If rumors are to believed, we're now exactly one month away from Apple's big September event where we're expecting to see several product announcements led by the iPhone 15 lineup.
In addition to iPhone 15 rumors, this week also saw fresh claims about the upcoming Apple Watch Series 9, while we're seeing more details about the M3 family of chips coming to next-generation Mac models. Apple should also be winding down work on iOS 17 ahead of a release next month, though the company is continuing to fix bugs and make tweaks, so be sure to read on below for all the details on this week's top stories!
Apple's iPhone 15 Event Likely to Be Held on September 12
Apple's annual iPhone event is pretty much always held in the first two weeks of September, but with just about a month to go it appears the exact date for 2023 is getting pinned down.
Initial reports indicated the event was likely to take place on either Tuesday, September 12, or Wednesday, September 13, but it looks like things are firming up for the September 12 date and we're once again expecting it to be a pre-recorded video even for in-person attendees.
Following the usual pattern, pre-orders for the new iPhones should begin a few days later on Friday, September 15, with a launch following a week later on September 22. It is possible, however, that some models may see tight initial supplies or slightly delayed launch dates depending on how early production is going.
Images of Alleged iPhone 15 USB-C Connector Parts Leak Online
The iPhone 15 lineup is all but confirmed to be switching from Lightning to USB-C, but this week saw some photographic evidence in the form of alleged USB-C ports from the various models.
This week also saw a claim that the Pro models will have storage options up to 2TB, while code included in tvOS 17 betas suggests Apple will continue this year's pattern of using a new A17 chip for the iPhone 15 Pro models while the regular iPhone 15 models use an A16 chip.
And finally, another rumor claims that A17 chip in the Pro models will be paired with 6GB of RAM as on iPhone 14 Pro models, despite other reports saying RAM will be bumped to 8GB this year.
Apple Watch Series 9 'Basically Unchanged' Other Than Performance Boost From S9 Chip
Alongside the iPhone 15 lineup, we're also expecting to see new Apple Watch models at the September event. Rumors suggest we'll be seeing a nice performance boost with a new S9 chip, but otherwise the Apple Watch Series 9 is said to be "basically unchanged."
One rumor suggests we may see a new band option alongside the Series 9, a woven fabric one with a magnetic buckle priced at $99 when purchased on its own.
Everything New in iOS 17 Beta 5
Apple seeded a fifth developer beta and third public beta of iOS 17 this week, alongside related beta updates such as macOS Sonoma and watchOS 10.
There were a number of tweaks in the latest iOS 17 beta, which we've rounded up in an article. We're also continuing our deeper dives into iOS 17 changes for various features, with our latest guides covering AirDrop, AirPlay, AirPods, and Siri and Spotlight.
Apple Testing M3 Max Chip With 16-Core CPU and 40-Core GPU
We're continuing to learn more about the upcoming M3 family of chips for the Mac, thanks to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman digging into third-party app developer logs.
Those logs indicate that the next-generation M3 Max chip for higher end machines like the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro will include up to 16 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores. Built using a new 3nm process, the chip should include significant speed and efficiency improvements even beyond the increased core counts.
There's also a new Mac model with the base M3 chip that recently showed up in logs, and it's presumably an updated version of the Mac mini. That chip is also expected to appear in updated iMac, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air models.
10 Hidden Easter Eggs in macOS
This week, we took a fun look at a number of Easter eggs hidden in macOS, ranging from the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" on Windows and Clarus the dogcow to Steve Jobs' eyeglasses and the iconic "Here's to the crazy ones" poem from Apple's "Think Different" marketing campaign.
Check out our full list and let us know what other Easter eggs you're aware of in Apple's operating systems
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