Apple’s September Surprise
WHAT’S IN STORE AT THIS YEAR’S PRODUCT LAUNCH?
Times have changed at Apple since I worked behind the Genius Bar. Steve Jobs ran a tight ship fueled by innovation and secrecy. Jony Ive’s devices set the bar for industrial design. Every product launch had the fanfare and excitement of a Hollywood premiere, complete with raving fans and public spectacle.
Today’s Apple is more transparent and businesslike, with clear product roadmaps and a robust rumor mill stoked by reliable industry insiders. Where Steve Jobs was the David Copperfield of tech stagecraft, Tim Cook is more a master of ceremonies, introducing the cast and keeping the narrative on track. Not surprising in a post-pandemic world for the world’s 3rd most valuable company. No more auditorium crowd and the uncertainty of live demos.
Now there are lots of eyeballs on everything that Apple says and does. Detailed predictions and leaked designs have taken the edge off. So the annual fall product event has become more about the details than about the actual substance. Months of speculation finally satisfied.
With maybe a surprise or two.
Like automakers, Apple has adopted a fall release schedule for major product upgrades focused primarily on the iPhone and related devices. iPhone sales dwarf all other Apple product lines, followed by services and wearables/home/accessories. Macs and iPads finish out the list. It’s humbling to recall that the iMac, which once saved Apple from extinction, has become a bit player in the company’s success. And that computing itself, which was once driven by punch cards and floppy disks, has evolved to fit entirely in our pockets.
The upcoming iPhone 17 series, then, will obviously be the lead actor in Tuesday’s announcements.
The secret sauce, though, is that the fall product event coincides with Apple’s yearly software updates of the core operating systems that drive Apple Products.
Announced in June at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference, the beta (test) versions of macOS for Macs, iOS for iPhones, iPadOS for iPads, plus watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS will be finalized and released to the public this month.
Free downloads, they will skip current naming for a consistent ‘26’ label that will refer to the coming year going forward. So if your Mac is currently running macOS 15 Sequoia, you will be updating to macOS 26 Tahoe in the coming weeks. Likewise, iOS 18 on your iPhone will be replaced by iOS 26 and so on.
This is not coincidence. Apple’s success with feature development and customer satisfaction is because of the tight software and hardware integration. The operating systems can take full advantage of known features built into the device architecture. Something impossible in the PC environment with inconsistent hardware configurations. Developers benefit as well and the result is faster, smoother performance for the end user, whether using apps from Apple or from 3rd parties.
This is particularly important for photographers since the iPhone camera hardware and software get upgraded each year in some way or other. Computational photography - the ability to combine data from multiple lenses and/or exposures - is a signature feature of iPhone photography that makes otherwise impossible exposures a reality. Low light, high dynamic range, detail, low noise, decent digital zoom, fusion camera, enhanced quality, small chips; the list goes on. Combined with ever higher quality displays, iPhones as a backup or as a primary camera have become a staple of amateurs and pro photographers alike.
Originally an also-ran in Steve Jobs’ iPhone value proposition, the camera capabilities alone have become the key upgrade motivator for photographers like me. And according to most rumors, the iPhone 17 Pro will come with a 48 megapixel telephoto lens and possibly an upgrade from 5X to 8X magnification. Coming from years as a sailing photographer where I always had a telephoto on my camera, the 2X tele on the 15 pro and earlier never quite did it for me. But 5X on my 16 Pro has been great and 8X would be even better with the ability to crop in and still get a large file.
Another rumor is a selfie camera upgrade from 12mp to 24mp which would make front camera video much nicer for both FaceTime and recordings.
Yes, there’s an iPhone 17 Pro in my future.
But for those who aren’t in the iPhone upgrade mood, there’s still a lot to talk about in the form of both the Camera and the Photos apps that will apply to everyone with a recent iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Photos on the iPhone took a big hit last year when Apple did a major redesign. People either hated it and still hated it, or they hated it and then fell in love with it. I’m one of the latter. If you could get past the single screen redesign and the introduction of Collections, the layout was a game-changer for users who had complained about finding photos for years. iOS 18 offered the first effective Photos alternatives for dramatic photo navigation in like ever. Even better, the layout is customizable so you can create a one of a kind photo experience that’s simple and much more efficient than endlessly scrolling. Additions like Trips, Recently Viewed, and Groups for People and Pets make finding photos much more accessible.
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In iOS 26 the layout is refined by taking a step back and delivering the app in 2 windows - one for the Library grid and a second for all the Collections and Albums which are displayed in a more consistent layout, but still with some customization in place.
Now it will likely be the Camera app that gets more comment. In iOS 26 the streamlined layout effectively hides many settings, requiring a little practice to get to them. Better, if you rarely fuss with setting changes but potentially more frustrating if you regularly change them.
All of this, of course, is subject to change until the public launch. Watch for a more detailed review.
All-in-all, the 26 launch, along with new hardware, looks like the most exciting refresh in a few years. I am eager to see how it all settles out.
And as for surprises?
Well there’s still some uncertainty about the spec details of even the most likely rumors and it wouldn’t be the first time that Apple offered up “just one more thing,” as Steve Jobs famously did. There is likely a new ultra thin iPhone dubbed the Air. Some pundits talk about a more full featured Home Pod and the next generation of Vision Pro immersive goggles. Maybe a new Studio Monitor.
No matter how you cut it, there will be plenty to talk about for the next few weeks.
What are you looking forward to this year from Apple? Please share your thoughts in the comments.