iPhone 15, M3, Apple Watch Series 9: What to expect from Apple’s September launches

Apple confirmed that the first fall special event is taking place on September 12, sending invitations out to the media to watch a special Apple Event broadcasting from Apple Park.

It will be a presentation that will be broadcast online at 10:00 a.m.Pacific, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, via Apple’s dedicated Events page and the Apple TV app.

The title of the event is “Wonderlust,” a play on the term “Wanderlust.” The customized Apple logo for the event is one that features a sculpture-like appearance, with blue and yellow swirling particles acting like sand on a dune.

As usual, neither the name nor the sandy Apple logo graphic provide much clue as to what exactly Apple’s product launches will offer.

Apple is habitual when it comes to special events, with the reliable-as-clockwork tech giant set to hold its fall special event or events. It’s a high-earning period for Apple, thanks to the upcoming holiday shopping period, so it saves the launch of its most lucrative and important products for this pre-sales period.

Here’s what you can expect from Apple for its fall 2023 product introductions.

For the fall Apple Event schedule, September is the main month for activity, as it has commonly been when the event takes place, or the first in a series of events.

There’s no guarantee that Apple’s September event will be the only one, as it does frequently expand its product launches into October. In the case of 2020, it held events in September, October, and November, prompted by various issues caused by COVID.

The number of events Apple will ultimately hold depends on many different things, outside of a pandemic. This can include the intended release schedules for its various products, as well as any production issues that may get in the way and interfere with prearranged plans.

The quantity of products can also result in Apple splintering off a category or two into a second event, if only to prevent the first from being too cluttered for its own good.

Late August rumors have claimed that Apple will be holding an October event, intended to show off new Mac models.

Even with such rumors, there’s no guarantee of an October event at all.

Over the last ten years, Apple had October events in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021. October events didn’t happen in 2015, 2017, 2019, nor in 2022.

We don’t truly know if there will be an October event to follow September, short of analyzing what Apple leaves out from its first event. But there’s a very strong chance there will be two given the strength of the Apple product portfolio.

The standard iPhone model for 2023, the iPhone 15 and its supersized counterpart, the iPhone 15 Plus, will form the non-Pro tier of the iPhone range.

The rumors largely center around smaller upgrades rather than massive shifts, such as gaining the A16 used in the iPhone 14 Pro lineup.

For the display, there have been rumors of the inclusion of a slimmer bezel, which could give it more of an edge-to-edge appearance than in previous generations.

The displays will also allegedly inherit the Dynamic Island from the Pro models, bringing the welcomed replacement for the infamous notch to the standard models.

The cameras on the rear may also get a boost, in the form of a 48-megapixel wide-angle sensor and lens combo.

A low-key change will be the switch from Lightning to USB-C for the physical connector port, which rumors say has resulted in Apple requiring Made For iPhone certification for third-party accessories.

As for colors, rumors point to there being a pale green option for this year. On August 30, images of leaked color options seem to indicate that the range may be fairly pale or mute in tone for 2023.

Continuing Apple’s tendency to offer a quartet of iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro is expected to be joined by the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Though there has been speculation that the naming convention may be changed.

On more concrete changes, the design could be made more rounded at the edges, with a titanium body instead of steel to save weight.

Render of the expected iPhone 15 Pro chassis design. (Source: AppleInsider)

Like the iPhone 15, the thin bezel theories have extended to the Pro range, though the display may still see another change. There have been claims Apple will slip the proximity sensor into the Dynamic Island area, instead of mounting it underneath the display.

Display technologies like ProMotion and Always-On are expected to stay a Pro-tier benefit.

Inside, the A17 is expected to offer considerable speed improvements to the range, in part thanks to a decision to adopt TSMC’s 3-nanometer manufacturing process rather than a 4-nanometer version.

For the cameras, the 48-megapixel sensor reappears in rumors, but with the Pro Max or Ultra having a more pronounced camera bump. This would allow Apple to include a periscope lens arrangement, which can help improve the optical zoom capabilities of the camera.

The mute switch may not be included in the Pro models anymore, with numerous rumors claiming that a new “Action Button” will be used instead. This multi-function button could be used in many configurable ways, including acting like a traditional camera shutter button.

The switch to USB-C, as well as battery capacity bumps, have also been rumored.

Current rumors have Apple offering three shades of gray and a dark blue color, with the invitation alleged to be hiding the colors in plain sight.

Along with a new color, leaks indicate Apple will be making changes to at least one of the iPhone accessories. Fake leather cases have been discovered on social media, supposedly made from multiple materials.

While the iPhone 15 Pro line will launch on time, there was the threat that production problems could’ve caused the release of the models to be delayed. However, on August 30, a report reckoned that issues with “stacked SCIS, panels, batteries,” and titanium frames were mostly resolved before the crunch production period.

With the introduction of watchOS 10, you’d expect that Apple would be keen to make changes to the Apple Watch Series 9 to reflect the milestone. However, rumors have repeatedly indicated that the changes won’t be that major for the wearable device.

Indeed, the bulk of hardware updates relate to the Apple Watch X instead.

The Series 9 is expected to be offered in 41mm and 45mm size options.

Apple Watch Ultra

What is anticipated to be a bigger change is the performance of the S9 chip. After relatively minimal chip improvements in previous models, the S9 is believed to offer a lot more performance by comparison.

An updated Apple Watch Ultra is also thought to be on the Apple Watch roster, but there’s not much else to expect other than the chip upgrade at this stage.

One late rumor claims that Apple is using 3D printing for the chassis of a future Apple Watch, with testing carried out on a stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9, though not necessarily for production at the moment.

Apple has introduced new iPad models in the fall for the last couple of years, and the last set it did was the October launches of the gen-10 iPad and the updated 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

It’s entirely plausible that Apple could refresh the models in the fall, but exactly what Apple will introduce is a bit difficult to determine due to the relative lack of rumors.

iPad mini

So far, rumors have offered an updated iPad mini 7 could land in the fall, though others say a 2024 launch is more likely. A revamp with OLED and a new Magic Keyboard has also been claimed in late August for an early 2024 release.

For the iPad Pro, an update to M3 isn’t entirely out of the bounds of believability, but since there are rumors of an OLED iPad Pro release in 2024, Apple may wait until then.

If Apple does end up splitting the product pile into two events and adds an October event to the schedule, its Mac changes are usually the ones to be bumped over to it. Rumors have already put forward this narrative, though it may not be an event and could end up being a press release debut for the updates.

For fall 2023, that effectively means the shift over from the M2 generation to the start of the M3, and therefore entry-level Mac options. As usual for Apple, the M3 Pro, M3 Max, and M3 Ultra launches will be further down the road.

Apple tends to make the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the 13-inch MacBook Air, and the Mac mini the first models to ship in a chip generation, and they are still good candidates this time around. The 24-inch iMac is also awaiting an upgrade, missing out on the M2 generation, though there’s less of a chance of an M3 15-inch MacBook Air since the M2 hasn’t been around that long.

Apple Vision Pro at WWDC 2023

The other big name that could get bumped to a follow-up event is the Apple Vision Pro. Following the WWDC introduction and ahead of an early 2024 release, there’s a good chance that some form of update will be offered by Apple.

The magnitude of the headset without any sellable units in time for the holidays means it could be given a lot of time to be talked about in an October event update.

Whether it gets talked about in September or bumped to October is up for debate, but Apple won’t be missing an opportunity to talk about the future of its headset.