Top Stories: September 9 iPhone Event, iOS 18.1 Photos Clean Up Tool, and More

It's a day earlier than rumors had suggested, but Apple's big iPhone 16 event now has an official date: Monday, September 9. The "It's Glowtime" tagline and glowing Apple logo theme are clear nods to the revamped Siri and new Apple Intelligence features that will undoubtedly be a major point of emphasis for the upcoming devices.

top stories 31aug2024
Much of the news this week focused on what announcements we will and won't see at Apple's upcoming event, with the usual focus on iPhone and Apple Watch perhaps being supplemented by a few other hardware announcements but a number of other updates like Macs not coming until later. This week also saw fresh rounds of operating system beta releases, including some new Apple Intelligence features for those on the iOS 18.1 beta, so read on below for all the details!

Apple Event Announced for September 9: 'It's Glowtime'

Apple has announced plans to hold its annual iPhone-centric event on Monday, September 9, at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The event is set to start at 10:00 a.m., and select members of the media have been invited to attend.

Its Glowtime Announcement Thumb
This year's event will see Apple unveil the iPhone 16 lineup, new Apple Watch models, and the AirPods 4, plus we'll get official launch dates for iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and Apple's other software updates.

iPhone 16 Likely to Launch on September 20 With These New Features

With Apple's "It's Glowtime" event taking place on Monday, September 9, pre-orders for the new iPhone 16 lineup are likely to begin on Friday, September 13, with a launch to follow on Friday, September 20.

iPhone 16 Mock Header Updated 1
We've recapped many of the rumors we've heard about the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups, so read up for a refresher on what we can expect to see for Apple's latest flagship phones.

Apple's September 9 'It's Glowtime' Event: What to Expect Beyond the iPhone 16

While the iPhone 16 lineup will be the headliner for Apple's September 9 event, we're expecting a number of other product introductions to fill out the day's presentation.

its glowtime event youtube
We're expecting new Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3 models, plus two variants of fourth-generation AirPods, and perhaps a seventh-generation iPad mini and other announcements.

We should also be getting new colors of iPhone and iPad cases and Apple Watch bands, while we'll get final details and release dates for iOS 18 and related operating system updates.

When to Expect the iPhone SE 4 to Launch

The iPhone 16 lineup is right around the corner, but Apple's cheapest iPhone is also in need of an update so when can we expect to see a fourth-generation iPhone SE?

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1
Rumors are currently pointing to an iPhone SE update in the spring of 2025, which makes sense considering all three previous generations have been introduced in March over the years. Check out our coverage for details on what we're expecting to see in what should be a major update for the budget iPhone.

See the Apple Intelligence Photos App 'Clean Up' Tool in Action

AI-driven Apple Intelligence features won't make the cut for the initial iOS 18 release next month, but Apple has been gradually rolling them out in betas of iOS 18.1, which should see a public release in October.

iOS 18 Photos Clean Up Thumb
In this week's iOS 18.1 beta, the most notable Apple Intelligence addition is Clean Up, a tool in the Photos app that lets you remove unwanted objects from your photos and use generative AI to fill in missing pieces of the photo behind the removed objects.

It's a bit hit-or-miss right now, but it's still a work in progress in beta so check out our hands-on video to see what it's capable of at the moment.

MacBook Pros With M4 Pro and M4 Max Chips Reportedly Being Mass Produced This Month

Based on past history, next month's event will not include any Mac hardware announcements, but Mac updates based around the M4 chip family should arrive before the end of the year.

m3 mbp space black
We're expecting a number of Macs with the base M4 chip similar to the one that debuted in the iPad Pro earlier this year, but there are also more powerful M4 Pro and M4 Max variants in the works, and a new report claims that Apple's supply chain is already gearing up to mass produce updated MacBook Pro models with these more powerful chips.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...

Top Rated Comments

scrapesleon Avatar
16 months ago
hopefully a iPad mini with Face ID and an m3 chip wishing lol
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Algr Avatar
16 months ago

You can really see in this image where some AI image processing to remove the object resulted in weird imagery results afterwards. Like the missing arm of the older daughter! :eek:
So it's not something that is perfect solution in all cases.
Yes, it's not any better then software that is widely available now. Apple is far too school-teacher-safe to get anything useful working on AI.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)