This is the week for big Apple news, apparently – although exactly what the news will be remains uncertain. Some pundits claim we’ll get a new Apple Watch and iPad as soon as this afternoon; others reckon we’ll just get an invitation to a virtual iPhone 12 event. (Update: we now know that Apple is holding an event on 15 September.)
My colleagues on Macworld are as excited as you are to see what Apple’s got in store, and have been chatting about the possibilities on Slack. I thought you might find their discussion (which includes expert insight as well as less expert memories of Bullseye) interesting, so got their permission to post the conversation on the site. It’s a bit like a podcast, only written down.
What do you reckon? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter.
Now, let me set the scene: Macworld’s experienced Apple journalists are waiting for the big news, and settle down to hash it out among themselves.
Martyn Casserly: Come on, Apple! Let us know what’s being added to the catalogue today!
Karen Haslam: haha
Martyn: Daddy needs a new iPad!
David Price: At least one of Jon Prosser and Mark Gurman is going to look extremely silly this week.
Martyn: It’s a leak-off! Hello #nocontext
Karen: And Jon’s source may potentially get fired.
Martyn: It would be such an anticlimax if it’s just a press release for an event. It’s like the bit at the end of Bullseye when Jim Bowen had them wheel out the speedboat while saying “Here’s what you could have won!”
David: And the contestants had to put on a brave face and tell Jim they’d had “a lovely day”
Lewis Painter: I kinda want an event, even though it’d mean working in the evening. Press release product announcements are soOo boring
Karen: It won’t be. Gurman’s tweet was basically “it’s more likely to be an event”, he didn’t actually say they will announce an event. Everyone is just taking it like that because it makes a better story… Personally, I’m not buying the iPad coming out before iOS 14/iPadOS 14 launches.
Martyn: To be honest, what a couple of blokes from the local pub in Grimsby are going to do with a speedboat was always a bit of a mystery
Karen: That EEC filing stated the new iPad was running iPadOS 14, so unless they launch it now with an early version, or hold off on sales until the software launches…
Lewis: I don’t think the release of iOS/iPadOS 14 will be affected by the launch of the iPhone, though. I reckon that’ll still be out in a week or two
Karen: I think the iOS releases will be delayed a bit just on the basis that WWDC was later than usual. That’s the theory, anyway
Lewis: True, but the latest public beta is essentially bug-free, so that’s always a good sign
Karen: So, maybe a couple of weeks later than usual. But who knows?
Lewis: I think if Apple can announce anything via press release, it’d be iOS 14/iPadOS etc, considering we already saw them at WWDC
Karen: But Apple will probably announce the new iPad and Watch today with an onsale date of 25th, which will just happen to coincide with the software coming out. macOS may be a bit more delayed as the public beta for that was late
Lewis: Yeah I think that’ll appear slightly later, it does usually doesn’t it?
Karen: Sometimes. Between a week and a month after I think
Lewis: I think Apple usually releases software just before the hardware comes out, so it might appear a few days before any hardware release
Martyn: All we need now is for Apple to allow health data from the Watch to sync with iPads and Macs. Otherwise the company should be vaporised from space.
Lewis: I was thinking this too – surely the big display of the iPad would be ideal for a bigger overall Health dashboard
Martyn: But it wouldn’t keep you locked in to an iPhone
Lewis: The iPhone app is nice, but my favourite data list is excessively long and I’d want to be able to see it at a glance
Martyn: You could buy an Android phone then and be happy
Lewis: Imagine that
Karen: The idea that there may be a cheaper Watch coming is interesting – and appropriate in a recession maybe. But Apple may just reduce the price of the Watch Series 3.
Lewis: I think the only problem with the Series 3 is that it’ll stop getting updates soon, which is why Apple is keen to update it! If it follows the SE model of using older hardware with faster internals, that could be a good replacement (although other rumours suggest it’ll be an S5 without the ECG, which seems odd)
Karen: So replacing the Series 3 with a cheap but new version makes sense… There’s also some debate about whether it’s a new iPad or a new iPad Air. I was thinking iPad because the last time they updated it all they did was make the screen bigger, the processor is now geriatric. The iPad Air is a bigger change that I think they might want to hold back for a bit more limelight…
Lewis: Yeah, the A10 is pretty old at this point, I don’t think I’d really recommend it to anyone as-is
Karen: Yes, A10 Fusion in the iPad, I think even when they updated it last year we were saying don’t buy it! There was a rumour that the iPad Pro might get a second update this year – a 5G version…
Lewis: I think that’d just piss anyone off that bought the 2020 iPad Pro.
Karen: Of course. But does anyone really care about 5G yet? Genuine question, are people falling over themselves to get it?
Lewis: I’m sure there’s a portion of tech fans dying to experience 5G, whether they’re the same people buying iPad Pros is another question though. I do want to try 5G admittedly, but I don’t wanna splash out on a 5G contract until I’ve got a 5G iPhone
Karen: I wonder how many people bother to buy a 4G iPad – I’d just hotspot from my iPhone. Probably same with the cellular Watch. How many people opt for the cellular versions of these things? Would be interesting to know
Marie Black: Wouldn’t they have closed the online Apple store by now if they were going to announce something, or do they not do that any more?
Lewis: I don’t think they always close the site though, do they? I’m pretty sure we’ve had a couple of surprise press release reveals this year.
Marie: Ah ok.
David: Apple Watch Series 5 is no longer on sale apparently?
Lewis: It is, it’s just long shipping times – at least it was when I looked earlier. It’s unavailable in the US though
Karen: I wrote about the Watch 5 being off sale the other day
Lewis: Now that I’m running a bit, I do wish I had the cellular version so I can leave my phone at home but still be contactable, but that’s not enough of a reason to get it and pay the extra monthly cost IMO
Marie: You can still buy in the UK
Karen: When I wrote the story last week it was two- to three-week delivery dates. For the Watch 5
Lewis: In conclusion: stuff is coming at some point in the future
We’ll leave them there. All the latest news will appear first on Macworld.co.uk.
Author: David Price, Editor
David has loved the iPhone since covering the original 2007 launch; later his obsession expanded to include iPad and Apple Watch. He offers advice to owners (and prospective owners) of these devices.