Previewing Apple's Launch Event: New iPhone 6S Details, iPad Pro Rumors, Apple's TV Gamble

The excitement that you get before your birthday? Apple fans, analysts, pop culture experts, celebrities, third-party case manufacturers, smartphone rivals, Stephen Colbert’s script writers, and many more people are feeling that right now. Because Apple is going to announce… something… on Wednesday.
September 9th will see Tim Cook and his team take to the stage to announce the fall line-up of Apple products. Taking place in a far larger venue than normal (the 7000 seater Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco) and opening at 10:00 am, the latest wonders will be revealed. Even if much of the surprise is gone, we’ll all humour Cook and applaud at the right moments as if we had no idea what was coming. We do know, and Cook knows we know, but that’s half the fun.

CUPERTINO, CA – OCTOBER 16: Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an event. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Anticipation is running high. The ‘odd numbered’ years see the release of the ‘S’ smartphones and generally carry less buzz than the even-numbered years which see the debut of a major iPhone redesign. That has been mitigated this year with the potential addition of Force Touch – the ability for the OS to recognise a harder press on the screen to open up a different UI option. That brings iOS into line with WatchOS and OSX on the latest MacBooks in having this option. It’s not going to be revolutionary because iOS 9 needs to run on older hardware that doesn’t have the new touch-layer on the screen, but it is another evolutionary step in the iPhone journey.
Also pushing the excitement levels seems to be the volume of major announcements to make. As well as the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus announcements, momentum has been gathering around the iPad Pro. Apple typically leaves the iPad announcements to an October event, but there’s a good chance that this week’s announcement could cover the full fall line-up. If so expect the iPad range and the Mac range to get updated on Wednesday, perhaps with a longer wait until October or November for availability.
Software wise Apple has the latest versions of iOS and OSX to release before the end of the year.. Currently available as developer betas, the new software will go hand in hand with the new hardware, so iOS 9 will be shown on the new iPhones and likely gain an immediate public release, while OSX El Capitan would normally be shown on a new MacBook and be distributed publicly later in the year. Showing them on Wednesday could mean bringing the reveal of the new MacBook range forward from the traditional October date – just as the rumors for the iPad suggest, and something I’m not convinced on, but can’t rule out.Source: Ewan spence