By an astonishing coincidence, Macworld’s sleuths have stumbled throughout the video rehearsal for one more Apple keynote presentation. All that point spent sifting by the bins at Apple Park was properly price it.
So right here it’s: Your complete minute-by-minute script for subsequent Tuesday’s Wonderlust occasion. From the iPhone 15 to the Apple Watch Sequence 9, from the awkward jokes to the show-stopping demos, you’ll be able to examine all of the bulletins right here a number of days earlier than they really occur. If you wish to be shocked, cease studying now and watch the occasion reside at 10 a.m. PT on September 12.
(The final time we did this, some folks didn’t notice it was pretend till after the WWDC keynote. Whereas we will’t vouch for the validity of the doc we pilfered, we will vouch for the gullibility of the Web.)
Introduction
09:55: The pre-stream begins, which implies we’re looking at a dynamic Apple brand screensaver picture, accompanied by the most recent pop tunes from the hit parade. These embody “Effectively I Surprise” by The Smiths, “Little Surprise” by David Bowie, and several other tracks by the Velvet Wonderground.
10:01: Precise video begins enjoying! An actor in informal put on is wandering/questioning round an American metropolis having fun with his Apple merchandise. Numerous logistical puzzles and social encounters are lubricated by the help of his cellphone, headphones, and smartwatch. The theme seems to be “Isn’t life nice if you personal costly shopper electronics?”
10:03: The actor’s adventures finish, and the video fades into Tim Prepare dinner standing within the inexperienced area in the midst of Apple Park. (Notice that that is all pre-recorded, as anticipated. Even after a number of years of those digital occasions, the shortage of viewers whooping and cheering nonetheless strikes us as bizarre, like watching “Two And A Half Males” with out the chortle monitor.) Prepare dinner needs us morning, and says how fortunate he’s to work for Apple, “an organization dedicated to leveraging know-how improvements into optimistic life experiences by the synergy of magical merchandise going ahead.” He then reveals–bang, no messing–that this occasion shall be about three product strains particularly: the iPhone, the AirPods, and the Apple Watch. Certain, Jan. I wager there gained’t be One Extra Factor as properly.
10:05: However earlier than we get into the {hardware}, a number of software program updates. Prepare dinner says that since WWDC 2023, extra folks have taken half in Apple’s beta software program program than ever earlier than. He claims that Apple’s engineers had been in a position so as to add quite a few new options on the premise of consumer suggestions. (Presumably, they noticed a number of bugs, too, however he doesn’t draw consideration to that.) Oh, and right here’s the primary announcement of the occasion: iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10 will all launch on Monday, September 18. That’s excellent news for iPad homeowners, who feared they could have to attend a bit longer, as occurred final yr. No phrase on macOS Sonoma’s launch date.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
New Apple Watches
10:07: Prepare dinner is recounting the letters he’s obtained from grateful prospects whose lives had been saved by their Apple Watches. Following on from final yr’s catalog of misfortunes, 2023’s letter writers report near-death experiences involving volcanoes, leopards, dynamite, hot-air balloons, serial killers, acid, venomous snakes, and the Worldwide House Station. It’s a harmful world on the market.
10:09: Right here comes Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief working officer, strolling confidently round a grassy nook of Apple Park like Tobey Maguire in “Spider-Man 3.” He says the Apple Watch “soars over different smartwatches like a wonderful golden eagle wanting down at mice and voles” and assures us that large issues are within the pipeline.
10:10: Whoosh! A short CGI advertising video, and there’s our first sighting of the brand new Apple Watch. It appears… quite a bit just like the outdated Apple Watch. And yep, there’s affirmation that it’s known as the Apple Watch Sequence 9.
10:11: We’re stepping into the main points. Williams says the S9 processor within the Sequence 9 “is much extra highly effective than any smartwatch chip available on the market proper now, like a robust lion ruling over a kingdom of lesser creatures.” In apply that seems to imply a 20 % increase in processing pace, and Williams says we will anticipate a considerable enhance in on a regular basis efficiency and battery life. Williams doesn’t acknowledge this, however the pace bump is very noteworthy as a result of the final three Apple Watch chips, regardless of being branded because the S6, S7, and S8, had been all technically an identical.
10:13: The Sequence 9 will get 5G connectivity! That’s a key breakthrough in Apple’s push to make its smartwatch an impartial gadget. Williams provides that it additionally will get the Twin-Frequency GPS characteristic that debuted on the Apple Watch Extremely final yr. Meaning it covers the L5 band in addition to the usual L1 for sharper location monitoring.
