Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which rounds up all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy, bite-sized summary. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea on a Monday morning, but it’s also great if you want to read it during your lunch or dinner hours.
Read between the lines
Today is the big day! At 10 a.m., Apple will kick off its famous annual September press event, centered around the iPhone update for 2024. The company’s announcements will attract millions of eyeballs and considerable media coverage, and most of them will focus on the wrong topic.
Because the iPhone 16, in reality, is going to be pretty boring. On the Pro side, we’re expecting slightly larger screens and slightly better cameras (including a more powerful zoom on the non-Max Pro in particular), while all four models are expected to get new processors, new colors, and a new Capture button for instant camera use.
How much will all this affect customers’ experience with the device? Almost none at all.
The screens are only 0.2 inches larger diagonally, which is barely noticeable; the cameras are already more than adequate for 99% of shooting scenarios, just as the current processors are more than fast enough for the apps available; and the Capture button feels suspiciously like a control that will get in the way without providing any tangible benefit (although I could be wrong and I’m looking forward to trying it). If you’re buying one of these phones to replace a three-year-old phone, then sure, the cumulative upgrades will translate into a noticeable improvement and an opportunity to take over with Apple Intelligence. But viewed in isolation as a single launch, the iPhone 16 series can only be a damp squib: something that will primarily interest shareholders.
My advice would be to stick with the event, though, as there should be some gems on the presentation card. Not everything will be mind-blowing, of course: while it would be memorable in some ways for the iPad mini to get an upgrade of some sort, we don’t think Apple will celebrate the occasion with anything other than a processor and RAM bump to get the little tablet ready for Apple Intelligence. But the Apple Watch X is headed for a substantial overhaul, while we’re hoping the Apple Watch SE gets a material change and a price cut to bring it within reach of a wider market. And if we’re really lucky, Apple could fix what went wrong and release a series of AirPods Max that are actually good.
But what I hope to see at today’s event is the long-awaited series of cheaper AirPods. (AirPods Lite? Air? I guess it’s SE.) Such a device would share the appeal of the iPad mini and Apple Watch SE: AirPods aren’t updated as often as they deserve given their popularity, which makes for a more memorable appearance, and they represent an opportunity to make a product, not better, but more widely available.
At this point, and in the current economic climate, I’m much less interested than I used to be in seeing Apple cramming ever more powerful silicon into a device that costs over a thousand dollars. Unlike the iPad and AirPods, the iPhone is being updated more Often more than necessary, and the annual refresh feels like an exercise in not just gilding the lily, but polishing it and putting it in an attractive box: adding more and more free features and pushing the specs beyond the point of usefulness so that you can announce something new. What I want to see is an update where the product is kept at the same level of power but the costs, whether in terms of money or power consumption, are reduced. A set of AirPods for under $100 would be a nice improvement, even if the earbuds aren’t as magical as the more expensive versions.
But given the reaction to the iPhone 5c and XR, “budget” may not be a product that sells well to Apple’s audience or generates the kind of buzz the company is looking for. The marketing hierarchy is there for a reason. Just keep an ear out for the things Apple isn’t talking about as loudly, because you might hear something worth knowing about.
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Podcast of the week
“Glowtime” is today! What will Apple be showing off at the event? It’s all about the new iPhone and we talk about what we expect from the iPhone 16 lineup, in this episode of the igamesnews podcast!
You can listen to every episode of the igamesnews podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.
Critics Corner
The rumor is going around
A Cheaper Magic Keyboard for non-Pro iPads is on the way.
Apple iPhone 16 cases may not have a cutout for the new Capture button.
THE Mac mini M4 might finally have the courage to get rid of its USB-A ports.
The latest iPhone with a LCD screen will receive an OLED upgrade in 2025.
And with that, we’ve wrapped up this week’s apple breakfast. If you’d like to receive regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads or to discuss the latest Apple news. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.
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