What to expect from Apple's September 7 'Far Out' iPhone 14 event

Apple is holding its annual iPhone event on September 7. It will be the first in-person iPhone event by the company since Covid-19 pandemic broke-out, which had forced all electronics companies to switch to virtual events. The WWDC event in June was also an in-person event but only a select group of developers were invited to it.  

iPhones are still the key growth driver for Apple, which saw it global revenue from the iPhone business grow by 3% to $40.67 billion in June quarter. Apple is also expected to update its smartwatch lineup.  

Here are the top launches expected from Apple on September 7.  

New iPhone 14 Max  

The iPhone 14 lineup is likely to include a new big screen device, according to industry experts. It will replace the small screen (5.4-inch) iPhone Mini and will find takers among professionals looking for a big screen iPhone without burning a hole in their pocket. The iPhone 14 Max is going to be a low-cost alternative to the big screen (6.7-inch) and the ultra-premium iPhone 14 Pro Max.  

Hardware gap widens   

For years, Apple has managed to offer almost the same hardware, especially the chips on all its iPhones regardless of the price. That might change this year. According to renowned Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, Apple will launch the iPhone 14 series with last year’s A15 Bionic chip, while the more premium iPhone 14 Pro series will be powered by the new A16 Bionic chip. The iPhone 14 Pro series is also expected to see a slight change in the design of the selfie camera cutout. Instead of a single notch, the premium iPhone will have a two smaller cut outs for the camera and the face ID, just like some of the Android flagships. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 series will retain last year’s notch design.  

Possible satellite connectivity  

The invite sent out by Apple for the event has a tagline that says ‘Far Out’. Taglines like this are part of every Apple event and give an early insight into upcoming features. For instance, the 2020 iPhone event had the tagline ‘Hi Speed’ to hint at the launch of first 5G iPhones.  

Many believe that the ‘Far Out’ tagline is an indication of a possible satellite connectivity related feature or tie up around new iPhones.  

According to Tim Farrar, a satellite communications expert, Apple is planning to announce a partnership with Globalstar to bring satellite- based free messaging service in the new iPhones.  

“Apple will be using existing satellite spectrum, with no need for any rule changes from the FCC,” Farrar said in a Twitter post.  

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also believes that an emergency message via satellites is one the cards to allow iPhone users to send SOS messages to first responders if they are in a remote location with poor internet connectivity. 

Apple Watch 8 series 

The other key hardware to be launched next week is the Apple Watch Series 8. Experts believe that there might not be any design change this time. However, Apple is expected to add some new capabilities. The satellite messaging might be one of the features to come to Watch Series 8. Kuo believes Apple will bring the option to measure body temperature in the new watches.  

iOS 16 on time 

Apple had earlier said that iPad OS 16 will be delayed this year and will roll out in October. Every year the new version of OS for iPhones and iPads start rolling out shortly after the iPhone launch event. Since Apple hasn’t said that iOS 16 will also be delayed, experts believe that it will roll out sometime after the iPhone 14 event and before they hit stores on September 16. The new iPhones will be running on iOS 16 out of the box.