Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 16 at its September event (Image: Apple)
The day is finally here! It’s silly season for smartphones as we head into the tailend of the year, and the crown jewel of all annual tech launches is nearly here. Apple will almost certainly announce the new iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max today, 9th September, following the release pattern of its flagship smartphones from the last several years.
The tech giant has already confirmed the date for a big event it has dubbed with the tagline ‘It’s Glowtime’ in official invites to media and influencers. There is even a dedicated official website trailing the big, and still somewhat mysterious event – Apple never says what it’s going to announce.
Apple likes to maintain this air of mystery around its launches, but gone are the days when we had no idea what was coming. The firm’s huge success and global scale means secrets get out, and thanks to the internet, they are there for us to see and judge how realistic the leaks and rumours about the next iPhone really are.
It’s also thought we could see a new smartwatch and earbuds as Apple moves to update many of its product lines with the Apple Watch Series 10 and possibly two new versions of AirPods.
Here are all the details about Apple’s 9th September ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, when it starts, and how to watch it live.
When is the iPhone 16 launch event?
Apple’s next big launch event will start at 6pm UK time on 9th September – that’s today.
How to watch the Apple ‘It’s Glowtime’ iPhone 16 launch event online
The ‘It’s Glowtime’ event is being broadcast live around the world from the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.
If you want to tune in to see what new Apple gadgets are coming to help you drain your bank account, Apple will be streaming the event live on its website. This will be from Apple’s event page that you can access here.
You’ll also be able to watch everything live on YouTube. Apple has already got a live countdown going on its official channel. You can watch it below in the embedded video on the day, or click here to watch live on YouTube.
What will Apple launch at its September event?
While Apple would never spoil the fun and officially confirm anything beforehand, we are pretty sure that the event will show us the new iPhone 16 range.
It’s thought we’ll get an iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Rumours suggest the Pro models will be quite similar to 2023’s iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max but add a new ‘Capture Button’ on the right hand edge for snapping photos like a camera’s shutter button.
The regular iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are said to also get this button, which would be a surprise, as well as the Action Button from the 15 Pro that replaced the traditional iPhone mute switch.
The 16 and 16 Plus look like they’ll get a bit of a redesign with new colours and a change to the camera layout on the back – though the vertically stacked lenses in alleged leaks look similar to the iPhone X, which came out in 2017.
The ‘Glowtime’ theming of the event teaser is most likely a reference to the new updated Siri. With the introduction of iOS 18, Apple will bring AI – Apple Intelligence – to its iPhones with a big software update and early testers of the software have seen that the edges of iPhone screens now glow in a purply blue when you call up Siri, instead of the little orb logo at the bottom of the screen.
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Siri is, the company claimed back at WWDC in June, going to be much more useful and clever. Along with this, Apple Intelligence will attempt to knit together more of your data so you can have conversations with Siri and it’ll be able to provide up to date, contextual answers and be less of a dumb pipe to Google search. We said that last bit, not Apple, obviously.
While iOS 18 will ship on iPhone 16 phones, we could be waiting until October for an iOS 18.1 update that pushes Apple Intelligence out – and that will probably only be on all iPhone 16 models and the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. It’s not coming to the regular iPhone 15.
It’s less likely that Apple will use the ‘Glowtime’ event to launch a new cheap iPhone. There are solid rumours that a fourth-generation iPhone SE is in the works, but it’s thought that Apple will save that for a March 2025 launch.
A new Apple Watch is on the cards for September, particularly as 9th September will be exactly ten years since Tim Cook announced the first ever Apple Watch on stage on 9th September 2014. Some rumours suggest Apple is planning a big redesign similar to the iPhone X, but it’s more likely the Apple Watch Series 10 will look like previous models.
There could also be two new models of AirPods. Apple doesn’t update its wildly popular earbuds every year, but leaks suggest there could be two new versions come 9th September to replace the ageing second-gen models with the old design, and the third-gen version that launched in 2023.
The cheaper pair will be entry level, rumours suggest, while a slightly pricier pair could add noise cancellation but still be cheaper than AirPods Pro.
