook Pro starts with a 13.3in display. This is going to be one big iPad.”
That’s an intriguing prospect. Especially when there are also reports it could ship with a stylus – a piece of hardware Steve Jobs famously hated.
There are also suggestions that the iPad mini will be getting an upgrade. The mini 3, introduced in October last year, took only a very small step forward, so there could be a bigger update, including better specs but also making the device thinner and closer in design to the iPad Air.
One strand of thought behind the mini being updated now and not at the usual iPad event in October is that such an event will not take place this year – instead Apple will look to create an “ability gap” between the iPad Air and the new larger Pro to give the latter more chance of success, leaving the Air 2 another year before updating.
As for other bits of news, we could see some new Apple Watch straps showcased, and there have been reports that the Apple Watch Edition (the £13,000 gold version) could even get a price drop.
iOS 9 too could be mentioned and shown off more as part of the demos of new iPhones and iPads. This is likely to be the software the new phones launch on, so keep an eye out for features that will form part of the new operating system.
