There’s an avalanche of Apple news coming our way in a matter of weeks.
The tech giant is fast approaching its annual iPhone announcement event, which should take place in early September, if previous years are any precedent. Apple hasn’t officially announced the date and time for the event, or even acknowledged its existence, but we all know it’s going to happen.
We all expect to hear about the iPhone 17 at the event, but what else is Apple going to show? Let’s dig in and explore the upcoming Apple launches on the horizon.
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Naturally, let’s start with the iPhone itself.
iPhone 17 lineup
Credit: Zain bin Awais / Mashable
This is almost always a predominantly hardware-focused event. We know the new iPhones will run iOS 26, which will almost certainly launch at or near the same time as the phones. Apple has already outlined what makes iOS 26 different at WWDC earlier this year, but what about the devices it’s designed for?
According to a cornucopia of leaks and rumors, we will get four iPhone 17 models this year:
Three of those will be familiar to anyone who has followed along with iPhone developments over the past few years, but the Air is worth noting for a moment because it’s a brand-new model that’s replacing the Plus model that Apple used to make.
Per the latest iPhone 17 Air rumors, this will be the thinnest iPhone yet, measuring between 5 and 6mm in thickness. It could also have a big display in the neighborhood of 6.5 inches, giving it a large surface area to go along with its thinness. Unfortunately, the new form factor is said to come with a couple of big compromises. Namely, there will only be one 48MP rear camera lens instead of the two or three you get on the other models. Another one is that the battery may be smaller to compensate for how thin the phone is.
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According to various leaks, the new iPhones will get a 24MP selfie cam, an upgrade over the 12MP module on previous iPhones. Both the base model and the Air are also said to have 120Hz displays, which finally brings Apple in line with other smartphone manufacturers who got there years ago on non-flagship models. You can also expect at least a couple nifty software features exclusive to the new phones, though we’ll have to wait and see what they actually are.
New Apple Watches
It’s become tradition in recent years for Apple to provide some kind of Apple Watch update at this event, and this year seems to be no different.
According to Bloomberg, there will be a new Apple Watch Ultra model with 5G support, a new processor, and the ability to send text messages via satellite. That could be handy for outdoorsy types. There will more than likely also be a standard Apple Watch Series 11 and perhaps a new Apple Watch SE model for budget-minded folks, though it’s not clear yet if those will offer any substantial, life-changing upgrades over previous models.
One thing to note is that recent leaks suggest the new Apple Watch models won’t have serious performance boosts over their predecessors. That might be disappointing to those looking to upgrade, but hey, maybe they’ll save some money by waiting another year for bigger upgrades.
New AirPods?
This one is less certain, but there are reasons to believe there will be a new AirPods Pro model at the September Apple event.
For starters, the last AirPods Pro refresh was two years ago, meaning it might be time for a glow-up. The second-gen AirPods Pro didn’t provide much in the way of design changes, but Bloomberg reported a while back that the Pro model is getting a design refresh this year. They could also bring new health features like in-ear heart rate monitoring and temperature detection.
Interestingly, a recent slip of the tongue in Apple’s iOS 26 public beta suggested AirPods are getting real-time language translation features soon. It seems like this feature may work with previous-gen AirPods rather than being exclusive to the new AirPods Pro 3, but it’s possible that the feature only works with iPhone 17 models. We’ll have to wait and see.
New Apple products we don’t expect to see yet
Everything listed above is at the very least likely to show up. It’s hard to produce a new flagship product without some news leaking out. Unfortunately, not every upcoming Apple product is expected to be shown here.
Namely, it doesn’t seem like the heavily rumored foldable iPhone is ready to make its debut just yet. Reports earlier this summer indicated it is close to being production-worthy, but for a launch in 2026 at the earliest. There also haven’t been any concrete rumors about new MacBooks, though in recent years those have typically gotten their own, separate announcement events, usually in October and the spring.
It would also be a surprise to hear anything about the rumored new HomePod, though that particular rumor mill has amped up recently. Per the latest news, we could get a new HomePod and a new Apple TV later in 2025.
