Apple's Media Event on Wednesday - iPod and Apple TV Rumors and Speculation
Apple's September media event kicks off on Wednesday, September 1st at 10 a.m. Pacific. The annual event typically focuses on Apple's iPod line, though recent rumors have suggested that the Apple TV may finally be getting a revision.
Rumors
Here are the major rumors heading into the event.
- Apple TV - A next generation Apple TV based on iOS, priced at only $99, as well as support for Apps.
- iPod Touch - Backside camera, mic, new shape, front facing camera, possible 3G and even a Retina display.
- iPod Nano - Smaller, square shaped design with a 3cm x 3cm touch screen. Case manufacturers have already been producing covers for the unannounced device (see above).
- Other updates to iTunes including TV show rentals and longer song previews.
Speculation
Meanwhile, here's a collection of fun speculative content that we can't verify, but in the run up to the event may inspire some interesting discussion:
- iPad 4.0? - We expect Apple will announce their plans for the deployment of iOS 4 for the iPad during the event. It's unlikely Apple will be able to launch tomorrow as Apple still needs developers to update their apps. So, hopefully we'll get a roadmap and a developer beta of iOS 4 for iPad.
- 2.8" iPod touch? iLounge suggests that perhaps we will see the long rumored 2.8" iPod touch emerge to fill the gap left by the former iPod nano.
- iPhone as Apple TV Remote? iLounge's Charles Starrett speculates that the rumored $99 Apple TV might actually require an iOS device to serve as a remote. Beyond his speculation, we'd actually heard unconfirmed whispers of the same, so it seems within the realm of possibility.
- iLife Mystery App is a Make Your Own App Tool? Rumors of iLife '11 suggested a brand new app would be introduced with the iLife '11 suite. We've heard an unconfirmed whispers that the new app could actually be a way for end users to create simple apps and deploy them directly (not through the App Store) to their iOS devices. Is Apple returning to their Hypercard roots? It's hard to say how feasible this would be.
Coverage
We'll be providing live coverage on Twitter at @MacRumorsLive as well as major updates here on the site. Our main news Twitter feed is @MacRumors. A Spoiler Free page is also available for those who want to watch the event fresh.
Popular Stories
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28.
The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. iOS 26.2 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Macworld claims to have access to an ...