Apple is expected on Wednesday to unveil its latest iPhones, kill the audio jack and announce a new version of the Apple Watch.
For iPhone owners, this is a chance to see if the next-generation smartphone — likely called the iPhone 7 — is worth an upgrade or waiting another year. Of course, tech fans are eager to see if the once groundbreaking company has something unexpected in store, too.
While Apple announcements used to electrify with unexpected hardware and software, guests and its signature “one more thing” surprise, the well-oiled rumor machine has since killed most of the mystery.
We’ll be live at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium starting at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET. Check back for updates and photos of new gadgets as they’re announced.
Here’s a preview of what’s coming:
Fresh iPhones: Apple is expected to release two new iPhones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and remove the traditional headphone jack. Other rumored changes include waterproofing and dual cameras for the Plus.
Jack controversy: The removal of the audio jack might make it easier to waterproof the iPhone, but will make all existing wired headphones obsolete, unless people buy a Lighting adapter.
Apple Watch 2.0: The Apple Watch came out last year, and until now, there’s been no major hardware upgrades — unless you consider different color straps “hardware”. The new Apple Watch will likely look like its predecessor and include GPS but not tout its own cellular connection. This means users will still have to keep their iPhone nearby for the watch to work.
New software: Apple previewed major updates for all its operating systems — iOS 10 for the iPhone and macSierra for Mac computers — this summer at its developer conference. Now, the company is going to recap what’s new and share final release dates. iOS 10 is the most exciting update, which has a ton of major feature additions for messaging, Siri and photos.
