Mark Gurman Ruins Next Week’s Apple Event

It’s gone from “awe dropping” to “dropping aww”: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has published a list of everything that Apple will announce next week. Read on if you don’t mind spoilers. Granted, we knew most of this already.

On Tuesday, September 9 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET, Apple will announce next-generation iPhones via a pseudo-live event in which all the information was prerecorded in the company’s traditional slick style. The event, which Apple marketing calls Awe dropping, can be viewed online.

Here’s what to expect, according to Gurman.

iPhone 17 series. The next-generation iPhone 17–which, let’s face it, should have been called iPhone 26–will include major design changes to the Pro and Pro Max models, with “new backs that give a fresh look to the camera areas,” and a new iPhone 17 Air model that replaces the ill-received Plus models from the previous two generations. The design of the base iPhone 17 will be unchanged compared to last year, except for a slightly larger display. (Gurman says we can also expect major changes in the next two years, too, with a foldable iPhone in 2026 and a “glassy” 20th anniversary iPhone in 2027.)

iPhone 17 Air. The new iPhone model will be roughly 5.5 mm thin, Gurman says, making it thinner than the 5.8 mm Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge (which I looked up, in case you thought I wasn’t up to doing original work too). This means its battery life will suffer. And the single rear camera lens means that its photographic capabilities will suffer too. But the Air will feature the same Apple silicon A19 processor as the other iPhone 17 models, a USB-C port, and a 6.6-inch display, which (looking…) is slightly smaller than the 6.7-inch display on the iPhone 16 Plus that it is replacing. Like the low-end iPhone 16e, it will use an Apple C1 modem chip, but it will also be the first Apple device to use the company’s in-house Wi-Fi chip. And it will be offered in the same light blue color as the MacBook Air M4. He doesn’t specify a price, but Gurman says that potential customers will be able to get “a far better phone with significant upgrades to the camera, battery life and performance for only a couple of hundred dollars more.”

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. In addition to the new rear camera area design, the iPhone 17 Pros will feature a new A19 Pro processor, “significantly boosted” battery life, a telephoto lens upgrade (from 12 MP to 48 MP), plus “a new variable aperture system, simultaneous front-and-back video recording and the biggest-ever upgrade to the selfie camera.” The Pros will also be made of aluminum, whereas the previous two Pro generations were titanium. So the frames will be lighter and dissipate heat better. And new orange color will be offered.

iPhone 17. The base iPhone will move from the 6.1 inch display used by the iPhone 16 to a 6.3 inch display, like the iPhone 17 Pro. It will include the A19 chip and a ProMotion (variable refresh rate up to 120 Hz) display (a first for a non-Pro iPhone).

Apple Watch Ultra 3. Apple didn’t release a new Watch Ultra model last year, but the Watch Ultra 3 should be a major upgrade with a slightly larger display (“to at least match the display size on the Apple Watch Series 10 from last year”), a new Apple silicon S11 chip, a new modem with 5G RedCap support (a low-power version of 5G for IoT devices), and the ability to send text messages and emergency communications via satellite.

Apple Watch Series 11. This will be a minor update over its predecessor with “the same look,” and a “shuffling” of colors (“the Jet Black Series 10, for instance, has had chipping issues”) and bands.

Apple Watch SE. This low-end offering will “probably” get updated with new displays and a faster chip, which is about as non-specific as you can get.

AirPods Pro 3. The long-awaited AirPods Pro upgrade could be introduced “as soon as this month,” speaking of non-specific. Gurman gets vague on this one: Apple has been testing a heart-rate monitor, smaller charging cases with a new pairing mechanism, and a live translation feature. But he doesn’t seem to know if this product will actually be announced Tuesday.

Coming soon. The AirTag 2 will arrive soon with an “updated wireless chip and location capabilities to improve accuracy and range,” but I hope it’s a lot smaller too. Apple is working on a new iPad Pro lineup with the upcoming M5 processor and “a second front-facing camera placed on the portrait side,” but otherwise physically identical to the current versions. The company is “poised to release” its first Vision Pro hardware update, but it’s not clear if it will use the M4 or M5 chip (compared to M2 in the current version), and it has “considered” a space black version. Apple TV should get its first hardware revision since the 2022 release that will include Apple’s in-house Wi-Fi chip and support Apple Intelligence and the updated Siri if and when that ever happens. And there’s a new generation HomePod mini coming sometime with “a new chip” for Apple Intelligence/Siri support, “an updated wireless [Wi-Fi] chip, and improved audio quality”; and Apple has also tested new colors, including red. Finally, Apple is working on a Health+ paid subscription service with an AI Health agent that could roll out next year.

So that one went from definitive to waffling pretty quickly.

See you Tuesday.