10:14: We’re now seeing lush images of the Sequence 9, which is obtainable in a brand new pink shade. As good as that is, it suggests there aren’t any extra substantive upgrades to speak about. To be honest we anticipated this yr to be a minor refresh, forward of the extra groundbreaking Apple Watch X launch in 2024.
10:15: Whoosh! One other CGI video, this time displaying what appears like… sure, it’s the Apple Watch Extremely Sequence 2.
10:17: Williams is getting enthusiastic concerning the upgrades on the brand new Extremely. It will get a microLED show, which implies a brighter and sharper image and must also decrease energy consumption. And this shall be, the manager provides, “even greater than the unique Extremely’s display, towering over different watch screens just like the noble gorilla of the forest.” To be extra particular, it’s a 51mm show.
10:20: There are some design adjustments to the Extremely Sequence 2, though the general look is basically the identical. The chassis is lighter than that of its predecessor: it weighs simply 58.3g, which implies it’s dropped 3 grams. (It’s nonetheless heavier than the entire non-Extremely Apple Watches, in fact.)
10:23: The brand new Extremely clearly will get the upgraded S9 chip and 5G. Not a lot to say right here—the identical Sequence 9 upgrades additionally apply to the Extremely Sequence 2.
10:25: The brand new Extremely additionally will get a brand new shade possibility: a darkish titanium end that Apple calls “Galaxy Black,” and Williams describes as “the colour of a raven’s goals.” And with that, he’s striding off and this part seems to be over.
10:27: Tim Prepare dinner is again to sum up the brand new Apple Watches. He says pre-orders start in the present day, and that they may ship to prospects and seem in shops ranging from Friday, September 22. The Sequence 9 begins at $399/£409, whereas the Extremely Sequence 2 begins at $799/£829. These are the identical U.S. costs because the Sequence 8 and authentic Extremely respectively, nevertheless it’s fascinating that the U.Ok. will get a worth lower.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
New AirPods
10:30: Prepare dinner is speaking concerning the AirPods vary. He says AirPods “synergize simplicity and expertise design with seamless know-how innovation going ahead.” And he’s excited to inform us concerning the product’s subsequent evolution.
10:31: Whoosh! Product video. Earbuds. They appear relatively just like the 2nd-gen AirPods from 2019, besides they’re in every kind of colours: blue, yellow, and pink. It is a large step from Apple.
10:33: Ah, thriller solved. Prepare dinner says he’s proud to announce… the AirPods SE! And he welcomes AirPods senior engineer Mary-Ann Rau to the digital stage to inform us extra.
10:34: Rau says AirPods are the most well-liked and profitable headphones on the planet, however Apple needed to go additional. It needed to place AirPods into the arms of everybody who appreciates nice audio. And the corporate’s engineers have been working to carry “all the benefits of AirPods, at a low, low worth. Ker-ching!”
10:36: AirPods Lite… sorry, AirPods SE have “the identical design, the identical audio high quality, and the identical options as our enormously standard 2nd-gen AirPods, with the addition of nice new colours and a price ticket you’ll love. Cashback!”
10:38: This all signifies that the AirPods SE don’t get Spatial Audio or Adaptive EQ, just like the 2021 AirPods. Nor do they get these headphones’ extra refined contact controls. You’ll simply get double-tap to play, fast-forward, and so forth. Plus Hey Siri, if that’s your factor. Nor, in fact, do they get lively noise cancellation just like the AirPods Professional. All of which shall be effective if the worth is true.
10:40: No phrase on the worth simply but. Rau is transferring on to Apple’s over-ear headphones. She says AirPods Max “ship market-leading audio in a sublime package deal, and have proved standard all over the world. Bosh!” It’s price saying that the evaluations of AirPods Max had been in no way universally optimistic, with explicit criticism of the bodily design, though the audio high quality is certainly glorious.
10:42: Whoosh! Product video. We’re seeing over-ear headphones, however they appear nearer to the Beats aesthetic–notably this yr’s Beats Studio Professional–than the unique AirPods Max. This factors to an entire redesign. There’s a variety of colours, however the first-gen Max fashions had loads of shade choices. Then once more… sure, a particular sighting of the brand new AirPods Max in pink. That’s new.
10:45: Rau says she’s proud to announce… AirPods Max 2nd Technology. Snappy identify.
10:46: Heaps extra pictures of the brand new AirPods Max. They’re very totally different, which says quite a bit about Apple’s religion in that “elegant package deal.”
