Two weeks after it was announced, Apple’s By Innovation Only media event is officially kicking off today at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. VentureBeat will be covering the event live from Apple Park, and if you’d like to watch online, you can stream it direct from Apple at this link or watch via YouTube, starting at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern).
It remains to be seen how much big innovation the event will deliver compared with typical Apple iteration, the predictability and pricing of which have led iPhone sales to plateau over the past year. Regardless, Apple will most likely focus on the following announcements:
- Three new phones — called the iPhone 11, iPhone Pro, and iPhone Pro Max — updating last year’s iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max with new A13 chips and cameras, but not 5G cellular capabilities, as rivals transition to the next-generation cellular technology.
- New Apple Watch Series 5 models with stronger body materials and new features, probably including sleep tracking.
- Final .0 releases of Apple’s operating systems iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS, possibly with new details regarding iOS and iPadOS 13.1 betas that are already circulating to developers. macOS Catalina may or may not also get a release date.
- Dates and prices for the Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ subscription services, perhaps including multi-subscription bundles.
- A “one more thing” announcement, potentially a long-rumored 10.2-inch entry-level iPad, small puck-shaped Bluetooth trackers for the new Find My app, augmented reality hardware, or a modestly upgraded Apple TV containing last year’s A12 chip.
Apple could announce additional hardware, including new “Pro” iPad and Mac models, though it’s more likely these will debut at a separate event next month. The company is said to be working on iPad Pros with enhanced rear cameras and an expensive 16-inch MacBook Pro laptop, amongst other models. It has also promised to start selling a modular Mac Pro desktop computer and Pro Display XDR monitor by the end of this year.
We’ll have all the news from Cupertino as quickly as it’s announced, so keep and eye on our homepage and Twitter feed for announcements.
