What to Expect at Apple’s Event This Week

This could be the year Apple makes the iPhone feel new again

For years, Apple has refined the iPhone rather than reinvented it. Better cameras, faster chips, brighter displays — all useful upgrades, but not always exciting ones. This week could interrupt that pattern.

The expected iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max should bring the conventional annual improvements, including a new A20 Pro chip and possible camera upgrades. But the bigger story may be Apple’s first foldable iPhone, widely rumoured to be called the iPhone Ultra.

That distinction matters. A foldable iPhone would not simply be another size option. It would be Apple acknowledging that the smartphone has reached a point where a new shape — not just a better spec sheet — is needed to make people look up from the device already in their hands.

The foldable iPhone will be the headline, whether Apple calls it Ultra or not

The most interesting expectation is a book-style iPhone that opens into a small tablet. Rumours suggest an outer display of roughly 5.5 inches and an inner screen around 7.8 inches, plus iPad-style multitasking in iOS 27.

Apple arriving late to foldables is not necessarily a weakness. The company has a habit of waiting until a category is established, then focusing on the parts that still feel unresolved. For foldables, that means the crease, durability, app layouts, camera compromises and the awkward question of why anyone should want one.

The real test will not be whether the iPhone folds. Samsung already proved that people will buy folding phones. The test is whether Apple can make the unfolded state feel genuinely useful instead of merely impressive in a keynote.

The Pro iPhones may be the sensible choice

Not everyone wants — or needs — an expensive first-generation foldable. That is why the iPhone 18 Pro models could end up being the practical winners of the event.

Reports point to a smaller Dynamic Island, new silicon, potential colour changes and, on the larger Pro Max, a possible variable-aperture camera and larger battery.

My expectation is simple: the Pro phones will be the best upgrade path for people who care about cameras, battery life and performance, while the foldable will be the device for early adopters who want to participate in Apple’s next chapter. One will be easier to recommend; the other will be harder to ignore.

Apple Watch needs more than another annual refresh

Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are also expected. The likely upgrades include faster chips, improved fitness tracking and battery gains, while the Ultra may get expanded satellite features.

The Apple Watch is now mature enough that Apple should resist treating it as a checklist of incremental improvements. The opportunity is to make it more independently useful: better safety features, more reliable health insights and longer life away from the charger.

For athletes and outdoor users, satellite-related improvements could be more meaningful than a new finish or a slightly faster interface. Those are the features that turn a nice accessory into a device people trust.

AirPods could quietly be the most popular announcement

Two AirPods 5 versions are expected: one standard pair and another with active noise cancellation. That may sound less dramatic than a folding phone, but AirPods updates tend to matter because they reach far more people.

Apple’s challenge is not making AirPods more capable. It is making the difference between models clearer. Noise cancellation, better microphones, comfort and battery life are practical reasons to upgrade. Vague promises about “smarter” listening are not.

The most successful Apple products have always been the ones that disappear into everyday life. A genuinely better pair of AirPods could do exactly that.

Software will connect the announcements

The event should also bring release dates for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, watchOS 27, tvOS 27 and visionOS 27.

This is where Apple has an advantage. It can introduce a foldable phone, watches, earbuds and new software as parts of one system rather than isolated products. If the foldable iPhone works well with iPad-style apps, AirPods and Apple Intelligence features, Apple will have a much stronger story than “here is a phone with a hinge.”

That integration is the reason Apple events still matter. The company is selling devices, of course, but it is really selling a sense that all of its devices belong together.

What not to expect

It is tempting to expect every rumoured Apple product at a September event, but restraint is wiser. A standard iPhone 18, new MacBook Pro, iMac and OLED iPad mini are all thought to be more likely later in the year or in 2027.

The biggest surprise would be if Apple tries to make this event about everything. The stronger approach would be to focus on the new iPhone lineup, the Watch, AirPods and the software that makes them work together.

The bottom line

Apple’s event this week may be remembered less for the next Pro iPhone than for the question it answers: can Apple still create a new kind of must-have device?

The foldable iPhone is the likely answer. But the more important measure will be whether Apple makes the product feel inevitable — the way the best Apple launches do — rather than simply expensive and experimental.

Want to watch the event online?

Check it out on the Apple Events website.