10:47: Rau says the brand new AirPods Max characteristic “the very newest in audiophile know-how. Awooga!” This implies they now assist… Adaptive Transparency, Dialog Increase, and Apple Music’s Lossless Audio format; in addition they get the newer Adaptive Audio, Personalised Quantity, and Dialog Consciousness options introduced at WWDC 2023. They usually get the newer H2 chip you’ll discover within the newer AirPods as a substitute of the H1. That’s quite a bit, nevertheless it’s all a query of catching up with one other Apple product that prices lower than half as a lot. By the point we see the third-gen AirPods Max, they may presumably have fallen massively behind as soon as once more.
10:51: Prepare dinner is again to sum up. He says pre-orders of the AirPods SE start in the present day, and they’ll seem in shops from Friday, September 22. They are going to value $99/£99–it’s genuinely spectacular that Apple received below 100, and I’d suspect these will promote properly. The AirPods Max will go on sale in October and price $499/£499. And we’re finished with AirPods! What’s subsequent?
Foundry
iPhone 15
10:53: Prepare dinner is speaking concerning the historic impression of the iPhone. He says it “modified the very essence of the human expertise, marking the progressive synergy of design simplicity going ahead. However in the present day, simplicity turns into much more progressive going ahead!”
10:54: Minimize to black. And whoosh: one other product video. A sprinkling of stars, a looming form… it’s…
10:55: The iPhone 15. Tagline: “Apple’s goodest iPhone but.”
10:56: And right here to speak concerning the enhancements on this yr’s iPhone, product sub-marketing vice-manager Harry Harriman.
10:57: Harriman is speaking concerning the Dynamic Island, which he describes as “the best human invention for the reason that air fryer.” He says Apple needed to make it possible for extra folks might entry this groundbreaking characteristic of the iPhone 14 Professional, which is why the iPhone 15 will get the Dynamic Island.
10:59: It’s possibly price noting that Apple lately has very a lot not been involved in ensuring as many individuals as potential can entry its finest options. It has pursued a deliberate coverage of confining the perfect options to the premium merchandise solely, with a purpose to push prospects into upgrading.
11:00: One hour in! And Harriman is speaking concerning the mute change. This has been changed with a solid-state Motion button. As a result of it’s not a mechanical transferring half it must be much less more likely to go improper; the outdated mechanical Dwelling button was infamous for jamming up or refusing to work after a number of years, and issues improved with the launch of the capacitive Dwelling button on the iPhone 7. Then again, how typically do you might have issues along with your mute button?
11:02: That’s a good level. Harriman factors out that solid-state buttons are simpler to customise: not simply their perform, however their haptic suggestions, the pace or length of double or lengthy presses, and so forth.
11:04: We’re extra photographs of the iPhone 15. There are some good new shade finishes: inexperienced and pink. And the yellow end has been brightened up, so it’s now a bit jollier.
11:06: The adjustments aren’t simply beauty: The usual iPhone has had a redesign, albeit fairly a minor one. The display is barely bigger (6.2 inches and 6.8 inches respectively for the 15 and 15 Plus) however the physique of the cellphone stays the identical dimension because of smaller bezels. The again corners of the chassis are actually extra rounded, for presumably a smoother really feel within the hand (when uncased). Total it appears largely the identical, simply barely nicer.
11:08: The cameras are largely the identical however the iPhone 15 is getting the 48MP lens that the iPhone 14 Professional received final yr. No point out of ProRAW however Apple says the brand new digital camera takes photographs with “unimaginable readability and exact particulars.”
11:09: There won’t be any leather-based equipment for the iPhone 15! That was anticipated, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a giant name. Harriman says Apple takes its environmental duties critically, and that beginning in the present day, the Apple Retailer won’t promote any merchandise or equipment containing leather-based. There shall be a leather-free various which he claims “feels precisely the identical.”
11:11: Tim Prepare dinner is again to sum up the iPhone 15. Pre-orders open in the present day, and it’ll seem in shops on September 22, the identical as the brand new Apple Watches and the AirPods SE. The iPhone 15 begins at $749/£799, whereas the 15 Plus begins at $849/£899: each get a worth lower from the 14-series.
Foundry
iPhone 15 Professional
11:13: Prepare dinner is now speaking concerning the iPhone 14 Professional, which he says “was extra standard than any earlier premium smartphone Apple has made.” In all probability since you gave the usual iPhone 14 a year-old processor.
