Here are the three new iPhones which Apple will launch this week

By Mark Gurman, September 10 2018
Here are the three new iPhones which Apple will launch this week

Apple will kick off a blitz of new products this week, headlined by three new models in the iPhone X along with new Apple Watches.

The product launches will begin on Wednesday (US time) in the Steve Jobs Theater at the company’s Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California. The focus will be on Apple’s latest iPhones. It’s still the company’s most-important product, generating about two-thirds of revenue and spurring purchases of other Apple devices, along with services like app subscriptions, movie downloads, and iCloud storage.

There’ll be a trio of new smartphone models that look and act like the iPhone X from last year:

  • an upgraded version of the iPhone X with a 5.8-inch screen, but adding a faster processor and upgraded cameras. This device is likely to be called the iPhone Xs, which would follow Apple’s naming approach for new iPhones that look like the previous models but add new bells and whistles. It’ll also come in gold, adding to the gray and silver versions from last year
  • a larger version of last year’s iPhone X with a nearly 6.5-inch screen. That would make it one of the largest mass-market phones ever sold and about an inch larger than the screen on the iPhone 8 Plus. To signify the even larger screen, Apple is likely to give the phone a new name: "iPhone Xs Max," according to people familiar with Apple’s internal deliberations
  • the third phone, a new low-cost version of the iPhone X, could be the hit of the product roll out. It’ll have a roughly 6.1-inch screen with LCD instead of newer OLED technology. It will also use aluminum instead of stainless steel edges, and come in several additional colors. Apple has considered calling the phone the "iPhone Xr," one of the people said.

The phones may raise the iPhone average sales price, boosting revenue and profit, while expanding the total number of active Apple devices to support sales of accessories and digital services. Still, none of the phones will feature breakthrough new features, with more significant changes planned for next year, the people said.

While the iPhones will be the Wednesday’s main attraction, Apple’s growing smartwatch business will see stage time, too. The company plans to introduce new Apple Watches with larger screens that go nearly edge-to-edge, showing the user more information. The upgrades will mark the most-significant changes to the Apple Watch since the product was launched in 2014.

Beyond phones and watches, Apple is planning a series of other products later this year, although not all of them will be revealed on Wednesday.

AirPower Wireless Charger: This is Apple’s charging pad that can simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods without plugging them in. The company faced development challenges, but plans to launch it as soon as this month, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year.

New MacBook: The company is preparing a new lower-cost laptop with a 13-inch Retina display to succeed the MacBook Air. Geared toward consumers and schools, the laptop may help Apple re-gain lost market share in the PC world.

Revamped iPad Pros: Apple is planning two new iPad Pros for this year with slimmer bezels and Face ID instead of the home button and fingerprint sensor. These will be some of the most significant upgrades to the iPad in the device’s history. They’ll come in 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes, and could give Apple a boost in the slowing tablet market.

Pro-Focused Mac mini: For the first time in more than four years, Apple is getting ready to update its Mac mini computer, a desktop that doesn’t come with a screen, mouse, or keyboard. This time around it will focus on graphic designers and other professional users, who have been asking for new Macs that meet their more-demanding needs.

Mark Gurman

Mark Gurman covers consumer technology for Bloomberg