What to Expect from Apple’s September 9 ‘Glowtime’ iPhone Event

Apple is hosting what is expected to be its annual iPhone launch event on Monday, September 9. Here’s what Apple fans can expect from the Cupertino company’s biggest event of the year.

Autumn is just around the corner, at least for the northern hemisphere, which means it’s time for Apple to unveil the latest generation of iPhone models. Apple’s official teasers are exceptionally limited, as usual, leaving people to speculate based on a simple tagline (“It’s Glowtime“) and a brightly-colored glowing logo.

However, there are some rumblings about what to expect from industry experts like Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. In a breakdown today, Gurman dishes on the iPhone 16 family and expected updates to the Apple Watch and AirPods — which together comprise well over half of Apple’s annual revenue.

The star of the show will undoubtedly be the next iPhones, so that’s as good a place to start as any. Gurman and other reputable sources are confident Apple will stick with its tried-and-true pattern of releasing four new iPhone 16 models: the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. Following last year’s significant overhaul of the lineup, the 16 family will receive “minor” changes across the board, including expected performance bumps and more memory to help support Apple Intelligence features.

The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will likely get the Action button that was introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro devices last year alongside the vertically stacked rear cameras that support spatial video recording. The spatial videos can be viewed on the Apple Vision Pro headset, which, despite reported low sales, remains a focus for Apple as it looks toward revolutionizing spatial computing over the long term.

Industry experts don’t expect the iPhone 16 Pro models to look too different than the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max shown here. However, the new phones should get a slightly larger screen and a new dedicated photo button, among other improvements.

As for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, the expectations are that they will get a minor screen size bump, pushing the 16 Pro’s display from 6.1 to 6.3 inches and the 16 Pro Max from 6.7 to 6.9 inches. Gurman believes this will result from a minor increase in phone size and a more significant reduction in the size of the bezels.

While nothing so far sounds revolutionary, photographers have quite a bit to look forward to if the well-sourced rumors pan out. Both 16 Pro models are expected to get a new 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera, up from 12 megapixels. This would follow suit with some competing devices, including the recent Google Pixel 9 Pro that upgraded to a new 48MP ultra-wide camera.

Another welcome change — one shared by Google’s current Pixel Pro lineup — is the expected parity between the 16 Pro and Pro Max. Whereas the 15 Pro offered a 3x optical zoom camera and the 15 Pro Max introduced a brand-new 5x telephoto system, Gurman believes the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will share the same 5x zoom.

One more photo-specific feature reported to come to both new Pro models is a touch-sensitive shutter button dedicated to photo and video capture. Gurman pegs this as the most significant feature “other than AI.” The button will work similarly to a shutter release button, including half-pressing for focus, and feature swiping capabilities for functions like zooming.

All the new iPhone 16 models will run iOS 18, which is currently in public beta testing. A vital part of the software update will be a totally redesigned Apple Photos app.

Aside from anticipated color changes to the iPhone 16 lineup, the other big iPhone news will almost certainly concern Apple Intelligence, impacting many of Apple’s products to some degree.

Gurman expects Apple to unveil a pair of new AirPods models on Monday and, for the first time in two years, a simultaneous overhaul of the entire Apple Watch lineup, from the entry-level SE all the way to the flagship Ultra. The most extensive upgrades are expected for the standard, mid-tier Apple Watch Series 10. To celebrate the Watch’s 10th birthday, Apple is expected to substantially redesign the Apple Watch Series 10.

Since Apple debuted the M4 chips in the redesigned iPad Pro tablet this spring, Mac users have been clamoring for M4-powered computers. However, at this point, these would be a surprise addition to Monday’s event. Gurman thinks these are more likely to be unveiled in October.

As always, rumors, even ones from someone as consistently on the nose as Gurman, could be wrong. Apple enthusiasts will just have to wait for Monday’s event to be sure. PetaPixel will be on hand at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, covering all announcements. The keynote begins at 1 PM ET (10 AM PT).