Here’s what to Expect from Apple’s September 12 Media Event

Apple’s “Let’s meet at our place” media event is coming on Tuesday and thanks to a firehose of leaks we know what to expect from the product announcements. Fair warning: this is a big list of spoilers.

Someone in Apple leaked all the big announcements for the Sept 12 media event

Leaks about new iPhones, an updated Apple Watch, and an Apple TV refresh have been circulating for weeks. Those leaks, along with more iOS 11 details, were confirmed over the weekend when someone gave the secret URLs for the final shipping version of iOS 11 to MacRumors and 9to5Mac.

Here’s what we can expect to see at Tuesday’s media event based on all those leaks.

iPhone 8 and iPhone X

Apple is introducing three new smartphones on Tuesday: the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. Based on previous iPhone launches, pre-orders will most likely start this Friday, September 15th with deliveries starting on Friday, September 22nd.

The new phones will ship with iOS 11 pre-installed, which has been available as a public beta for the past couple months.

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Apple is ditching the “s” moniker this time around so we won’t see the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. Instead, Apple is jumping straight to 8 with the model numbers. The 4.7-inch iPhone 8 will have 2 GB RAM while the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus will include 3 GB.

iPhone X Apple’s new flagship phone will be called iPhone X and sport an OLED screen instead of LCD. The display will run nearly edge-to-edge, so it’ll sport an iPhone 7 Plus screen size in a body that’s only slightly larger than the iPhone 7.

That bigger display means there isn’t any room for a physical Home button so that’ll become a virtual on-screen element. Without a Home button there isn’t any Touch ID, so say hello to Face ID. That uses a 3D face scanning system that presumably will be far less hackable—and far more secure—than the facial recognition in Samsung’s smartphones.

The new display is already proving to be controversial because the top edge has a cutout for the front facing camera and sensors. That cutout makes the display look like it has horns or ears, and based on the comments on social networks there’s a very vocal group that hates the look.

The iPhone X will support wireless charging, which isn’t the same as contactless charging. Instead of plugging a cable into your iPhone to juice it up you can set it on a special pad that uses inductive charging technology to power up your phone’s battery.

Apple Watch Series 3

Apple is ready to roll out an Apple Watch refresh and it’s sticking with the “Series” identifier to keep track of model versions. Apple Watch Series 2 was introduced in September 2016, and a year later we’re getting Apple Watch Series 3.

Looks like we’re getting Apple Watch Series 3 on Tuesday

LTE Wireless Data Apple Watch Series 3 isn’t going to be a phone on your wrist. Instead, it’ll be like iPad models that include cellular data connectivity so you can still access online data like weather reports when your iPhone isn’t close by. That’ll be great for runners who would rather leave their iPhone at home but still want some connectivity.

Apple Watch Series 3 will ship with watchOS 4. The new version of the operating system has been available as a developer beta since June.

Next up: Apple TV 5 and the big iOS 11 leak

Apple TV 5

Apple TV 4 was introduced two years ago, so it’s ripe for a refresh. The new model will catch up to competing set top entertainment devices, but doesn’t seem to have any features that leapfrog over what’s already available in other products.

Apple TV is finally getting a refresh

4K and HDR Apple TV 5 will address what was seen as a glaring omission when Apple TV 4 was introduced in September 2015: 4K TV. Adding 4K and HDR means TVs that support those features will get higher resolution video with better color. That also assumes users have access to 4K and HDR content.

Amazon Prime Video Apple TV 5 will ship with tvOS 11. Apple says an Amazon Prime app is coming for tvOS 11, although so far Amazon hasn’t said exactly when that’s happening. With Netflix and Hulu available on Apple TV, Amazon Prime seemed like a gaping hole. That’s finally going to change once Apple and Amazon sort through whatever is keeping the app from showing up now.

AirPods 2

Based on the reference to new AirPods in iOS 11, it doesn’t look like the new version will be significantly different from the model that’s already (sometimes) available in stores. It looks like the biggest visual change is the charging case’s power indicator is on the outside instead of under the lid.

Frankly we’d be happy if the only new feature in version 2 is that you can find them in stores.

The Big iOS 11 Leak

The secret URL for the shipping version of iOS 11, or gold master, was leaked to MacRumors and 9to5Mac and it was loaded with surprises the company was no doubt planning on revealing Tuesday. Since someone intentionally gave the URL to the sites—something Daring Fireball’s sources confirmed—that means one of two things happened: Apple planned the leak, or an Apple employee went rogue and shared the link.

Apple intentionally leaking iOS 11 gold master seems far fetched at best. Hype surrounding Tuesday’s media event is already high and leaking the announcements ahead of time isn’t likely to ramp that up even more. Instead, it takes away the excitement that goes along with the surprise announcements and that doesn’t sound like Apple’s style for controlling the message.

Since the leak was intentional but not sanctioned, that opens up two possibilities for why the URL was shared. Either someone is unhappy with their job and is lashing out with a malicious act, or the vanity of holding on to secrets this big was too much of a temptation to share what they know.

Either way, it’s the kind of leak Apple didn’t want and it’s a betrayal to all of Apple’s employees. Apple no doubt already has an internal investigation underway and whoever is behind the leak is about to learn an all new definition of wrath.

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