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Apple
Apple's September event is next Wednesday, 9 September, and Apple is calling it "Surprise and shine", which is about as much as Apple ever gives away in an invitation. As always, I'll be watching it so you don't have to, but here's what's confirmed, what's rumoured, and what I'll be looking out for.
What we know
The date is confirmed, and Apple events normally start at 6pm UK time, so you can watch on apple.com, in the Apple TV app, or on YouTube if you fancy following along. The other thing we know for certain is who'll be on stage. Tim Cook is handing over to John Ternus this month and becoming Executive Chairman, which makes this Ternus's first keynote as Apple's CEO. He's an engineer who has run hardware at Apple for years, and I'm curious to see how that changes the tone of the whole thing. I wrote about the handover back in April, if you missed it.
And that, in all fairness, is it for facts. Everything from here on is rumour, so please treat it that way.
What's rumoured
The invitation and the wording both point at iPhone, and there are two things the rumour mill has been remarkably consistent about for months now.
The first is a folding iPhone, which has been the worst-kept secret in tech for over a year. The reports suggest a book-style design that opens out into something closer to a small iPad, and if Apple does show one it will be the big story of the day and almost certainly the most expensive iPhone ever made.
The second is the iPhone 18 Pro, because a new Pro arrives every September and this year's reports centre on the camera and a new chip. Whether we also get a standard iPhone 18 is much less clear. Some reports suggest the non-Pro model has been pushed back, which would be a first for Apple, so that's one to watch.
Beyond iPhone, both Apple Watch and AirPods usually get a refresh at this event. A new Apple Watch with updated health sensors is the common thread running through the rumours, and AirPods are certainly due an update.
What I wouldn't expect is any Mac news, because Apple already updated the Mac mini and Mac Studio last week and cleared the decks. HomePod and Apple TV are overdue too, but the rumours point to later in the year for those.
What it means for you
If you're on an older iPhone and you've been thinking about upgrading, my advice is simple: wait a week. Prices and models shift around on event day, the current phones sometimes drop in price or quietly disappear from the lineup, and there's no advantage at all to buying now.
If you're perfectly happy with the iPhone you have, then the more important date is the software update that follows the event, usually on the Monday after. iOS 27 is the update I've been waiting for, and it runs on iPhone 11 and later. I wrote up the full compatibility list last month, so have a look if you're not sure whether yours is included.
I'll watch the keynote and write everything up in plain English afterwards, including what I'd actually recommend to you rather than what Apple would like to sell you. If you've got a specific question in the meantime, you know where I am.