11:14: How do you enhance upon perfection? By specializing in the synergy of simplicity and the consumer expertise, he says. Right here to announce the iPhone 15 Professional is product vice-marketing sub-manager Steve Bytheway.
11:16: Whoosh: product video. We are able to see that the Professional fashions additionally get slimmed-down bezels, so the screens are presumably bigger. It additionally appears like there’s a brand new grey shade end.
11:18: Bytheway says the brand new A17 Bionic processor is the quickest chip Apple has ever put in an iPhone. (Which appears apparent.) Extra impressively, he says it’s the business’s first 3nm processor. It options greater than 22 billion transistors; the A16 had simply 16 billion. Meaning much more uncooked processing muscle, whereas energy consumption must also be improved.
11:21: The iPhone 15 Professional’s storage choices go all the best way as much as 2TB. Who wants that a lot area on a cellphone? No one. And 8GB of RAM as commonplace, up from 6GB on the 14 Professional. (That’s a primary—Apple doesn’t often discuss concerning the RAM in iPhones.)
11:22: We’re wanting on the design. The 15 Professional handsets are manufactured from titanium as a substitute of chrome steel, which implies they’re lighter than final yr’s telephones whereas offering the identical power. You understand what’s bizarre? The photographs and movies preserve avoiding the underside fringe of the telephones. What’s Apple hiding?
11:24: And naturally, the Professional fashions get all of the design upgrades on the 14 and 14 Plus. They get the solid-state Motion button and the identical slimmer bezels, which implies display sizes of 6.2 inches and 6.8 inches respectively. There’s been no point out of a rebranding of the top-end mannequin, by the best way; it nonetheless appears to be known as the Professional Max relatively than the Extremely.
11:26: Battery life is far improved, Bytheway claims. He says the iPhone 15 Professional and 15 Professional Max final at the least an hour longer than their equivalents from 2022. That shall be at the least partly all the way down to the A17.
11:28: There’s a brand new shade end: “Titan Grey.” It appears fairly uninteresting, however possibly it’s extra spectacular if you see it in particular person.
11:29: Now the digital camera. The enhancements to the large (higher sensor) and ultra-wide (48MP) are glossed over as a picture of a distant constructing seems. Now it will get nearer, even nearer, and increase, we will see it now. Bytheway is describing the brand new periscope telephoto lens that has a 6X optical zoom and as much as 30X digital zoom with “readability as in the event you’re inches away.” It appears spectacular however we had been sort of hoping for 100X area zoom.
11:31: Bytheway is displaying a video concerning the new digital camera, which appears very spectacular. This may make a number of iPhone consumers need the Professional Max.
11:33: And Prepare dinner is again to sum up. Once more, pre-orders open in the present day, and gross sales on September 22. The iPhone 15 Professional begins at $999/£1,099 (the identical because the 14 Professional), whereas the 15 Professional Max begins at $1,199/£1,249 (which has gone up) although you’re getting 256GB of storage, which value $100 beforehand.
11:34: We appear to be wrapping up.
One Extra Factor
11:35: The display darkens, after which we’re again with Jeff Williams. He’s speaking about Lightning, which he calls “the strongest and bravest and quickest and most safe proprietary connection commonplace on the planet.” (We name it the little iPhone port that would.)
11:36: Generally, Williams says, it’s good to present braveness. “The identical braveness because the noble stag being chased by cowardly bureaucrats making an attempt to impose short-sighted laws.”
11:37: Which is why, he says, we’re proud to announce a brand-new commonplace. It’s known as “Apple Port.”
11:39: Apple Port is as quick and safe as USB-C, and has been rigorously designed to be appropriate with all USB-C merchandise made by the “lesser and weaker firms sniffing round our income streams.”
11:40: Apple went as far as to make Apple Port look precisely the identical as USB-C in order that customers gained’t be confused.
11:41: However Apple Port provides a characteristic that USB-C doesn’t supply: Apple Velocity Management. Hmmm, what’s that?
11:42 Apple Velocity Management ensures that real merchandise offered by Apple itself or a registered reseller are working at optimum effectivity. “Your charging and information transfers shall be as swift as a salmon,” Williams says. “Except you might be utilizing a non-genuine product made by one other firm, wherein case we are going to de-optimize its operations at no further value or inconvenience to you.”
11:44: All of this yr’s iPhones and AirPods will characteristic Apple Port, and the corporate shall be working to adapt all of its different merchandise to the identical commonplace.
11:47: And now we actually are wrapping up. We hope you loved the presentation.